Lobster and Crab Roll

I put a little twist on this classic summer sandwich.  We had to kick off the summer with a BBQ and this was a great appetite starter.  I made 16 rolls and had plenty of left overs, so you can make the recipe for half the amount.  This recipe feeds 8-12 costs $60 and takes about 1.5 hours.

1 - 4 lb lobster, steamed and meat removed
1 - 1lb jumbo lump crab, picked thru for shells
8 ramps, thin sliced (shallots are a good substitute)
1.5 sticks premium butter
6oz creme fraiche
1 teaspoon fresh marjoram
salt and white pepper
16 split top hot dog buns

Start a medium saucepan on medium low heat.  Cook ramps for 10 minutes in 1 tablespoon of butter until softened.  Add remaining butter and creme fraiche until melted together.  Add marjoram, slat and pepper and then fold in chopped up lobster meat and lump crab.  Let simmer 10 minutes stir very gently and then turn off the heat.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Spoon meat into toasted rolls and serve with a lemon wedge.  Buon apetito!

Crab Crusted Norwegian Salmon, Braised Endive, Crispy Potatoes, Scallion Brown Butter

It has been a while since I made a post.  Probably because I haven't gone food shopping since Hurricane Sandy.  Now that I have finally found some time on a Sunday, I decided to make myself a nice, protein rich lunch.  This take 30 minutes, costs $18 and feeds one.

Crab Crusted Salmon
6oz piece Norwegian Salmon
3oz lump crab claw meat
5 scallions, fine chopped
1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoon panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Add butter to a small sautee pan on medium and scallions.  Cook until the butter browns, the add the crab meat, bread crumbs and mustard.  Mix well.
Preheat oven to 350. Start a medium saute pan on medium heat.  Add 2 teaspoons of oil and sear salmon skin side down.  Place the pan in the oven, let cook for 7 minutes, then remove.
Top the salmon with the crab meat.  Use remaining brown butter to sauce the plate.

Crispy Potatoes and Braised Endive
1 small white potato, sliced into 1/4 rounds
1 small endive, halved
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons of olive oil

Small medium pan on medium heat, add butter and oil.  Place potatoes in oil and let cook on each side for about 7 minutes or until golden.  Once potatoes are done add in endive, cut side down.  Let cook 5 minutes or until carmelized.

Plate it all up and garnish with the remaining scallion tops.  Buon Apetito!

Diver Sea Scallop, Crab and Egg Yolk Sauce, Black Perigord Truffles

This was the second course in the truffle experiment.  This takes about 20 minutes, feeds two and costs about $20.

Crab and Egg Yolk Sauce
1/8 cup jumbo lump crab meat
2 yolks only, farm raised egg
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon butter, softned

Using a double boiler whish egg yolks over the heat in a large mixing bowl.  They will increase in volume after 2 or 3 minutes.  Now add the butter and the chives and whisk again.  Toss in crab and mix thoroughly.  Season with salt and white pepper.

I pan seared the scallop in butter and olive oil along with some diced shallot.  I topped the dish with fresh truffle shaves and it was amazing.  It may have been my favorite one of all. Buon Apetito!

Seafood Lasagna

This is the second part to our dinner party this past Saturday. I made a variation of this dish about 6 years ago and haven't done it since. It is a time consuming and detailed recipe but when you get it all right there may be no other better lasagna in the world. To add to the awesomeness of this recipe my friend Shawn caught some Florida lobsters while out on the boat earlier that day, and fresh is always best. Another big thanks to my buddy Josue for Sous cheffing this dish with me.

This recipe feeds 8 to 10 people and I made two trays (one small, one big). Total time is about 3 hours. Total cost: priceless (about $80)

Seafood Lasagna
1/4 cup pancetta, diced
2 oz EV olive oil
1/2 cup medium white onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup orange bell pepper, diced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
1 lb of u25 peeled, deveined shrimp, cut into 5 equal piece each
1 lb of sea scallops, cut to into the same size as the shrimp (about 4 per scallop)
8 oz jumbo lump crab meat
8 oz fresh Florida lobster, chopped in 1/2 squares (same size as shrimp)
1 lb fresh spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1.5 cups of whole milk Ricotta cheese
1 pint of heavy cream (2 cups)
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup grated Parmesan chesse, grated
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
10 sheets of fresh semolina pasta dough, a little bigger then the lasagna pan.
Here is my Homemade Pasta Recipe (Thickness level of 3 for lasagna)

Get a large stock pot filled with water and about two tablespoons of salt started on high heat. This will be for the pasta which we will cook right at the end.

Start a large sauce pot on low heat (1 of 10). Add the pancetta to the pan and let it cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. This will render the fat out of the pancetta, you could substitute bacon, but pancetta is WAY better. Once the pancetta is browned remove it from the pan, dice it up and reserve it for later, but leave the fat. Add the olive oil and they onions, carrots, garlic, and bell pepper and let cook for 15 minutes or until it almost melted. Turn it up to medium low (3 of 10) and add the seafood, without the crab (its cooked). Stir often to make sure you cook the seafood through evenly, only about five minutes. Now add the crab meat and the chopped spinach. Mix it up and let that cook for 3 minutes. Add the seasonings, herbs, heavy cream, ricotta, butter and the reserved pancetta mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Now add most of the grated Parmesan and Pecorino and turn back down to simmer(reserve about 1/4 cup of cheese). Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.



Now add your fresh pasta sheets to the water two at a time and let them cook for about 5 minutes or until al dente, do not overcook them as it will lose an important texture factor and structural component of the lasagna. Remove them from the water and drain. This works well if you have a pasta insert or large strainer to pull the sheets out. Repeat until all the sheets are cooked.



In a large lasagna pan (I used a Pyrex 15"x10"x2" pan and a Pyrex 9"x9" square) add a large spoon full of the liquid from the seafood sauce to coat the bottom of the pans, this prevents the pasta from sticking to the bottom. Now add two pasta sheets making sure to overlap them in the center by about 1/2 and inch. Now trim the excess so the sheets fill the pan perfectly, but leaving no spot uncovered. Now scoop the seafood mixture on top of the pasta, spread it evenly (about 1/3 for the large and 1/6 for the small pan). Sprinkle with some of the grated cheese you had reserved. Top that with two more fresh pasta sheets, make sure to overlap the center and trim the outside to fit the pan. Add the second part of the mixture to each pan and sprinkle on more grated cheese (about 1/3 for the large and 1/6 for the small pan). Reserve about 1/2 a cup of just liquid from the seafood mix for the top. Finally add the top two sheets and spoon the reserved liquid evenly on top, sprinkle a bit more cheese on top. Place it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove and let it stand for at least ten minutes, this will allow it to firm up and not run all over when you serve it. Garnish, slice and serve. I also made some garlic bread to go along with it so that I could soak up all the seafood goodness.



We had a total of 8 people and this dish worked out perfectly. Everyone cleaned their plates and I had a whole small pan leftover for Sunday football. It was great the second day also. Between the soup and lasagna we had a little side salad that consisted of arugula, sliced pear, red onion, toasted pumpkin seeds and a white balsamic vinaigrette. Thanks everyone for eating and cleaning, I had a great time. This may have to become a regularly scheduled event.

Seafood Thai Green Curry

Thai green curry is a flavor packed meal, thats becuase there are so many ingredients to work with. For beginners, I recommend buying the green curry paste and then graduating to making that paste when you have the other parts of the dish down.

Green Curry Paste
1/2 cup basil (thai if you can find it)
1/2 cup cilantro
6 green chilis (thai if you find)
1 tablespoon ground ginger (galingol)
1 tablespoon ground garlic
1 shallot or 1/4 red onion
3 green onions chopped
1 piece of lemon grass
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 bay leaf
cumin, coriander, salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. I used finger hot, Anaheim, habanero and jalapeño chillies because they didn't have Thai chilis.



Once you have the green curry paste you can begin making the rest of the dish. The curry paste will last about a week in the fridge if you want to make extra to save.

Seafood Vegetable Thai Green Curry

1 pound peeled deveined shrimp (u24 is a good size)
1/2 pound bay scallops
8oz jumbo lump crab meat (any crab meat will suffice)

1 thai eggplant, chopped large
1 cup broccoli and cauliflower mix
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 can of bamboo shoots, julienned

1 cup of Thai green curry paste
2 cans lite coconut milk

1 handful of unsalted cashews (I had salted so I rinsed them in cold water)
1/2 cup of basil
1/2 cup cilantro

Garnish
Sliced Avocado
Green onions
Cilantro
Basil
Lime wedges

Start a large cooking vessel or wok on medium high heat. Add vegetable oil to coat the bottom and add you vegetables, cover. After 5 minutes remove the veggies and add your seafood. Stir to cook evenly, after 5 minutes remove and set aside, they will cook through in the curry. Add green curry paste to the pot and let it cook for 1 minute, do worry they will bring out all of the flavor. Add the coconut milk and mix it through, let it cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and add the veggies and the seafood. Let cook for twenty minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cashews, cilantro and basil.



I also boiled up some nice jasmine rice and added a little coconut oil and salt. The lump crab meat made the dish so rich and coated all of the other items in the mix. We had our friends Sean & Dana over for dinner. They both know their Thai food well and we all cleaned our plates so I was happy with my first try at Thai Curry from scratch.