This crab cake turned out wonderful.  I went on the cheap and used an imitation crab blend of fish and crab claw meat – a little better than normal imitation crab.  I think this could be even better with real crab and better quality raw shrimp.  The original recipe from epicurious is for a spicy crab cake, and many reviews said the saffron taste gets lost.  Since I omitted the adobo sauce, you can really get a sense of the saffron.   The crab cake recipe produced 9 big cakes, we gobbled up 4 for breakfast and I think the rest will be going into crabcake sliders later with perhaps a chipotle sauce.  I am also very embarrassed to say that I am totally out of cayenne pepper.  I had to substitute a cajun spice mix and it ended up kind of ugly. :(  Sean said it was more cakey than crabby – which means I should use 1/3 of the shrimp and crab to make the puree instead of 1/2.  I however thought it was a good ratio, I like my crab cakes more cakey and he likes his crumbly and falling apart.  Since I’m making these, my taste always wins.  :)

Evie’s Saffron infused Shrimp and Crab Cake Benedict
Heavily adapted fromthis and this

Ingredients:

For crab cakes: (this makes 9 1/2 cup patties)

• 1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced (1/8-inch) onion
• 1/4 cup diced (1/8-inch) carrot
• 1/4 cup diced (1/8-inch) celery
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 stick butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 lb cooked shrimp, shelled
• 3/4 lb crab meat
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

For Hollandaise Sauce: (approx 1 cup)

• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons creme fraîche
• Salt, cayenne pepper
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 drops lemon juice

For poached eggs:

• 4 super fresh brown eggs

Directions:

Make crab cakes:

1. Sprinkle saffron into water in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and boil over moderately high heat until liquid is reduced to 1 tablespoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl, then cool completely.
2. Heat oil (1 tablespoon) in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, carrot, and celery, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
3. Put oven rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with oil.
4. Whisk together 1 egg, melted butter, milk, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
5. Pat shrimp dry and transfer half of shrimp to clean food processor, add half of the crab, then add saffron reduction, minced onions, garlic, and 1/2 cup panko. Purée until smooth, then, with motor running, add egg mixture in a slow stream, blending until just incorporated.
6. Chop remaining shrimp very coarsely (about 1/3-inch pieces) and stir together with remaining 1/2 cup panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and carrot mixture. Lightly beat remaining egg and stir into shrimp/crab and vegetable mixture along with shrimp/crab purée, add the remaining coarsely chopped crab and mix.
7. Loosely fill a 1/2-cup measure with crab mixture and drop onto a lined baking sheet. Make about 8 more cakes in same manner, dropping onto baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Flatten tops gently and bake, move the rack to the top 1/3 of the oven for the last 5 minutes until tops are lightly browned, about 20 minutes total.

Make Hollandaise and poached eggs:

1. While the crab cakes are baking, start the hollandaise and poached egg.  I will omit the poaching directions, hopefully you can figure that part out.
2. Put egg yolks in glass heatproof bowl (or top of double boiler) and beat in the vinegar and creme fraîche. Season with salt and a little cayenne.
3. Stand bowl in pan of hot water (or top of double boiler over hot water) over a slow fire and beat with a small wire whisk until the mixture is as thick as heavy cream. It is important that the water should not boil; add cold water if it gets too hot.
4. Beat in the butter, piece by piece, adding another piece only when the previous one has been absorbed. When all the butter is absorbed, add lemon juice.

Assemble the Deliciousness:

Take a crab cake and put it on a plate.  Top with a poached egg.  Use a saucing spoon, drizzle about 2 tablespoon of hollandaise on top.  Sprinkle with a little cayenne, and top with a sprig of dill.

And the obligatory egg porn shot!

]]> http://www.evie.org/recipes/crab-cake-benedict-no-world-of-warcraft-involved/feed/ 8 http://www.evie.org/recipes/french-laundry-recipe-braised-prime-beef-short-ribs-with-root-vegetables-and-sauteed-bone-marrow/ http://www.evie.org/recipes/french-laundry-recipe-braised-prime-beef-short-ribs-with-root-vegetables-and-sauteed-bone-marrow/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:47:08 +0000 Evie http://www.evie.org/?p=399 Have you ever noticed that the longer the name is for an entrée, the more expensive it is?  Fortunately I made this myself so it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.   This also applies to how many French words are in the name, this recipe has no French words in the title, but it sure encompassed a lot of  French techniques.  After trying a true French recipe tho, I don’t mind paying the arm and a leg at a restaurant for anything with French words in the name anymore because wow, this took a long time and it had a lot of steps.  They pay a lot of attention to the texture of a dish – for example, all the vegetable were blanched separately, then ice bathed, then reincorporated with sauce back into the dish, giving it a crisper texture and a more vibrant color.  Is it worth spending an extra hour prepping for it?  Probably not, but it sure was challenging and thus fun to try.

Ingredients: YES THIS IS A LOT OF STUFF.

For the Marrow:

• 8 pieces of Marrow Bone cut 1.5 inches long
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• kosher salt
• canola oil

For the Short Ribs:

• 8 pieces of bone-in short ribs (~7-8 oz each)
• Red Wine Marinade (see marinade ingredients)
• canola oil
• kosher salt and ground black pepper
• flour for dusting
• 2 to 3 cups of veal stock – I’m omitting the recipe for this, I used a beef broth with a tablespoon of veal demi-glaze.
• 2 to 3 cups of chicken stock – I’m omitting the recipe for this as well, I used pre-made chicken stock.

For the Red Wine Marinade:

• 1 750-ml bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon is recommended)
• 1/2 cup carrots cut into 1-inch mirepoix
• 2/3 cup leeks cut into 1-inch mirepoix, white and pale green parts only
• 1/2 cup onions cut into 1-inch mirepoix
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 10 sprigs of italian parsley
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf

For the Root Vegetables:

• 2 medium carrots
• 2 small parsnips
• 2 small turnips cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 baby leeks or small scallions (I used scallions)
• 16 white pearl onions, peeled
• 16 red pearl onions, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup tomato diamonds
• 3 tablespoons chopped italian parsley

For garnish and finishing:

• Canola oil
• gray salt (I just used kosher salt)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Directions:

This is the exact steps I took to make this and this is my interpretation of this recipe, for the real recipe and more in depth explanation of why things are done certain ways, buy French Laundry Cookbook!

1. First Make the Red Wine Marinade by combining all marinade ingredients in a wide pot and bring to a boil.
2. Set it on fire and let all the alcohol burn off.
3. Set it on fire again and again and again until it won’t catch on fire anymore.  They explain that the alcohol in the wine cooks the exterior of the meat and doesn’t do much for actually marinating.  But if you ever watch Ted Allen’s show on the food network about food myths, he explains that you can never cook off all the alcohol, the most you can burn off is like 30-40%.  [end-science-nerd]
4. Let it cool and combine with short ribs in a big ziplock bag to marinade for 8-24 hours, turning it at least once.  I did about 20.
5. Prepare your marrow bones now by soaking them in ice water for about 20 minutes.
6. Push it out with your fingers after the soak, if it doesn’t come out, soak them in warm water for a minute and it should loosen.
7. Soak the marrow pieces in a bow l of ice water for 12 to 24 hours, change the water every 6 to 8 hours to get rid of the blood that might be in the marrow.  I soaked them until I needed to use them.
8. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
9. Remove the meat from the marinade and set aside.
10. Strain the marinade into a saucepan and reserve the vegetables.  I cut a hole at the bottom of my ziplock bag because I’m S-M-R-T.
11. Bring the marinade to a simmer and clarify it by skimming the gross stuff that rises to the top – this is from all the blood in the raw meat, yucky.  Remove from heat.
12. Heat 1/8 inch of canola oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Season ribs with salt and pepper and dust with flour, pat off excess.
13. Place meat in hot oil and cook for 2-3 minutes on all sides until well browned.
14. Remove meat to a dutch oven or an oven proof pot and make sure it’s only 1 layer.
15. Pour off the excess oil from the pan and return to heat, sautée the vegetables until carmelized.
16. Place the vegetables on top of the ribs evenly.
17. Add the marinade, and the 2-3 cups of chicken and veal stocks, the meat should be covered.  I would use 3 cups, more sauce is good.
18. Bring liquid to a simmer on the stove and cover it with a lid, or a parchment paper lid.  Transfer to oven, bake for about 4 hours or until meat is very tender.
19. Here you can start on your vegetable prep/cooking while the meat is making your house smell really nice.  Cut the carrots and turnips using the oblique cut.  This is where you hold your knife at a 45 degree angle, and turn your vegetable about 90 degrees with every cut, starting from the thin end.  When the carrot or turnip gets too thick, slice it in half or fourths, and continue cutting.  Keep the carrots and turnips separate.  Cut your turnips as well.
20. Blanch the carrots, turnips, and parsnips in boiled salted water that’s sweetened with a bit of sugar until completely tender.  Remove the vegetables and chill in ice water.  When they are completely cooled, drain and set aside.
21. Add the leeks/green onions to the boiling water and blanch until tender.  Remove and chill in ice water, drain when completely cooled and set aside.
22. Repeat blanching with white pearl onions, drain, ice bath, cooled, set aside.
23. Repeat with red pearl onions and add the 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar which helps to keep the red color, drain, ice bath, cooled, set aside.
24. Here you might want to curse the French in some French words because you are sick of cooking by this point and just want to eat some food.  Drink a glass of wine.
25. When your ribs are done, remove the meat from the pot and strain the liquid into a tall narrow container.  Discard the vegetables.  Don’t worry about the meat getting cold at this point.
26. Skim the fat off of the top of the braising liquid in the tall narrow container (tall and narrow so this step is easier), and strain it through a chinois until the chonois is clean.  I don’t have a chinois, I used a normal strainer, oh muddy chunky sauce, woe is me. Reserve 1/3 of the braising liquid.
27. Now you are ready to complete the dish and put everything together, finally.
28. Chop up your tomato diamonds.  Why are they diamonds?  Because they are pretty duh.  I have no idea.  To make tomato diamonds, cut your tomato into fourths.  then remove all seeds and insides so you’re left with the outer layer of the tomato.  Place the skin side down, cut it first into strips.  Then cut it on a 45 degree angle to create diamonds.
29. Add all your cooked vegetables (minus the green onions) into a pot, along with the tomato diamonds, add some braising liquid to just cover the veggies.  Warm them up gently.  Add the chopped parsley.
30. Reduce the braising liquid from step 26 into a saucy consistency (about 2 cups).
31. In a skillet that will hold all the ribs in one layer, heat up 1/8 inch of canola oil over medium high heat.  Place the ribs in the pan and cook until golden brown on all sides, for about 30 seconds on each side.  If your ribs are still warm, they will probably take less time.  Take them out and place in another pan.
32. Add the remaining reserved braising liquid to the pan, bring the liquid and ribs to a simmer, keep warm at ~300 degrees until ready to serve.
33. Cook your bone marrow at this time.  Drain and dry the bone marrow pieces and trim the ends of each to create a flat surface.  Salt and flour, tap off excess.
34. Heat 1/8 inch of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot (not smoking tho).  If the oil is too cold the marrow will melt, if it’s too hot the flour will burn.
35. Cook the marrow pieces 30-45 seconds per end, then lay it down on their sides and roll them to brown.  The outside should be crispy, the inside should be gelatinous.
36. Now you are ready to plate!!  Use a slotted spoon and place vegetables on each serving plate.
37. Place the leeks/green onions in the braising liquid to warm a little.
38. Place the short ribs on top of the vegetables and spoon the reduced sauce over the sides so it lightly coats the meat and drizzles onto the vegetables.
39. Lay a piece of bone marrow over the top of each rib.
40. Sprinkle gray salt (or kosher salt) and the chopped chives over the ribs.
41. Top each with a baby leek/green onion.
42. Eat it with a lot of good wine, and not make another crazy French recipe in a long time.

Was it worth the trouble?  It was very delicious and the red wine marinade wasn’t as strong as I thought it was going to be.  It did however take a span of 2 days to prepare, but I’ve done the same for bread so why not!  It did enlighten me on why exactly French restaurants are so damn expensive, and why French techniques are used (although I’m still perplexed by the practical application of a tomato diamond).  Would I make this again, probably, but I will be taking a lot more shortcuts!!

How to make a successful macaron you ask?

• First and foremost, measure very carefully.  The wrong proportions, even a little bit, can be disastrous.  A kitchen scale is an invaluable tool here, so you better have one.
• Second, leave your egg whites sit out for a few days, this really does help the texture come together.
• Third, measure your egg whites on your kitchen scale as well!  The whole “3 egg whites” just doesn’t cut it here, that was the epic fail moment of my first batch where I over measured the almonds, and ended up with three eggs with giant yolks and no whites.
• Fourth, size them properly (and try to make them all the same size), and don’t underbake.  I ended up with a giant macaroon at the end where I had extra dough, the size difference caused it to under bake and when it was moved, it totally collapsed with a raw center.
• Fifth, if #4 happens, just eat it ok?  It goes along with the rules of “eat it if it’s too ugly“.

I ended up using a modified recipe from Tartelette because she had exact measurements to the gram, and that’s exactly what I needed after the initial macaron catastrophe.

For the shells:

• 90 grams egg whites (about 3)
• 30 grams granulated sugar
• 200 grams powdered sugar
• 110 grams almonds
• 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg  (I ran out of nutmeg, so I replaced it with more cinnamon)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.
3. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar and spices in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground.  (I found that my food processor wasn’t breaking up the almonds fine enough, so I let it go for about 3 minutes, the mixture should be powder-like.)  Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 20-22 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.

I didn’t have a pastry bag, so I used a plain plastic bag and inserted it into a tall glass and filled it with the crust mixture.  Then I cut a hole at one of the ends and it piped perfectly.  Although I’m still going to purchase a pastry bag with some tips in the future!

I experimented with both the parchment paper and a baking mat because I read that a baking mat helped them rise better, I saw no difference in my macarons, but they were much easier to get off of the parchment paper and stuck a bit to the baking mat.  So I would not recommend using a baking mat for this.  The baking mat does provide pretty pictures tho! :)

The filling was a simple buttercream and I also used one of Tartelette’s recipes.

Vanilla Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup (100grams) sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded (you can substitute vanilla extract here if necessary)

Directions:

1. Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.
2. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
4. Add the seeds from the vanilla bean to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

I only used about half of the buttercream for this batch of macaron shells.  Out of the 18 that I baked, 2 or 3 were destroyed, so I only had 7 macarons in the end.  My next attempt, I will make the shells smaller and daintier!

This is a little treat that my mom would make when I was growing up. It’s not the traditional mooncake you’d see in the chinese supermarket so it’s not super popular, and I had a hell of a time finding a recipe for this. I asked my mom for her recipe, she sent me something with notes like “I don’t really remember this part” and “I think this is what I put in it.”

So, the Evie Network Test Kitchen went to work on deciphering this recipe, and after about 3 different tries and 60 minutes total in the oven, I’ve found the winning combination!

The dough on this mooncake very flaky, and traditionally made by rolling together alternating layers of oily dough and flour that has been stir-fried in oil. This crust has a very similar texture to puff pastry. For simplicity’s sake, I didn’t stir fry anything in oil because wow that seems overkill.
Dough:
Water Dough:
2 cups of flour
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp sugar

Oil Dough:
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup shortening (you should use lard for this, I just had extra shortening to use up)
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
2 green onion stalks, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt
pepper
Mix filling together and set aside.

			Mix the water dough and oil dough separately. Wrap the water dough in plastic and let sit for about 30 minutes to relax, this makes rolling easier.
			Separate the dough into 16 equal pieces. Keep them covered with the plastic wrap when you are working so they don’t get dried out. You could also roll all the dough at once ala puff pastry instead of each piece individually, but rolling big pieces of dough requires a lot of precision that I don’t quite have ;)
			Roll a piece of water dough out into a 2″ x 1″ rectangle, and place a piece of oil dough that is 1″ x 1″ on top. This doesn’t have to be precise, as long as you maintain a 2×1 ratio. You can also use a tri-fold which is what they use for classic french puff pastry – this would increase the layers as you fold the dough. But for mooncakes, a two fold is enough since we won’t be folding as much as puff pastry.
			Fold the other side over so it looks like a little dough taco. Use your rolling pin, and roll it again into a rectangle that maintains the 2×1 ratio. Fold the dough over and repeat the rolling process. Do this about 4 times. I experimented with more layers, but beyond 4 or 5 folds, it didn’t seem to add any extra texture difference in the dough. It could also be my awful rolling skills as well!
			Roll the dough out into a round, about 6″ in diameter. Place a generous amount of filling in the middle, and use the wrapping technique illustrated here. I do it a little differently by holding the entire thing in my hand, but it’s hard to explain without pictures, and hard to take pictures when both hands are occupied ;) You will need either some water or egg whites brushed around the perimeter of the dough to help it adhere when wrapping.
			Place the mooncake upside down so the smooth dough side is facing upwards. Shape it into a patty by patting it down. Arrange them on a well greased cookie sheet. Brush them with an egg wash (1 egg, with 1 tbsp of water), and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Traditionally you would put a red dot of food coloring on the top to signify the filling – because you don’t want to bite into a mooncake expecting a sweet filling, and then get a mouthful of meat.
			Eat the mooncake for the autumn festival!

For dinner tonight, I used the leftover brioche dough I had from earlier this week. Stuffed it with a curried ground turkey mix and it was delicious! I am really awful at dividing up dough so I ended up with 11 buns.

“Stacy: hahah
dozen = 12
baker’s dozen = 13
eve’s dozen = 11″

I will get my kitchen scale from Amazon this week so maybe I’ll weigh my dough and make sure they are divided evenly… (but most likely not because I’m way too lazy to do that)

Brioche Bun stuffed with Curried Turkey
Dough:
Use the brioche dough from the post linked above.
Filling:

• 1/2 lb of ground turkey
• 1/4 cup of chopped onions
• 1/4 cup peas (frozen is fine)
• 1/4 cup corn (frozen is fine)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash of salt and pepper
• curry powder to taste

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey and onion in the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add peas and corn and cook for about 2 minutes. Add curry powder until it’s tasty. Fill brioche like the recipe linked above. Bake, and Eat.