Crab and Artichoke Spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce

I really, really love crab cakes. My husband likes to laugh at me, because if we go to a restaurant with crab cakes on the menu? There is a 73% chance that that will be what I order. I just can’t help it! Crab is so delicious – and let’s be honest, the good stuff is mighty expensive at the grocery store. So, it’s not often that I buy crab to cook with… but I happened to have a small container of lump crab left over from a brunch gathering, and I knew I had to find a delicious way to use it up. It wasn’t enough for crab cakes, so I played my usual game of “what random items from my fridge can I use to make this into a meal?” I came up with artichoke hearts, heavy cream, and lemon, and this pasta dish was born!

Crab and Artichoke Spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce
serves 4 as a main course (it’s RICH, so we had smaller portions than we might typically eat when we’re having pasta)

1 lb spaghetti
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
8 oz lump crab meat, picked over for shells
1 can artichoke hearts packed in water, rough-chopped
4 oz dry white wine
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
kosher salt and pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 – 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
zest of one large lemon
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1.) Set your pasta water to boil. In the meantime, heat a large pot over medium heat, and add the olive oil and butter. Once the pan is hot, add the artichokes; saute them for a few minutes, without stirring too much. You want the artichokes to caramelize at the edges and get some nice, golden brown color.

2.) Once the artichokes have started to caramelize, add the crab, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and a good pinch each of kosher salt and pepper. Stir everything to combine, and let it all cook together for a minute or so. (When the pasta water is ready, salt it well with a big handful of kosher salt, and then drop your spaghetti in!)

3.) Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and let it cook down until the liquid is reduced by half, a minute or two.

4.) Add the heavy cream and parmesan to the pan, and stir well. Once the sauce comes to a low boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add another pinch each of kosher salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer away until the pasta is ready.

5.) When the pasta is just about ready, turn the heat on the sauce down to low, and add the lemon zest. Taste for seasoning; if it tastes a bit bland, add another pinch of salt and taste again. Also, you should notice the slightly nuttiness of the parmesan; if you don’t, throw in a little bit more!

6.) Add the hot pasta directly to the sauce, and toss to coat. Add a small ladle of the pasta water to the sauce, and toss again until everything is well combined.

7.) Portion the pasta in to bowls, top with some chopped parsley, and serve!

This pasta was a great way to enjoy some crab, without spending a million dollars. It had plenty of crab flavor, and the crab didn’t get overwhelmed by any of the other ingredients. The artichoke hearts added a nice meatiness to the pasta – and really, who can argue with a combination of heavy cream, lemon, and parmesan cheese?? Not me, that’s for sure.

I know you’re not supposed to mix seafood and cheese, but trust me, THIS WORKS,
Tina

Philadelphia Roll Stacks

Of all the weird, interesting, different foods I’ve tried to make over the years, one specific food has never appealed to me: sushi. I loooooove me some sushi for EATING… but learning to MAKE sushi has never sounded like much fun. I’m sure that one day, I’ll suddenly feel a need to make sushi, and I’ll run out and buy $50 worth of tools and supplies, and then come back here to declare to you how much I LOVE, OMG, LOVE making sushi at home… but for now, my sushi-eating remains in restaurants, where someone ELSE puts together my dinner.

All that being said: this meal is really, really sushi-like, without 90% of the fuss. Last week, my mom and sister and I threw a wedding shower for a dear family friend, and when it was all over I had an extra package of smoked salmon left. I thought for a while about what to do with it, and eventually it lead me to the idea of a Philadelphia roll! The Philadelphia roll is one of my favorites – smoked salmon, cream cheese, and avocado (though I’ve also had it with asparagus, on occasion). I figured that rather than rolling it up, I could just make it into a nice little stack, and it would taste much the same… and I was right!

This dish is SO light and refreshing. I added a sauce to the whole thing, partially because I knew I had to incorporate soy sauce to give it a genuine sushi taste and feel, and partially because I wanted to add a little spice (a Philadelphia roll doesn’t typically have a spicy sauce in it, but this is the advantage of making my own rules in my own kitchen). I went to the trouble of making the presentation really nice, but it’s worth noting that my husband’s second and third servings (yes, he had three servings) consisted of all the ingredients piled on to a plate unceremoniously, and the taste was just as fantastic.

Philadelphia Roll Stacks
serves 4 as a light dinner, or starter course

4 oz cream cheese (I use the light version)
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 medium avocados, diced small
4 oz smoked salmon, 1/2″ dice
1 T sesame seeds
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 T sriracha
1 T mirin (or 2 t brown sugar, if you don’t have mirin)
1 T rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
kosher salt and pepper

*To make these neat and pretty stacks, I used a 3″ biscuit cutter to layer my ingredients into. You can certainly use a cleaned tuna can with both the top and bottom taken off, or another shape of cookie cutter, or just stack everything together all willy-nilly. Your taste buds won’t know the difference, I swear.

1.) Start by cooking your rice; I always use the 90-second microwave bags of rice, because they’re quick, easy, and I don’t end up ruining an enameled cast iron pot by burning the rice (not that I’ve ever done that… RIP Martha Stewart dutch oven). While the rice cooks, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce: soy sauce, sriracha, mirin, rice wine vinegar, garlic powder, and a small pinch each of salt and pepper. Feel free to add more sriracha to taste. While the rice is still warm, pour about 2/3 of the sauce over it, and stir to combine. The warm rice will absorb the sauce as it sits.

2.) Toss the sesame seeds into a dry pan over medium low heat, and toast them until they’re lightly golden brown and fragrant. Set aside.

3.) For each serving, spread one ounce of cream cheese as the base. Top with half a cup of the brown rice mixture, then half a diced avocado. Once you’ve added the avocado, sprinkle that layer with some kosher salt – don’t be shy, the avocado really needs the salt for optimal flavor! Finish with an ounce of diced smoked salmon, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. Feel free to add more sauce, if you’d like. Serve immediately.

Yeah, so, we’ve already agreed to put this one on a regular rotation. It’s just so good – and so EASY! It really took about 10 minutes to make, and that’s because I was insistent on making it into a neat, fancy stack. It’s super filling (one stack made a great dinner for me, though I’d add a simple green salad on the side next time), and also really healthy – good fats, lots of protein, whole grains. I mean, what’s better than a dinner that makes you look like some kind of fancy rock star chef, because the presentation is so pretty, but also allows you to feel SUPER SMUG about how health-conscious and virtuous you are?? Win-win, my friends.

“Oh, this? I just whipped it up real quick, it was NO BIG DEAL!”
Tina

Watermelon, Feta, and Mint Salad

I am not typically a big lover of watermelon. Every summer, I see people getting so excited when the season for good watermelon rolls into town, and I think… “Eh. It’s just… watermelon.” It’s just never gotten me real excited.

However, for reasons that cannot be explained, all winter long I had the urge to make a watermelon and feta salad. It just kept nagging at me in the back of my mind – and, of course, winter is not the time to be making a watermelon salad! (At least not if you want it to be good.) So, when the giant bin of watermelons finally showed up at my Trader Joe’s, I grabbed one and set forth to fulfill my dream of a watermelon salad. (It’s worth noting that watermelon is one of those words that starts to look and sound REALLY STRANGE when you use it too much, as I am doing here. WATERMELON WATERMELON WATERMELON.)

Watermelon, Feta, and Mint Salad
serves 10-12 as a side dish

about 1/2 a 5lb watermelon, cut into 1″ cubes
6 oz block of feta, cut into 1/2″ cubes
about 20 mint leaves, chiffonade*
juice of one orange
juice of one lemon
3 T olive oil
1-2 T honey
kosher salt
black pepper

*All this means is that you should stack up the mint leaves, roll them up into a little log, and then slice the log into 1/8″ to 1/4″ wide pieces. This will give you lots of pretty little ribbons of mint!

1.) In a small bowl or jar, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, honey, and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Whisk or shake until fully combined. (If your watermelon is not super sweet, use more toward 2 tablespoons of honey.)

2.) Take a large, wide serving bowl, and put about half the cubed watermelon in the bottom. Top with half the feta, and half the mint. Pour 1/3 to 1/2 the dressing over the top (you may not end up using it all), and then make a second layer of all the ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for up to 2 hours.

You could certainly toss all the ingredients together, but layering them keeps the feta from breaking up too much and making the whole salad look a little murky. It looks beautiful once it’s all put together – and tastes just as great! This salad is wonderfully refreshing, and the sweet/salty combination of the watermelon and feta is fantastic.

Of course, this salad would be perfect for a barbecue or outdoor party. If you want to make it ahead, I would just dice and chop everything ahead of time (as well as mixing up the dressing), and then layer it right before serving.

Raise your hand if one of your all time favorite movie lines is “I carried a watermelon.”,
Tina

Potato and Sausage Skillet with Baked Eggs

This past weekend, I did a whole lot of “using up what’s in the fridge”. I didn’t have a neatly laid out meal plan for Saturday and Sunday, but I did have a relatively full fridge – leftover bits of produce used in other recipes during the week, an ounce or two of a block of cheese I didn’t quite finish up, things like that. Luckily, all those things that were left behind after the week’s meals resulted in a few really delicious dishes – beginning with a potato and sausage hash with baked eggs!

Potato and Sausage Skillet with Baked Eggs
serves 4

olive oil
8oz red potatoes, cut into a 1/2″ dice
half a bell pepper, any color, 1/2″ dice
half a red onion, 1/2″ dice
8oz italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
kosher salt
black pepper
2oz white cheddar cheese, grated
4 eggs
fresh flat leaf parsley

Optional toppings:
halved cherry tomatoes
diced avocado
greek yogurt or sour cream

1.) Start by placing a large (oven proof, preferably cast iron) skill over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil to the pan, and let it get nice and hot. When the pan and oil are hot, add the potatoes, and spread them into a single layer in the pan. (Pro tip: the oil will be very, very hot – so, if you just toss the potatoes into the pan all willy-nilly? The oil WILL splash up on you and burn your forearms. Be gentle, if you care to keep the skin you have.)

2.) Allow the potatoes to cook for a good three minutes or so – they should be nice and brown (and release easily from the pan) before you start flipping them. Continue flipping them every few minutes until they’re golden brown, and ALMOST cooked through; they should still have a bit of bite to them, so they don’t end up overcooking in the oven. Sprinkle them with a generous pinch each of kosher salt and pepper.

3.) Remove the potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate. Add a touch more oil to the pan if needed, and add the bell pepper and onion to the pan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, and saute for a couple minutes, until the vegetables are starting to brown and soften.

4.) Preheat your oven to 375°. Push the vegetables to the side of the skillet, and add your sausage. Cook the sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spoon, until it’s browned and cooked through.

5.) Partially drain the can of diced tomatoes and chiles; you want a bit of liquid in there, to help deglaze the pan. Pour the tomatoes and what’s left of their liquid into the skillet, and use your wooden spoon to scrape up any delicious browned bits from the bottom. Add the potatoes back to the pan, stir everything together, and season with a touch more salt and pepper, the garlic powder, and red pepper flakes.

6.) Sprinkle half the grated cheddar over the hash. Use the back of your wooden spoon to create four small indentations in the hash; crack one egg into each indentation, and then sprinkle the remaining cheddar over the top.

7.) Place the skillet into the oven, and allow the hash to cook until the whites of the eggs are set, about 10 minutes. If you prefer a non-runny yolk, you’ll want to leave the skillet in the oven for 15-17 minutes.

8.) Remove the skillet from the oven; sprinkle with some chopped parsley, then roughly section the hash into 4 wedges (one egg in each), and serve with toppings of your choice.

What a delicious and filling breakfast! My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish – and it’s incredibly versatile. I happened to have some leftover turkey Italian sausage from making this pasta on Friday, so I used that – but you could use pork sausage, ground beef, or even some already cooked chicken sausages, diced. The vegetables can be switched up however you want – a different color bell pepper, a white or yellow onion, some leftover roasted brussels sprouts, etc. I will say, I inadvertently overcooked my eggs – but even without the runny egg yolk to coat the potatoes and vegetables, the whole thing was incredibly tasty.

This would make a great brunch dish for guests, as you could easily chop and prep all the vegetables ahead of time, to minimize active cooking time. Use slightly larger amounts of each ingredient, a few more eggs, and a bigger skillet, and you would easily have enough for 6 or 8 people. You could even make it vegetarian, by using a meat substitute in place of the sausage (or no meat at all)!

Some of my best ideas come from the saddest, loneliest items that got lost in the back of the fridge,
Tina