January 22, 2011

Cheesy Crab Cakes

I salute those housewives who cook dinner everyday and not run out of inspiration of what to cook. Because after just two weeks or so of doing so, I am fast running out of ideas and with the growing bump, energy. Yes, since I’m the one who’s at home these days while the hubby is studying, the responsibility of cooking dinner every night seems to have fallen on my shoulders – at least for a week or so more before I pop. Most of the nights it’s Chinese food, but there are days when you do not want to do another stir-fry or see another bowl of rice. Last Saturday was one of those days.

I checked the freezer and found soft frozen crab meat and so decided to do something with it. I didn’t quite want to do a pasta, seeing that both of us had a rather heavy lunch and so decided on these crab cakes. Most crab cakes need to be fried, which was simply too much work when you want a simple meal and so I decided to use a recipe that didn’t require frying, just baking. I served these up with a mushroom soup and a simple salad – a simple yet tasty meal on a weekend evening.

Cheesy Crab Cakes
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
Crab mixture
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • ⅛ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • ½ tsp orange zest
  • ¼ tsp lemon zest
  • ⅛ tsp coarse sea salt
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 3 oz crabmeat
  • 1 tbsp chopped spring onions
Base and topping
  • ½ cup Japanese breadcrumbs
  • 1 oz unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp chopped spring onions
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
  2. Using a standing or hand-held mixer, beat cream cheese till smooth.
  3. Add in Parmesan cheese, egg and sour cream and beat to blend.
  4. Next, beat in the orange and lemon zests, sea salt, cayenne pepper and spring onions.
  5. Fold in the crab meat and set aside.
  6. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, melted butter and chopped spring onions. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Place a teaspoon of breadcrumb mixture at the bottom of each muffin cup and flatten it using the back of a spoon.
  8. Top with a generous amount of crab mixture.
  9. Sprinkle another tsp of breadcrumb mixture at the top.
  10. Bake crab cakes for about 25 minutes, until golden on top. Serve warm.
Notes
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Filed Under: Appetisers and Soups, Baking and Cooking, Meats and Seafood Tagged With: , 4 Comments
January 3, 2011

Cream of broccoli and potato soup

I am not usually prompt in updating my blog with the things I cook and bake. Usually, by the time a recipe shows up on the blog, it has been a few days/weeks/months old. This recipe however, is fresh from the stove. I just finished making this and after a bowl of it, I knew that I would really regret it if I do not pen it down as I would probably forget the ingredients and amounts in a couple of hours. This soup is GOOD.

I was combing around the kitchen for something for lunch and realised that I had a broccoli sitting in the fridge and a couple of russet potatoes that were going to grow into new plants if I do not use them soon. Even the onions were sprouting shoots. Since I had cream in the fridge, I decided to make a cream of broccoli soup, and throw in a couple of potatoes as well. The result was surprisingly tasty and so I’m recording this recipe down for future use.

Cream of broccoli and potato soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:
150g broccoli florets
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground paprika
1 onion, chopped
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used vegetable)
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella or chedar
1/2 cup of cream
1/2 cup of milk
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Boil the broccoli florets in a pot of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes or till tender. Remove and chop into smaller pieces and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, melt the unsalted butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When the foaming has subsided, add in the cumin and paprika.
  3. Add in the chopped onions and stir fry till translucent.
  4. Add in the cubed potatoes and stir fry for about 5 – 10 minutes.
  5. In a medium pot, bring the broth to a boil.
  6. Add in the onion and potato mixture and simmer till potatoes are tender. Add the reserved broccoli florets.
  7. Using an immersion blender or a blender, process the soup until smooth.
  8. Return to the heat and add in the cheese, stirring continually until it melts.
  9. Stir in the cream and the milk and bring to a boil.
  10. Season with salt and pepper before serving.
Filed Under: Appetisers and Soups, Baking and Cooking, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment
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