Happy New Year, friends! I know I haven’t posted a recipe in awhile but this particular mutation of crab and salmon cakes was such a hit at my New Year’s Open House, I had to share! If you try it, let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

All the best for 2012!
Suzi

BAKED ASIAN FISH CAKES with WASABI CREAM

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yellow onions, small dice
1/3 cup celery, small dice
1/4 cup red bell peppers, small dice
1/4 cup yellow bell peppers, small dice
1/8 cup seeded, diced jalapeno
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
½ pound lump crab meat, cleaned and picked for cartilage
10 oz. good quality, canned salmon, well-drained
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/3 cup finely diced water chestnuts (well chilled)
1/4 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
3 tablespoons hot mustard
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, (juice of 2 lemons)
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Tamari sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
¾ cup fine bread crumbs
¾ cup fine cornbread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Store bought wasabi cream sauce

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the crab meat, salmon, green onions, ginger, water chesnuts, grated cheese, cilantro, mustard, and juice of one lemon together. Mix to incorporate. Set the mixture aside.

In a medium bowl, briskly whisk together one egg and remainder of lemon juice for 1 minute. Slowly add 1/2 cup vegetable oil. The mixture will be thick after all the oil is incorporated. Add the Tamari, rice vinegar and hot sauce. Fold the sauteed vegetables into the crab mixture. Fold in the sauce mixture, second egg, bread & cornbread crumbs. Mix well, adding more bread crumbs if too moist to form cakes. Portion the filling into patties, about 2 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Arrange cakes on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 400º for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve warm with wasabi cream sauce (found in the international section of most supermarkets).

Last month I was asked to give a cooking demonstration at a wonderful facility in Orange Beach, Alabama, Beach C.I.T.E. Studios. It stands for Community Interactive Teaching Experiences and you can visit them at www.beachcitestudios.org/

It was the week of St. Patrick’s Day so I chose a traditional Irish dish to prepare, but true to form, I had to give it an untraditional twist. I took the potatoes out of the stew and made what’s called Boxty in Ireland – potato pancakes. Then I made the stew without the potatoes, strained the solids and made a Guinness reduction of the liquid…spooned the stew mixture over each pancake and drizzled with the reduction. It was a big hit!

I made it in two formats, as a main course with two 3 inch pancakes per plate and as an appetizer, cutting 1 inch cakes from a large pancake with a cookie cutter and topping each. I’d thought the tapas sized ones would be finger food but we needed forks still…

Here are the recipes. If you try them, let me know what your results were or any variations you’d like to share! Get the stew going first:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
salt & coarse ground pepper
1 1/4 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (for a more traditional Irish stew, substitute lamb)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 cups thickly sliced carrots
jalapeno
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups dark beer (I used Guinness Stout)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper (black and cayenne) to taste

In plastic storage bag combine flour, desired salt and pepper. Add stew meat. Shake to coat meat with flour.
Heat oil in 4 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned. Drain grease.
Add all remaining ingredients except parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until meat and vegetables are tender (1 to 1 ¼ hours). Stir in parsley before serving.

Next, make the Boxty. I’ve added rosemary to the traditional recipe because I think it rocks with potatoes and beef.

2 slices uncooked bacon, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 cup medium shredded potatoes (it’s perfectly fine to take the shortcut of using frozen,
commercial hashbrowns)
1 cup mashed potatoes (again, it’s fine to use commercial mashed potatoes or leftovers … just don’t use powdered or evaporated mashed potatoes!)
1 cup all-purpose baking mix (this is like Bisquick – if you don’t have it on hand, make your own – recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded cheese, Cheddar, Jack or Provolone, or a blend
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
chopped fresh rosemary to taste

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet cook bacon and onions until browned. Remove from skillet. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease. Set aside bacon and onions.

Meanwhile, in large bowl stir together all potatoes, baking mix, cheese, cooked bacon and onions. Stir in milk, egg and rosemary just until moistened.

Heat bacon grease in skillet over medium heat. Spoon four generous ¼ cups of potato mixture into skillet at a time (or a couple of larger cakes for the cookie cutter, depending on the size you’d like to serve. Just be sure they aren’t too large to be easily flipped.) Flatten slightly into pancakes. Cook each pancake about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Use additional vegetable oil in skillet if needed.

When the stew is ready, use a large, slotted spoon to remove the solids to a bowl. Add a half bottle of Guinness to the liquid in the pot and bring to a boil. (Drink the other half bottle, of course. ☺) Reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon.

Assemble on the plate, a drizzle of Guinness reduction topped by the boxty cakes, then beef stew mixture and finally, another drizzle of reduction. Fresh Italian parsley makes a nice green garnish, though I hesitate to awaken the rivalry … let’s just call it flat parsley!

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, or mix everything together in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
You can store the mixture at room temperature for about six weeks… or cut the recipe in half.

Sláinte!

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, or mix everything together in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
You can store the mixture at room temperature for about six weeks… or cut the recipe in half.

Very quick and easy, especially if you have a food processor, this flavorful slaw pairs well with grilled or roasted meats, such as my previous pork tenderloin post.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups thin sliced savoy cabbage

1 cup coarsely grated carrots

1 cup coarsely grated radish (daikon, if available)

2 cups red bell pepper, cut into strips

½ cup each fresh mint and cilantro

4 or 5 green onions, sliced

½ cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 TBSP each sesame and vegetable oils

2 or 3 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped

Combine cabbage through green onions in a large bowl.  Whisk the oils together with the chiles and season to taste with salt & pepper.  When ready to serve, toss dressing with the slaw and season with salt & pepper to taste.

3 cloves garlic, pressed

2 TBSP each:  lime juice, olive oil, thyme leaves, minced shallot and minced ginger

1/2 tsp each:  ground cinnamon & allspice, freshly grated nutmeg, coriander, salt & pepper

2 – 1 lb. pork tenderloins, silver skin removed and butterflied (cut lengthwise to unfold about 3/4 inch thick), which cuts down the cooking time and gives the spice rub more area to penetrate.

Whisk together all ingredients except pork, then pour over butterflied tenderloins, turning to coat.  Cover and refrigerate while marinating, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the oven “grill” and cast iron skillet or grill pan.  Lightly oil the pan and place on the top rack of your oven to preheat.  Set the temp as high as it’ll go, either 500º or 550º.  When it reaches that temp, switch the setting to broil, then carefully remove the pan and put the marinated pork in.  The cooking time will vary from kitchen to kitchen but for this well done’s probably close to 10 minutes.  Flip the meat halfway through cooking time to sear in the juices on both sides.  You’ll want an instant read meat thermometer (most grocery stores carry them) and when it’s inserted into the thickest  part of the meat it should peak at 160º for medium, 170º for well done.

Remove the meat from the pan and let it rest on a platter, tented with aluminum foil before slicing thin, on a diagonal, against the grain.  This is delicious with fresh apple sauce or just a sliced fruit like a plum, nectarine, mango or peach.  Also great with Savoy Slaw with Mint & Cilantro … recipe comin’ right up!

Hello Fellow Cooks,

I’m just now deciding what to make this Easter Sunday … and as I’m so predictably last minute, I’m opting for the quick and easy.  Not sure what my main course will be as of yet but I have decided on a Thai-flavored menu and have chosen this side dish:  Easter Peas & Coconut Rice

Take a half cup unsweetened, flaked coconut and toast in a large stock pot, stirring frequently until light brown, then remove and set aside.  Pour a teaspoon of canola or light olive oil into the same pot and saute 2 cups of jasmine or basmati rice until starting to brown, 5 or 6 minutes.  Add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste and saute another minute or two.

Add 3 cups chicken stock & 1 (15 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk.  Stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes.  Stir in 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/3 cup chopped cashews and 1 cup frozen green peas.

Serve with your favorite main course … green salad … favorite bread … chocolate bunny (maybe not) …and eat!

Happy Easter!

Suzi

Guest chef Chase Rivers joins Suzi for a special Valentine’s meal and performance. Free download of Suzi’s “My One & Only Valentine” on the Music page!

Suzi & Karen Brooks @ the Florabama

Hi Fellow Foodies,

Still re-entering my home life back in Nashville after a whirlwind weekend on the Gulf Coast at the Frank Brown International Songwriters’ Festival. So much fun! Thanks to everyone there who came out to my six different sets — there was so much great music to choose from I’m honored that you guys chose mine! Special thanks to Dave Chatham, Chancy Rogers and Bernie Toothaker of DC Lane for their musical & physical support. Not only great writers and players but invaluable help with all the logistics, setting up and tearing down… and irreplaceable as friends.

In keeping with my current trend, I decided to throw together a chili for my dinnertime gig at one of my favorite clubs, the Silver Moon. Slightly disoriented from Thursday & Friday’s festivities, I stumbled out to the parking lot around 7am Saturday and was rummaging around in my car for my soup pot & spices when much to my surprise, there was Karen Brooks! She’s the wild woman I’d shared the stage with at Florabama’s Wild Women Show the night before… wonderful writer and entertainer, we had a great time! Anyway, I told her what I was up to, carried my equipment back inside and started my grocery list… a few minutes later, a knock on my door and there she was again! This time bearing gifts, hot coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts … what an angel!

Finally to the supermarket, fortified and organized, I flew through the aisles collecting the following:

3 large, sweet onions
* small jar of peeled, minced garlic
8 poblano peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
4 anaheim peppers
4 large jalapenos
8 limes
2 bunches cilantro
* 3 freshly cooked rotisserie chickens
8 15oz. cans cannellini beans (great northerns)
* 4 11oz. cans tomatillos
* 8 32oz. boxes chicken broth
* 2 12oz. bags shredded Mexican cheese blend (you can substitute your cheese of choice)
olive oil
chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne (quantities to taste)
12 oz. your favorite beer or wine (this is for you to sip on in the afternoon while chopping – makes the chili taste better, I swear.)

* The ingredients with an asterisk beside them are time saving shortcuts. If you have the time and inclination you can peel and mince fresh garlic, cook your own chickens and use their carcasses to make homemade stock, husk and chop fresh tomatillos and pass a block of cheese to shred at the table. If you’re cooking 60-75 servings, however, I don’t recommend it

First task is to wash all the poblanos, bells, anaheims & jalapenos, half them, seed them and flatten, skin side up on a large cookie sheet in batches. Broil on high, 4 or 5 inches from the heating element for about 5 minutes, checking frequently. When the skins are blackened and bubbly, remove with tongs to a clean plastic bag and let steam until cool enough to handle.

By the time I got that done and everything else lined up, ready to process, I not only had Chancy over to help clean chickens but my new friend, Karen, returned to help with the chopping – she was a lifesaver that day and afforded me time to rehearse with my guys and change clothes, etc… thanks, Karen!

I chopped the onions while Chancy cleaned every good bit of meat off those chickens – the dark meat is great in chilis too. (If you’re at home, save the carcasses for a homemade stock in the future – they can be frozen.) Then Karen and I peeled the skins off the peppers and opened all the cans… drained and rinsed the white beans and tomatillos while heating a little more than a quarter cup of the olive oil in the stock pot. First the onions go into the oil. Then after a few minutes when they’re transparent, add as much garlic as you like — I used about 3 TBSP, equivalent to about 8 or 10 cloves, depending on size. The chicken and peppers get chopped and go into the pot along with the spices. I didn’t measure but I’d guess I used about 4 TBSP cumin (love cumin!), 4 TBSP chili powder, 1 TBSP cayenne, 1/2 TBSP paprika and a little salt to taste.

When the spices are fragrant, add the chopped tomatillos, white beans and chicken broth. You may decide you only want 6 or 7 of the boxes of broth, depending on how thick you like your chili. Also, if you like a smoother consistency, you can mash or puree half of the beans in a Cuisinart or just in a bowl with a potato masher before adding them to the pot. Stir it all up until it comes to a simmer, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.

Before serving, cut up the limes for individual squeezes and clean & chop the cilantro. Those plus the shredded cheese make great finishing touches. Serve with plenty of the cold beverage of your choice (this is HOT) and either tortilla chips or fresh flour tortillas… to complete the experience, turn up your favorite DC Lane or Suzi Ragsdale CD and imagine you’re at the Silver Moon after a day at the beach!

Cheers!
Suzi

I have so many recipes to share with you … I’ll start with the Jambalaya I made for the AMA Conference show… or more like a Gumbolaya, as I added okra and file powder (sassafras root).

This one’s really easy and can feed a crowd without much mess. I sextupled it to feed 50 but these quantities should satisfy 6-8:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 ounces andouille sausage or kielbasa, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

– I used chicken andouille sausage, pre-cooked but in need of a braising

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 (or 2) jalapenos, finely chopped, seeds optional

** The chile pepper membranes and seeds add more heat. They contain more capsaicin than the flesh of the peppers, in varying concentrations, depending on the type of pepper and it’s lifetime on the vine. Chili peppers are of great importance in Native American medicine, and capsaicin is used in modern medicine—mainly in topical medications—as a circulatory stimulant and pain reliever. I believe it works just as well internally, relieving headaches, body aches associated with the flu or anything that ails ya, really!  If you don’t have any digestive issues or a wimpy palette, it’s good medicine!   The same stuff is in pepper spray or Mace, so either wear surgical gloves when chopping or wash your hands thoroughly afterward — and before touching any of your sensitive skin or eyes … or anyone else’s

1 celery rib, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups fresh okra, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagona

1/2 tsp each gumbo file, ground bay leaf, ground mustard seed, and paprika

1/4 tsp each black and cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger and celery sal

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 thyme sprig

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound tilapia (or lump crabmeat, if you wanna splurge)

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled & deveined (tails optional)

3 scallions, finely chopped

Hot sauce, for serving

In a medium, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the andouille and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the onion, peppers, celery and garlic to the casserole. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spices, rice and andouille and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, water and thyme, season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in the shrimp, tilapia or crab and scallions. Cover and let simmer for 5 or 6 minutes, just until the fishes are opaque; toss the thyme sprig into your compost bin.

I like a crusty bread with this – soft in the middle for sopping … and either a strong, cold beer or a glass of Viognier or some other slightly sweet white wine … but that’s just me!

WARNING: This Gumbolaya will make you testify.

More to come! …

I wanna share my recipe for the “Americana Jambalaya” I served last Wednesday at Douglas Corner but I’d already promised to tell you what to do with your leftover shrimp, corn & black bean salad from my last post…

Fish Cakes with Poached Eggs and Avocado Sauce.

And it’s really so easy … I took the leftovers (shrimp, corn & black beans, obviously – already spiced with cumin, oregano, chile powder, cilantro, red onion & lime). Put them in the Cuisinart and pureed. To that, I added some salmon (already cooked, but canned salmon will work, or crab meat)… add:

bread crumbs and crackers, amount to be determined by how much you have leftover, yeah?
a couple of eggs (amount to be determined, as above)
chopped jalapeno or pepper of your choice
a TBSP or so of spicy mustard
a little grated mozzerella or queso fresco, like a sixth of the total amount
few drops of hot sauce, to taste…

Patty up your fish cakes and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, begin boiling water in a mid to large stock pot, 4 inches deep.

Then make the sauce: Put the meat of an avocado in the food processor with a large clove of garlic, rough chopped & 1/3 cup of basil leaves. With the processor running, add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper to taste.

Fry the fish cakes in a little olive oil and butter combo and transfer to plates or keep warm in the oven (though they’re great room temp).

To the boiling water, add 2 TBSP white vinegar and when it’s gently rolling, add the number of eggs you want. I think 2 per person… and they should be cold going in… the temperature and the vinegar both help to keep the whites intact. Set your timer for 3 minutes, unless you want your yolks hard…

When time’s up, carefully remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, to a paper towel, then assemble your meal — bed of greens if you like, then fish cakes, poached eggs, a drizzle of avocado dressing ( you could toss the dressing on greens before and then drizzle over as well… or do one of those beautiful decorative arty things around the plate’s edge!)

Eat!

Love,
Suzi