Feeling a Bit Crabby

Last Saturday the Knights of Columbus of our church had their annual Crab Feed.  The KC do a terrific job - a huge salad bar and all the crab you can eat.  In fact, MORE than all the crab you can eat since they make available for a donation bags of crab for you to take home and enjoy again.

We brought home two such bags and Gerry spent the better part of Sunday afternoon cracking those little Dungeness crabs and harvesting the meat.  Then it was up to me to come up with something to do with that 2 1/2 lbs. of wonderful cracked crab meat.

First up:

Crab Cakes

 

I started with this recipe I found at foodnetwork.com (Crispy Crab Cakes by Ellie Krieger).  I liked this recipe because it calls for panko (Japanese bread crumbs).  If you've never tried these, I highly recommend them.  You can probably find them in most grocery stores these days (I'm guessing on the aisle with "international foods").  They do a fabulous job of giving that really crispy exterior you find on fried food - often without actually frying (not only healthier but really saves on the clean up in the kitchen!). 

 

 

I also liked that it uses Old Bay Seasoning because apparently I picked up a can of it for some recipe years ago and just haven't had another need for it.  (Always like to be using up things!)  The only changes I made to this recipe were: used both red & yellow bell peppers because a) I happened to have both on hand; and b) it's really pretty.  I also used chipotle tabasco instead of the regular kind.  Not horrible - a bit smoky (don't think they hubby noticed or mind) but I need to put the regular kind on my grocery list right now while I'm thinking of it.

 

 

 

 

Then we tried:

Terri's Crab Bisque

 

This I started with a recipe from allrecipes.com (Shrimp and Crab Bisque by Katrina Berry).  I really do recommend reading through at least the first few recommendations from others here because you learn so much from their trials, errors and suggestions.  I really used her recipe as a springboard and the final result was really my own.  Though I usually hate recipes written in this manner I'll give a narrative of what I did:

 

 

1. I melted 3 T butter and added 1 tsp. of minced garlic and sautéed this for about 30 seconds before adding 3 T flour.  To this I added one tube of  chicken broth, salt & pepper to taste, a pinch of onion powder, 1/2 tsp. of Old Bay Seasoning and 1 T. of parsley.
2. Added 3/4 C. of Half & Half plus 1/4 C. of sherry (which does go better with the crab than white wine.  I would recommend purchasing a bottle of sherry - NOT COOKING SHERRY!!!  NEVER BUY COOKING SHERRY!!!  - a bottle of sherry (cooking sherry is just salty crap) won't set you back much and can be "splashed" in other wonderful foods as well.  If you don't want to do this then by all means use a lovely white wine that you intend to serve with this deliciousness (though I would probably use as much as 1/2 C of wine as opposed to 1/4 C sherry).
3. Adjust seasonings: add more Old Bay, a dash of cayenne, a generous amount of paprika for color and taste (1-2 T.)
4. Add crab and remaining Half & Half and bring to bubble to thicken.  Mine did get a bit thicker (more chowder-like) which I thought I would prefer but turns out next time I would make it a bit thinner and more bisque-like.

 

 



Finally, last night we enjoyed:

Terri's Crab Quiche

 

Once again I started the process with a recipe I found on allrecipes.com (Crab Quiche I by CHRISTYJ) and pulling together from various suggestions and recommendations from others I cobbled together this recipe (which I must say was probably the best crab experiment this week - though the crab cakes were a very close second!)

 

1. Make your own crust!  Some reviewers suggested just pouring the filling into a pan for a crustless version but quiche just really needs the crust to send it over the top and a store bought crust will just not do it for me.
2. Get some kitchen help!  There were a couple of steps to this project and everyone of them seemed to involve another pan and/or bowl and utensil.  It was great having the hubby keep up with my dishes (and then make a salad to go with while it was in the oven baking) so that there weren't dishes left to look forward to at the end of the meal.
3. The steps:
1. In a sauté pan (larger than you might think), I started with some olive oil and butter and then put the sliced green onions and finely diced red pepper.  To this I added a large bunch of thinly sliced lacinato kale (or any leafy green like spinach, chard, etc. would work) and sautéed until wilted.
2. Shredded 1/2 lb. (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups) of Gruyere (Swiss) cheese.  I did look at the suggestions by some of other cheeses (cheddar, goat) but again, quiche in my mind requires Swiss and this is not a run-of-the-mill every night type of meal so I went with the Gruyere - it did not disappoint!
3. Beat together 4 eggs plus 1 C. Half and Half.  I used my hand-held mixer (because I didn't want my dishwasher to quit on me by bringing out the blender) and it did the trick.  Just make sure to actually beat this combination together until frothy - a simple whisking will not give the desired results.
4. Assemble the layers in order: 1) the crab meat; 2) the slightly cooled vegetable mixture; 3) the cheese (reserve a small handful for the top); 4) the egg mixture. 
5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Allow to set 10 minutes before cutting/serving.  (Can also be served at room temperature.)

 

Finally, our "Crab Week" came to an end but not without putting the remaining 3/4 lb. of cooked crab meat in the freezer for another time (Lent is soon upon us).

 

~later (no longer crabby!), tw