Maine Lobster Tail and Crab Cakes. Next time Shrimp and Whiting

Last night was a family seafood fiesta at my house. My mother in law is a big QVC and HSN person. She bought some Maine lobster tails and some Maryland crab cakes a some time ago. Of course, I was asked to prepare the meal.... Mom knows the thing I love most is cooking for family. And in exchanged for an expensive meal, that was a great bonus!

The dinner menu included baked Maine lobster tails, Maryland lump crab cakes, italian roasted potatoes, and best ever corn fritters.

I watched this video by Luis Ortiz on preparing the lobster tails

Preparing a Lobster Tail for Cooking -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Here's how the preparation went- I prepared the lobster tails per the video. I put the six tails in a shallow baking dish. I sprinkled them with sea salt, paprika, and pepper. To the pan I added about 6 oz. of white zinfandel. Next, I lay out the crab cakes on a baking sheet to finish thawing. The seafood would require the same amount of cooking time, about 20 minutes, at 375. I set the seafood aside for a bit.

Next, I went ahead and prepared my favorite roasted potatoes. I like to cook them at 350 until they are brown, about 30 minutes or so.



I clarified two sticks of butter by heating slowly, skimming the foam, then gently pouring the clear butterfat out of the pan while leaving the solids on the bottom. I brushed the lobster tails and crab cakes with clarified butter at the beginning of baking and at the halfway mark.

image courtesy of http://www.usmenuguide.com/rosieogradysdinner.htm

Finally, I made my corn fritters. They are quick and easy, but oh so impressive. So much so that Mom even took some fritters home.

The dinner came out better than I could have ever hoped for. Mom ate more than she has in months she said, and hubby was grateful to both of us. In fact he talked about it most of the evening!

Today was Angel Food Ministries pick up day. My mother in law and I always order together. Many times I fly, she buys! What a wonderful gift she gives our family during these hard times. In this order mom bought the seafood box. I picked up the food (fly), then delivered mom's order. I always help stock her food in the freezer. When we got to open the seafood box, I thanked her again for the wonderful lobster and crab meal last night. She said again that it was a delicious meal, and she had fun. As we unpacked the seafood, she asked me how to cook the shrimp, then the whiting....

I took the shrimp and the whiting home with me. Next seafood dinner will be steamed shrimp and spicy fried whiting. [big smile]

♥

Maine Lobster Tail and Crab Cakes. Next time Shrimp and Whiting

2009-04-25T21:08:00-04:00

redkathy

entertaining|lobster|seafood|side dish|

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The Neno's Award... Dedicated to cooking, inspired to blog

Let me start with a big THANK YOU to rObrak author of Blog-iT rob ♥ for honoring me this award.


The purpose of this award is:

• As a dedication for those who love blogging activity and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
• To seek the reasons why we all love blogging!

The rules are:

• Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
• Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
• Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
• Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
• Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Now to answer the question, why I blog... Well, my mother was a phenomenal cook. Yeah I know everyone says that about their mom however strangers would say that of her. Oh yeah, how would a stranger know about her cooking? She fed everyone and anyone. She was kind, soft spoken, and very fun loving. She thought it the most important that her family was fed and taught well. She dedicated her life to us. My siblings and I love to cook, were inspired and raised to be that way. Everything in life is better with food... just ask the teenagers I raised over the years. There wasn't anything we couldn't work out over a nice hot meal.

While I may not compare to the generations of cooks before me, I blog to share my love for cooking, and eating, with the world. I hope that friends and visitors find my blog helpful, fun, and inspiring.

I am passing this award on to Mary at My New 30, Rose at All About Cakes, Kim at Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet, and Martha at Stir, Laugh, Repeat. I hope they do awards 'cause I know they have as much fun blogging as I do!


Are you hungry?

The Neno's Award... Dedicated to cooking, inspired to blog

2009-04-14T22:45:00-04:00

redkathy

uncategorized|

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Curried Pork Loin Chops

I've been wanting to eat pork chops so I went to BJ's, a whole sale club near my house. They usually have the lowest price around on pork, and it's always has a great flavor. Their meats are never fatty or chewy, even the cheap cuts are trimmed up nicely. I intended to buy the cheapest cut, an assorted package for 1.99 lb. Then, I checked out the full cut section and boy am I glad I did so. The whole pork loins were beautiful. And, I saved .30 lb buy cutting it myself. Tonight we're having boneless pork chops, yeah!

You will need:
6-8 boneless pork chops
Rub seasoning- chili powder, Adobo seasoning, ginger powder, black pepper, curry powder
2 Tbps Olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thick
1 cup diced carrots (I used all frozen vegetables, not thawed)
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower
1 4 oz can mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I made broth with bullion granules)
1 tsp curry
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/8-1/4 lb angel hair spaghetti

Sprinkle and rub both sides of chops with all rub seasonings.


Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Brown chops over medium heat until they are almost cooked, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove pork and add onion to pan. Cook on low for a few minutes. Meanwhile prepare the chicken bullion, or if using broth, warm it in a separate pot. Add the rest of the vegetables to the onions and stir. Combine the broth with the vegetables. Mix well, scraping the bottom to combine drippings from the pork. Add the teaspoon of curry and the sesame seeds, mix well.

Return chops on top of the vegetable mixture.

Boil water and prepare spaghetti. Spaghetti and chops should be fully cooked at the same time. Move the chops to the side. Add the spaghetti to the vegetable mixture and mix well.

My notes- This turned out really good. The pork was solid and tender. The vegetables were spicy and just a bit hot. The pasta turned the broth into gravy. I didn't add any salt during cooking so that the guys could season to taste.

Curried Pork Loin Chops

2009-04-11T00:23:00-04:00

redkathy

dinner|pork|spicy|

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Best Recipes-Corn Fritters and Freckle Faced Potatoes

My son is home from college, decided to commute for his last quarter. He's studying digital photography. Thanks to Angel Food Ministries we had rib-eye steak for dinner. A real treat for us these days. So, I rubbed the steaks with BBQ grill seasoning about two hours before cooking them. They were just spicy enough and very tender.


I have never prepared corn fritters even though we all really like them. I did some research on Google. Then I turned to one of my old cookbooks, Best Recipes, from the back of boxes, bottles, cans, and jars, by Ceil Dyer. I'll tell you, I used this book a whole lot when the kids were young. It has lots of fast and easy recipes that are really delicious. I found a recipe for corn and pepper fritters. Between my research and that recipe I came up with this:


You will need:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 can (12 oz)whole kernel corn with peppers undrained - I used frozen corn, thawed, without the peppers
1 Tbsp. Peanut Oil
1 1/2 cup baking mix
1 Tbsp. cornmeal - I added this ingredient
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste


Beat egg in a large bowl. Stir in milk, corn, and peanut oil. Add and beat in baking mix, cornmeal, salt and pepper. Drop by tablespoonfuls into deep or shallow hot peanut oil. Fry until golden brown, 2 -3 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.

I used my Master Built electric turkey fryer, which made cooking quick and really easy.

I thought, since my son is home, I can't serve just plain baked potatoes.... I decided that the Freckle-Faced Potatoes recipe, from the same cook book, would be perfect. A bit spicy, with cheese, they were perfect.

You will need:

3 baking potatoes, baked
1/2 cup cheddar cheese - I used colbyjack
4Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup crushed croutons or bread crumbs


Quarter hot potatoes lengthwise and place in a bake and serve dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over potatoes. Melt butter in a skillet, add all remaining ingredients, stirring until crushed croutons are moist. Crumble mixture over potatoes and place under broiler until cheese has browned. I served them with a dollop of sour cream. They were really good. Next time, I think I'll add more cheese.




The guys really raved about this simple dinner. I have to admit, it was really easy to make but didn't taste that way at all.

Best Recipes-Corn Fritters and Freckle Faced Potatoes

2009-04-05T23:03:00-04:00

redkathy

casserole|side dish|vegetables|

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