you so fancy.

here's a no-nonsense, impressive menu that takes about 2 hours total to prepare, including prep time.  identical cooking temperatures and methods allow you to cook things at the same time, assembly is a snap, and the food is incredible. 

maryland crab cakes

i'm from the eastern shore, i don't mess around.  i like my crab cakes like i like my men...with plenty of meat and no filler.  that being said...here is an authentic, eastern shore recipe for the most delicious crab cake you'll ever eat.

ingredients

1 lb. lump or back-fin crab meat, picked thr

ough for shells

4 saltine crackers, crushed

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 egg, beaten

dash Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

handful parsley, chopped

dash old bay seasoning

salt to taste

method

combine all ingredients, except crab, in a bowl.  carefully incorporate crab meat, mix with your hands, then form into 4 cakes.  let crab cakes chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

assemble into about 4 good-sized cakes

broil on an ungreased sheet for about 10 minutes on each side, or until tops are golden brown.

 *i am a little liberal with my seasoning application...and i also found that i needed to make a little more of the mixture in order to get all of the crab to stick together.

the aftermath... you should probably double the recipe.

roasted beet and orange endive salad

 (a.k.a. love canoes).  don't be shy to eat these with your fingers.

ingredients

2 small beets (reserve stems and leaves)

2 oranges (reserve zest of one)

1 head endive

juice of one lemon

olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

method

remove stems and leaves from beets.  wrap beets in tin foil and roast at 415 for 45 minutes to one hour, until tender.  (stick around your kitchen as it begins to smell heavenly as the beets roast).

while beets roast, carefully remove endive leaves, wash and pat dry.  assemble on a platter.  zest one orange, set zest aside.  peel the oranges, then slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch wheels.  nestle each wheel inside the endive leaves.

to make the dressing, combine orange zest, lemon juice, and sugar.  slowly add olive oil, stirring constantly until emulsified.  season to taste.

once beets are cool, carefully remove them from foil, peel them, then dice them.  (beet juice stains... be careful!)  scatter diced beets on top of the orange ad endive boats, then drizzle with the dressing.

snazzy-ass yams

an easy, unbelievably delicious side that is versatile enough to serve with a variety of meals.  try adding the spices from whatever main dish you are cooking to complement them (in this case, a little old bay sprinkled on before broiling is delicious!)

ingredients

2 yams, peeled and diced

olive oil

salt and pepper

paprika

brown sugar

method

coat diced yams with a thin layer of olive oil.  add salt and pepper, toss with hands to coat evenly.  spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 415 for about 20 minutes (they can go in with the beets...hooray for simultaneous roasting!)

once out of the oven, sprinkle with paprika and brown sugar, then pop in the oven again, this time with the broiler on, and broil until the tops of the yams are a little charred.  (again, these can go in with the crab cakes when they are ready to be broiled.)

sauteed beet greens

remember those greens you reserved from the love canoes?  here is where they come in handy.  these greens are really rich and have a delightful flavor... the texture is comparable to sauteed spinach, but with more substance and less soggy.  they have a great, buttery, peppery taste. 

ingredients

greens and leaves of 2-3 beets, washed and stems removed

2-3 cloves garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

white wine

method

heat olive oil and garlic in a saute pan.  add greens, wine, and seasoning.  saute for 10 minutes or until tender.  easy.com.

plate these first, then top the bed of greens with a crabcake.  ohmygoshyum.

fruit and booze...the food of the gods.

orange amaretto cake with strawberries

ingredients

topping:

1 pint fresh strawberries

1/2 c. sugar

amaretto to taste

cake:

1 1/2 c. cake flour*

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, @ room temperature

3 large eggs

1 1/2 c. whole milk ricotta cheese

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one orange

2-3 tbsp amaretto

method

preheat oven to 350.  grease a medium loaf pan with butter.

cap and quarter the strawberries.  place in a bowl, combine with 1/2 c. sugar and drizzle with amaretto, to taste.  cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

in a large mixing bowl, combine cake flour, salt and baking powder.  in another bowl, cream together butter, ricotta, and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy like an angel cloud.  keeping the beater going, add the eggs one at a time, waiting until each egg is incorporated before adding the next.  then add zest, vanilla, and amaretto until just combined.  incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet one cup at a time, stirring gently until just incorporated (you want it to stay fluffy and delightful!)

pour into the buttered loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

to serve: let cake cool completely.  drizzle each slice with the macerated, drunken strawberries and dust with a little confectioner's sugar if you're feeling super classy.

let each bite of the cake melt on your tongue and feel like your transported up to mt. olympus to hang out with zeus, hera, and the whole gang. 

dough-zilla

the cloudy, drizzly skies that hung over us this past weekend were not fit for playing outside, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity for jordan and me to try our hands at making another loaf of the long-heralded crusty-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside tuscan bread. i will be the first to admit i was a bit jealous of his solo bread-baking success (after i had tried twice and failed, his matched attempts produced delicious, warm, perfect bread).
so we found a recipe which, to our delight, did not require a trip to the grocery store to find obscure ingredients. 2 packets of yeast, water, flour (whole wheat and all purpose), salt. easy.

we were a little off-put at the amount of yeast the recipe called for (two entire packages?  yikes!)  nevertheless... we watched carefully, vigilantly, while 5-7 minutes passed as we waited for the yeast to bubble. bubbling successful, we combined the remaining ingredients exactly as the recipe indicated. lovingly, i kneaded the dough, coaxing it into a lovely little round. gingerly placing it in the oiled bowl, we were ready to cover and let rise, when we encountered our first big dilemma: what kind of cover should go over the bowl, plastic wrap or a towel? after much debate, we settled on plastic wrap, our reasoning being that the plastic would better retain the heat that the dough gives off, causing it to rise more effectively.

the efficacy of the dough rising was exacerbated by the "warm spot" we selected to let the bread rise in: an open desk drawer which is aligned directly over a floor heating vent.

so after about twenty minutes when the dough was definitely twice, if not more, its original size, we were giving each other fives, totally impressed with our vastly improved skills as masters of bread baking. but we spoke too soon... not wanting to deter from the recipe's suggestions, we continued to let the bread rise for the recommended hour. by this time, it was touching the top of the plastic wrap and reeking of yeast (not a great sign, in hindsight...)
still, we continued the recipe's instructions to the letter... pounded the dough down, let it rest for a minute, shape into an oval, and let rise for another hour. sounds foolproof enough. except after 20 minutes, the dough somehow continued to grow even bigger, creeping off the edge of the floured board which weakly tried to support the expanding monstrosity.

well i am sure you can surmise the outcome of this catastrophe.  the loaf looked beautiful... but the taste was, well, like bread soaked in old cat pee.  the cause?  over-risen dough (duh.)

so, into the garbage went the failed loaf.  and just like the streets of tokyo at the hands of that famous gargantuan lizard, our hopes of enjoying a delicious, warm slice of bread fresh out of the oven, slathered with a bit of butter and jam, were pulverized.

more scallops? yes, please.

i can't get enough of these little guys. 

scallops provencal

ingredients

1 lb. day boat sea scallops

2 large shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, minced

1/3 c. white wine

4 tbsp. butter

1 lemon

salt and pepper

all-purpose flour, for dredging

method

sprinkle salt and pepper over scallops, then dredge in flour.

in a large saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. of butter.  add scallops and saute over medium heat in butter until lightly browned on both sides (this step should only take 3-4 minutes... be careful not to burn the butter!!)  

melt the rest of the butter in the same pan, then add shallots, garlic, and parsley for 2 minutes.  add the white wine (which helps to scrape up the little bits of browned butter and scallops from the bottom of the pan... yummm!)  cook for just a minute longer, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

remove from heat, squeeze with lemon juice before serving.

serve these with parmesan mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus for a simple, easy, impressive little dinner.