Seared Striped Bass with Chorizo Salsa

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This weekend we went over to my parent’s house for dinner. My dad had gone fishing earlier in the day, and came home with a nice sized “rock” as we call them around here, striped bass to the rest of the world. He cleaned it when we were finished with dinner (a gorgeous bushel of steamed #1 blue crabs) and sent us home with a nice sized filet, that I portioned into 4 smaller sized filets.

We get so much gorgeous, fresh seafood around here, I really take it for granted. I already had a menu set for the week, so I decided to make the fish for lunch on Sunday. Usually, I’d fry it an call it a day –  but the filets were so gorgeous, I wanted to do something special. I came up with this dish with what I had on hand, and it really knocked our socks off. I was afraid the salsa would be overpowering, but it wasn’t. The smokey sweetness just played up the flavor of the fish, and it was a nice change of pace from our standard fish fry! Plus, I got to use the pea shoots I’d bought on a whim at Trader Joe’s the week before. They soaked up all the juices from the dish, made for a surprisingly good salad.

If you’re looking for something to do with that abundance of rockfish we’re so lucky to have in our waters right now (or any other substantial white fish – mahi, halibut, etc.) bookmark this recipe! I’m hoping Dad shares some more with us this spring. I’m more than happy to send out a First and Second mate with him!

Striped Bass with Chorizo Salsa

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
4 (6-ounce) striped bass fillets
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt, divided
8 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn fish over; cook 4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan; keep warm.

For the salsa, return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil and the chorozio, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Cook until nice and browned, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, stirring a moment until mixture becomes fragrant. Add the water and balsamic vinegar, turn heat to low, and simmer until tomatoes soften, stirring frequently. Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste. Serve sauce with fish over a bed of greens.

Source: adapted from Cooking Light, July 2010

Maryland Crab Cakes

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Frankly, I’m embarrassed that crab cakes haven’t made it onto the site yet. Any Maryland blogger worth their grain in salt NEEDS to have a good crab cake recipe to share. The world doesn’t turn to us for much in the way of famous foods. We’re notorious for our fried chicken, pit beef, our Smith Island cakes, and of course…crab cakes. Let me start off my saying, I’m not a big fan of crab cakes. My mom always made great ones, but they were just never “my thing”. When I see recipes online, or in cookbooks, often I am disparaged by the amount of filler that people put in their cakes. Bell peppers, bread crumbs, eggs, herbs, avocado, cheese – the list goes on. It’s a travesty, people! A GOOD crab cake only needs crab meat, and a little bit of a binder. I had a recipe that I used forever, and it was great. But, I would use a good amount of breadcrumbs to get them to hold their shape. That always kind of bothered me. Then, one of my best girlfriend’s aunt shared this recipe on a local recipe swapping group that I’m a member of on Facebook. It had virtually no binding agents! Flour, a bit of mayo and mustard, an egg, and a bit of seasoning. I should also mention the fact that this said Aunt is a purveyor of crab meat. As a side-job she picks crabs and sells the meat in the summertime. The woman knows her crab, ya’ll. I knew I had to try it…

Talk about blown away! Like I mentioned above, I don’t even like crab cakes, and I ended up scarfing one down. These cakes are solid packed full of meat. It is definitely my go-to recipe for crab cakes now. They formed in your hands beautifully, fried up beautifully, and as you can see from the picture – were gorgeous inside too. I realize that not everyone can get their hands on blue crab meat. I’ve not tried myself, but I’m fairly certain this recipe would work with Dungeness crab meat, or even snow crab meat. Whatever is good, and fresh in your neck of the woods! I served with baked oven fries, as well as a green salad. They make a delightful sandwich too. Oooh, or over a bed of fettuccine Alfredo. Hea-ven!

This recipe makes about 5 crab cakes. If your budget allows, I’d highly recommend doubling the recipe, and then freezing half of the cakes. They freeze great! And, frozen crab cakes are one of my favorite “go to” easy meals on those nights when I’m just too tired to cook. Simply form and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze on the cookie sheet for about 2 hours, until frozen. Then vacuum seal or wrap securely in freezer paper. Cook the frozen cakes just as you would if they were fresh, adding a few minutes of cooking time to each side of the cake.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Makes about 5 large crab cakes

1 pound fresh crab meat, picked clean of shells
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Old Bay, or other seafood seasoning

Add flour, mayonnaise, dijon, the egg, and the Old Bay to a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Carefully fold in the crab meat, being careful as possible not to separate the lumps of meat. Gently form about 1/2 cup of the crab mixture into a cake about 3 inches wide by 1 inch thick with your palms. Once formed, set aside on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Heat about 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (I like to use my trusty cast iron pan!) over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add crab cakes to hot oil, and fry for about 4 minutes on each side – until nice and golden. Transfer from pan to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve with cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, and plenty of fresh lemon.

Source: Morgan’s Aunt “B”

Dilly Beans

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We always plant a garden in our backyard in the summertime. The tomato and pepper harvests seem to vary from year to year, but the one vegetable I can always count on to have an over abundance all season long is green beans. They’re easy to grow, easy to take care of, and they just keep giving and giving. Will enjoyed plenty of them in his baby food this summer, and we love to enjoy them simple steamed or sautéed with a bit of olive oil and garlic. Even with eating them two or three times a week with dinner, I STILL always have more than I know what to do with. Enter the dilly bean. I started canning them 2 or 3 years ago now, and they’re always a favorite around our house. While we’re fans of pretty much anything pickled in this house – dilly beans really stand apart from your “standards”. They are packed with wonderful dill flavor. So crispy and delicious. You can also pig out on the whole jar, and don’t have to feel that guilty about it. Try them as a garnish for your next Bloody Mary, instead of a boring stalk of celery!

Pickled items are a great introduction to canning because you don’t need a ton of special equipment, and due to the high acidity of the brine – it’s virtually impossible for any bacteria to survive. Things like botulism, I hear they are not so good. At any rate, feel free to play around with the spice combinations. The only thing you want to adhere to for certain would be the water/vinegar/salt ratio.

Pickled Green Beans (aka “Dilly Beans”)

Yields 5 pints

2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed
5 chili peppers, halved length-wise (I like jalapenos or serranos)
5 springs fresh dill
5 cloves garlic
3 tsp dill seed
3 tsp whole coriander
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup pickling salt

Prep your canning pot by inserting a rack to keep your jars off the bottom of the pot, place pint jars in and fill it with water. Bring to a boil to sterilize jars while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Wash and trim your beans so that they fit in your jar.

Combine vinegar, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. While it’s heating up, pack your beans and into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace (distance between the tops of the beans and the rim of the jar). To each jar, add 1 sprig of fresh dill, 1 chili pepper, 1/2 tsp dill seed, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1 clove of garlic.

Pour the boiling brine over the beans, making sure to leave that 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims and apply the lids and rings. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Let the beans hang out for a least two weeks before eating, to thoroughly develop their flavor. Best when served chilled.

Source: adapted from Food In Jars

Maryland Crab Soup

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It’s springtime here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and that means that crabs are starting to come back into season. Crab soup traditionally comes in two varieties; Cream of crab – a, well, cream based soup. And, Maryland crab – a tomato based soup. My husband is a fan of the Cream, where I am a Maryland kind of gal.

This recipe is for the tomato based soup, and it’s wonderful. A little heat from the old bay, lots of flavor from the crab meat, and tons of veggies! My 3 year old loves it. I always find that soup is a good way to get anything I want to into him!

On another note, we have a new addition to the family. I’m such a horribly slack blogger, you would think I would have posted something earlier…but time is just running away with me these days! So, without further adieu, this is William or “Will” for short. He was born December 19th, and was a hefty 10 lbs at birth. He’s now going on 5 months, and is close to weighing 20 lbs. He is a beast! While Andrew is a carbon-copy of Jon, I think I’ve finally got one that resembles me now. He’s such a sweet and happy baby boy, we are truly blessed!

Okay, back to the soup. It makes a relatively large batch. But, leftovers freeze well. I like to make my own seafood stock with various shells that I leftover from seafood. Crab, shrimp, lobster – all cook down to make a beautiful stock. If you don’t have any of those things available though, try substituting bottled clam juice. I think it would be just as good!

Maryland Crab Soup

2 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen lima beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup sliced carrots
large handful of green beans, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 cups beef broth
2 cups seafood stock
1 pound crab meat, picked clean for shells
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add onion, celery, and carrot and saute for a couple minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large dutch oven, bring beef broth, seafood stock, and water to a boil. Add the sauteed vegetables, as well as the corn, lima beans, tomatoes, potato, and green beans. Reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.

Add the crab meat and stir gently to combine. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Taste and season with salt and pepper, and more Old Bay if you like before serving.