Crab Cakes with Tomato/Basil Salsa

I don't know what your favorite Mother got for her Mother's Day Dinner, but the Dog's Mom got this tasty Crab Cake with a Tomato Basil Salsa and a side of Grilled Eggplant. Besides getting Mom a present from the Liquor store, I made this entree for her.

Recipes for crab cakes are very much similar with bread crumbs, egg and seasonings that coincide with the title of the crab cake. For example, Louisiana Crab cakes have Creole Seasoning, Maryland Crab Cakes have Old Bay Seasoning, Italian Crab Cakes have Italian bread crumbs, and I even heard of a Halloween Crab Cake with pumpkin bread crumbs. From my research, it seems crab cakes can be made with just about anything to satisfy any one's particular tastes.

Of course, the Crab Cakes I made are Italian, (go figure.)

I combine 8 oz of Phillips lump crab or fresh King crab if its on sale , 1 egg, 1/4 cup of grated cheese. 1/8 cup of Italian bread crumbs, 1 tbsp of garlic, 1 tbsp of basil, dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt. Mix ingredients and form two patties, pan fry them in olive oil and finish them off in a 350 degree oven to make sure they are hot in the middle.

The Tomato/Basil Salsa is just dicing up tomatoes and mixing them with chopped basil and salt to taste.

The Grilled Eggplant is prepared by slicing an eggplant in 1/4" pieces, salting them to let sweat for about 15 minutes, brush with olive oil and grill them out on the Weber or in a grill pan. Just a about a minute on each side to form good grill marks.

Pasta & Sausage

"Take me out the the Ball Game," or is it more likely, "Take my kids to the Ball Field" for games and practice everyday. Now, you still have to feed them before they go and you have to think of something to cook. Also, your husband or wife comes right from work to the field and is hungry. You need something that is easy and quick to cook and can be portable. You can't go wrong with this dish, because who doesn't like pasta and sausage and it can be put in plastic-ware to be eaten at the fields.

Start with oil, crushed garlic, one sliced onion, two sliced green peppers and about 1 pound of sausage in one inch pieces and fry up in a large saute pan. You know the one that I got at Acme. While that is cooking, boil off a pound of pasta, any brand will do, I used the ziti type this time. When the sausage and the vegetables are done, just add a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, the pasta and season with basil, Italian seasonings, and salt. Cook for a couple of minute to ensure everything is hot and serve or pack it up to go. Don't forget the grated cheese!

Lemon Basil Chicken

This is a quick and easy dish that tastes phenomenal with the combination of lemon and basil. Prepping this ahead of time and then grilling it properly outside will have them coming back for more. They key to this is simple, marinating the chicken for over an hour in enough lemon and basil so that during the grilling the whole neighborhood smells it.

Start by taking skin on or skinless chicken breasts and trim off the excess fat and tenderize by beating the living daylights out of them with the bottom of a frying pan on a cutting board, like they do on Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution." Next, drown the chicken breast in lemon juice in a clear oblong Pyrex pan. Generously sprinkle basil over both sides of the chicken, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least a hour or longer.

Fire up your grill and adjust the burners so you barely see the flames under the baffles. Yes, I have a Weber Spirit Grill and in future posts I will write about the art of grilling. Place and grill the chicken to seal and grill mark both sides. If you are using chicken with the skin left on, grill that side first. Then, turn off the burners , except one and set the chicken on the unlit burners. This is what the Weber people mean when they talk about indirect heat. Close the lid and try to maintain the internal temperature of the grill to about 350 degrees by adjusting the single burner. Continue to cook till the chicken is totally done.

Max just can't control himself around the Lemon Basil Chicken. STAY MAX! EASY BOY!

Frittata

Yes, I love to make and eat the "Frittata" or what is know as the "Italian Omelette." This is the way I get the kids to eat the leftovers next day for breakfast. Leftovers such as pasta, vegetables and meats can easily be an ingredient for the Frittata. Coupled with scrambled eggs and of course, grated cheese, you just can't go wrong.

To start, heat up a deep sauce pan with butter and garlic, (enough butter to coat the entire pan or use a non stick pan.) Then add you leftover meats or vegetables. Cut or dice up the vegetables and meats and saute in the pan. What I used this morning was ziti, red pepper, and some zucchini. I thought I had some leftover bacon or sausage, but they ate it all. Next add the pasta and cook everything until tender or hot if they already have been cooked. Beat about 6 eggs so you are able to get air into those puppies. (the eggs) Pour the eggs into the pan and slowly cook on low heat. Now, add my favorite ingredient grated cheese. I believe that the grated cheese and the pasta make it Italian. Or is it just what we always have on hand to cook with. Also, if desired add basil or Italian seasonings and salt & pepper.

Slowly cook on low heat and try not to burn the bottom. The best thing to do is when it starts to get firm on the sides, place the pan in the oven at about 350 degrees and continue to check and see if it is cooked throughout.

When it is done, take it out of the oven and flip that bad dog (the Frittata) onto a serving plate. That's why you need to use a non-stick or well grease pan for the Frittata. Garnish the top with parsley and more grated cheese.

Max, as usual, stalks around the table waiting for the kids to drop a morsel or when no one is looking, swipes it off the table. Bad Dog!

Zucchini

When I was going up, my father had a vegetable garden. One year he planted a row of zucchini. We eventually found out what everybody else knows, that zucchini grows like a weed and we had zucchini as large as base bats, growing out of our ears. Thus, we ended up having some kind of zucchini every night for dinner that summer. My favorite dish that my father cooked a lot as well as myself over the years is a sauteed zucchini.

Start with oil and chopped garlic in a deep saute pan. Add one sliced onion and three small to medium sized zucchinis cut in to 1/4 to 1/2 slices. The size of the zucchini is about 12" long and about 1 1/2" to 2" in diameter (not baseball bat size.) Fry up the zucchini, onion and season with garlic and Italian seasonings. Let saute uncovered for about 20 minutes until the zucchini is tender and translucent. If you put a lid on, you will end up with zucchini soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

One thing that I never understood is when Italians fry or saute vegetables they always like to add scrambled eggs. If anyone knows why, please comment but maybe the answer is, it just tastes good. So, pull the zucchini to the side of the pan and add two eggs to the other side to be scrambled. Don't pour mixed liquid eggs over the vegetables, cook them to scrambled separately then fold in. Prior to serving, jack it up with grated cheese. Also, a neighbor of mine told me to add fresh mint to the zucchini which adds even more flavor to the dish.

Max is a meataterian, however he loves the grated cheese.

Irish Potatoes

Okay, I'll let the Irish be Irish for this week. Us Italians are Italians all year round.

Irish Potatoes are very simple to make. I assisted my daughter in making a batch. Using a hand blender, mix 4 oz of cream cheese and one stick of butter. Then add a tsp of vanilla extract, 4 cups of confectioners sugar and blend till smooth. Fold in 2 1/2 cups of coconut. Next, form little tiny potatoes and then roll in Cinnamon. Refrigerate for one hour before serving.

I brought 2 dozen of these to our neighborhood poker social and before I even had one they were gone.

To clarify, we did not get a new dog, Max just had his spring shaving. Hopefully it will keep the hair out of the food.

Sausage & Rice

Sausage is a great food that is second only to bacon. Italian Hot Sausage is what I grew up on. After marriage, my wife insisted that I use the sweet sausage for the kids instead of hot. In my opinion , the sweet sausage has no taste. In order to have taste in my meals, I started to use sweet and hot sausage. Eventually, only the sweet sausage was left in the dish. Now, I only cook with the Italian Hot Sausage.

This dish is just a simple type of Paella without the expensive seafood and saffron (I once received saffron as a Christmas Gift.) In a deep saute pan add oil, minced garlic, 1 cup chopped onion, and one cup of red or green pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add to the pan about 1 to 1.5 pounds of Hot Italian Sausage cut into one inch pieces. Continue to saute until the sausage is almost done. Don't drain the juice. Next add 1 cup of rice and saute for a minute then add 2 cups of chicken broth. Yes, I am cooking dinner, note the steam rising. I wish I could share with you the smell of this cooking, but they are still working on that computer technology.

Always use chicken broth when cooking rice, it simply adds more flavor to the dish. Bring to boil then lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Taste the rice to see if it is done, if not add more broth or water. Salt and pepper to taste.

I usually worry about Max getting a hold of the leftovers, but my family will snack on this and there won't be any left for my lunch the next day.