Maryland Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Obviously, I'm a terrible blogger and totally forgot about it, so I don't have a Mexican fiesta planned for you today. I'll go sit in blogger time-out for a few minutes.

In the meantime, if you're still with me, you can read about something else totally delicious, if you're ok with it not being fiesta-themed!

In my previous post, I recounted our recent crab feast and what I did with a portion of the crab meat collected from our leftover crabs. While the soup used the claw meat and some of the smaller pieces of crab I collected, I saved a half pound of the best, largest chunks of meat for this next dish. I also mentioned before how I’m a crabcake snob, so I had thought about making my own with the meat I had set aside. My husband, however, doesn’t enjoy them, so I wanted to find something that we could both appreciate and eat. How about stuffing what is essentially a mini-crabcake into a baby bella mushroom? Score.


The recipe itself is straightforward enough and, again, it’s off the Cantler’s website. I soon found out, however that mushrooms are tricky little devils to balance. After realizing that no amount of steady-handedness would keep my mushrooms from tipping over onto my baking sheet, I devised a little plan to make ‘holders’ for each musroom using tinfoil. Smart, right? Well, yes and no. On some of the mushrooms, it worked fabulously. On others, they were still teetering dangerously, threatening to fall off the sheet at any moment. I pressed those down a little harder onto the foil, thinking that would solve my problems, opened the oven door and proceeded to tranfer the baking sheet from my countertop to the oven. I saw one mushroom on the corner of my pan begin to wobble. Which meant, instinctively, I cocked my wrist the opposite direction in an attempt to steady the dancing mushroom. While I successfully kept that mushroom on it’s stand, I watched, as if in slow motion, another mushroom on the other side tilt off it’s holder, roll off the baking pan and fall, splat, right onto the oven door. Crab stuffing side down.


You could hear the sizzle as soon as it made contact. So I did what any sane person would do, I scooped it all back up and shoved it back into the mushroom and put it on the pan again to bake. (And I made sure I ate that mushroom when it came time to serve!) It took everything I had not to lick up the few pieces stuck to the oven door, it was heartbreaking to have to wipe it up and toss those pieces out.


A few other mushrooms did tip over as well, but at least they stayed on the baking sheet. They tasted fantastic, but they sure weren’t the prettiest things to come out of my kitchen. That’s ok, I’ll eat them blindfolded if I have to, the taste was out of this world, and the gigantic pieces of crabmeat were so delicious, it made me forget about the pieces still stuck to my kitchen towel from cleaning up my oven.


As a note on this recipe, I didn’t make the topping because I didn’t want that much mayonnaise on my crabmeat, but I have included it in case that appeals to you. I did sprinkle with the paprika and Old Bay once they came out of the oven, though.

Maryland Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from Cantler's (again!)

Ingredients

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

1/2 pound Maryland backfin crab meat

3 Tbsp mayonnaise (i used Miracle Whip)

1 egg white

1 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

pinch ginger

1 tablespoons cracker meal

12 fresh mushrooms (about 2-3 inches in diameter)

For the Topping:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon seafood seasoning (aka old bay)

2 dashes liquid hot pepper

paprika, for sprinkling

Directions

Remove cartilage from crab meat, being careful not to break crab lumps. Place crab meat in large bowl and set aside.

In small bowl mix mayonnaise, egg white, milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, celery salt, pepper, paprika and ginger.

Pour sauce over crab meat and mix gently, but thoroughly. Carefully mix in cracker meal.

Wash and remove stems from mushrooms.

Place mushrooms in a baking pan stem side up and fill each mushroom with about 2 tablespoons crab mixture.

Place in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crab meat mixture begins to brown.

If you choose to make the topping:

Mix together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, egg white, seafood seasoning and liquid hot pepper sauce.

Spread a generous amount of topping over each mushroom.

Sprinkle with paprika and bake in 375 degree oven until the topping becomes a light brown color, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Pretzel Bites

With a few days to go before the Super Bowl, I wanted to share a recipe that will please any guest at your Super Bowl party, football lover or not. Step aside, churros. Move out of the way, nachos. When it comes to foods fit for game day, the soft pretzel wins my heart over every single time. But stuffing the soft, bite-sized nuggets with ham and cheddar – that sends me over the moon.

I think a lot of my soft pretzel love is due to the fact that they are so versatile. They can be eaten plain, savory or sweet, or be dipped in pretty much anything your heart desires. And when you’re at the stadium, you just ring it around your finger and still carry two or three drinks back to your seat.

In Baltimore, a popular appetizer is a king-sized soft pretzel, smothered in crab dip, covered in cheese and then baked until hot and melty. I have gotten that as my dinner on more than one occasion. Even now, the pretzel world is expanding into stuffed pretzels, proving that there are even more options than ever. One of the more well-known brands I’ve seen are Kim and Scott’s http://www.kimandscotts.com/ stuffed pretzels. They have both sweet and savory varieties of stuffed pretzels, from chocolate pretzels stuffed with fudge, cinnamon-sugar topped pretzels stuffed with apple pie filling, and cheese-topped jalapeño-cheese stuffed pretzels.

Hands down, my favorite pretzel is traditional German Bavarian pretzels, which are difficult to find outside of Oktoberfest celebrations here in the US. The pretzels in German beer gardens are the best I’ve ever had. Instead of trying to replicate a perfect plain pretzel, I figured I would spice things up a bit. I decided to make my usual pretzel dough, stuff them with ham and cheese and make little nuggets out of them. They are a perfect, portable appetizer, suitable for hot or room-temperature consumption.


I also decided to have some fun and make an actual pretzel-shaped pretzel as well as one stuffed with ham and cheddar, in the style of those Kim and Scott's pretzels – just to see what would happen. The regular one was easy to roll into a tube and then create the pretzel knot. The stuffed one was a little more complicated, but was definitely worth the wow-factor.


These were fantastic. The outside could have had a little bit of a thicker crust, but it was not a fatal flaw. I did notice, though, that the longer pretzels sat at room temperature, the more of the salt seemed to dissolve into the outer skin. When eating the pretzel, it would have the correct level of saltiness, but it was missing the crunch that the pretzel salt brings. Which means I will either be investing in some pretzel salt, or eating the pretzels faster. Probably eating them faster, knowing me.



Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Pretzels

Pretzel Dough Recipe from Alton Brown via FoodNetwork.com
About 5 dozen pretzel bites or 8 regular pretzels (or be crazy and do a combination of both!)

My adaptations to this basic recipe are in italics.

Pretzel Dough
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Filling
8 oz cheddar, shredded
8 oz deli ham, cut into small pieces or pulled apart


Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.

For the individual pretzels, roll one of your eight pieces into a rope about 24 inches long. Twist into a pretzel shape, set aside. To stuff the pretzel, roll one of your eight pieces into a rope about 24 inches long, and then flattened out to about an inch wide. Run 1 oz of cheese and 1 oz of ham up the middle of the flattened dough, and then pinch the dough shut around the filling, trying to remove as much excess air as possible from the inside. Then the dough can be carefully knotted into the classic pretzel shape. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

For the nuggets, divide each of the eight pieces into another eight pieces. Make each piece into a small circle, about one to 1-1/4 inches in diameter. Also, try to make the outer edge of the nugget a little thinner than the center of the disk, since you’ll be gathering it. Put about 1-2 tsp of cheese and the same amount of ham in the center of the disk. A small pinch will do, be careful not to overfill the nugget or else it will be hard to pinch shut and will ooze cheese everywhere when it boils and then bakes. Gather the edges of the circle and pinch shut into a ball shape.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. This gets a little complicated with the nuggets, but do the best you can. I did batches of three to four nuggets at a time. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

Halloween has come and gone, and November has rolled in with a cold punch in these parts. The high today is only supposed to be in the high 40's! What is up with that? Just a few weeks ago we had high 60's - and now we're barely hitting 50.

As much as I dread the impending cold weather (ahem, snow flurries are in our forecast this week, what?!) Fall and winter do have their charms. Falling leaves, snow, pot roast, pumpkin pie, apples, gingerbread and squash!

The colder weather also typically means I start preparing more stick-to-your rib types of meals. I love making foods on a cold day that warm you from the inside out. I've managed to make some of these recipes a little lighter so I can enjoy the food of the season without all the guilt, though my snacking choices leave a lot to be desired. Cookies, gingerbread, and a myriad of other sweets typically replace my more sensible choices.

After prepping butternut squash for a few recipes, I decided it might be fun to try roasting the seeds, since they looked essentially like mini pumpkin seeds. These were savory, crunchy, and a handful provided a satisfying snack without all the backlash from my bathroom scale.
Roasted Butternut Squash Seeds
(Though would work with pumpkin seeds too!)

Ingredients
Old Bay
Tbsp Olive Oil
(The amounts are highly dependent on how many seeds you have, so just make your best judgement)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325.

Throroughly clean and squash or pupmkin "goop" from your seeds and lay them out on paper towels or a kitchen towel to dry.

Put the seeds in a half sheet pan, drizzle with about olive oil until lightly coated, but not swimming in oil. Sprinkle old bay evenly to coat (use as much or as little as you like). Stir in pan, spread out again, and place pan in the oven.

Roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until slightly browned.

Wild Mushroom Tartlettes

When I host a get together, I make a point to develop a menu that features food that will satisfy most appetites. While some people can subsist on brats, burgers and hot dogs alone, I can’t. I have to have lighter options to pair with the heavier foods, or else by the end of the party, I feel so bogged down by the weight of what I’ve eaten that I nearly have to roll out of the door. I also try to keep in mind that not everyone eats meat, so I try to have delicious vegetarian options that give non-meat eaters something on the menu that is more substantial than chips and salsa.

These tartlettes were a hit as an appetizer with both the vegetarians and carnivores alike. The mushrooms made these babies substantial, and the prepacked fillo shells made them a snap to assemble. I made the filling the night before the party, so all I had to do was fill the shells and heat them up the next day. Perfect when you want to spend your time with your guests, instead of in the kitchen.

If you wanted to add meat to this dish, a nice touch might be to fry up a couple pieces of bacon in a pan, remove and crumble up the bacon, and cook the mushrooms in the bacon fat, instead of using the better called for in the recipe. Then just add the crumbled bacon in with the mushrooms and serve. That would definitely kick it up a notch.


Wild Mushroom Tartlets Recipe (halved recipe)
By Woman's Day Kitchen from Woman's Day

Recipe Ingredients
1 T bsp butter
3 Tbsp chopped shallots
8 oz sliced assorted wild mushrooms, roughly chopped (8 oz – crimini, shitake, baby bellas and button mushrooms)
2 T bsp dry sherry, white wine or water
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
Pinch each salt and pepper
2 Tbsp reduced-fat cream cheese
15 mini–fillo shells (I used Athens Brand)
Garnish: small thyme sprigs

Recipe Preparation
1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; cover and cook 3 minutes until softened.

2. Stir in mushrooms. Sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sherry, thyme, salt and pepper until mixture simmers. Simmer 1 minute. Stir in cream cheese until melted.

3. Fill each fillo cup with 1 Tbsp mushrooms. Place on baking sheet. Heat about 5 minutes to heat cups.

Tip: The mushroom filling can be made a day ahead and reheated in the microwave (you may need to stir in a Tbsp or so of water if mixture seems too thick). To have the tartlets ready to bake, fill them up to 2 hours ahead.

Chili Chicken Wings

I’m glad these wings were good, because these nearly made me cry. If you have ever gotten raw ginger juice in your eyes, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, take it from me – don’t. I always peel my ginger with a spoon, because I like to stand over the trash so the peel falls in, and I don’t have the manual dexterity to peel ginger skin with a knife without risking losing a pinky or needing stitches. I always thought it was safer to use a spoon, but when I got that squirt of fresh ginger juice in my eye, I just about would have sacrificed my whole hand to get the pain to stop. Ten minutes later, I was finally able to open my eye, only to have it tear up relentlessly. Thankfully, the more time that passed, the better my eye felt, and I no longer had to walk around the house with a permanent wink.

Minus the ginger incident, the rest of the dish came together really easily. I did use a little more cornstarch/water mixture than in the recipe, because I like my sauces a little thicker. Other than that, I kept everything the same, and they were delicious. I left the skin on the wings, so I don’t think I’d call these “health food,” but I did make a point to find a wing recipe that was baked, and not deep-fried (though this sauce would be great on fried wings as well). This was a great cookout food, and one that will certainly be gracing our table again in the future.

Chili Chicken Wings

From: Epicurious.com

For the sauce:
1 1/2 cups rice or cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup ketchup
6 tablespoons Chinese plum sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons (or to taste) finely chopped fresh red, jalapeño or serrano chili, with seeds (I removed the seeds to keep the heat down a little bit)
3 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoon cold water

30 chicken wings (tips removed), rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for garnish

Prepare the sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly to blend the flavors, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Puree in a food processor until nearly smooth. (Makes 3 cups.) Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Using a sharp knife, separate the chicken wings at the joint. Set aside. (I also take the ‘pointy part’ off the end of the wing as well)

Place the chicken wings in a large bowl and toss well with 1 1/2 cups of the sauce.

Lay the chicken wings in a single layer on 2 or 3 baking sheets (do not overcrowd them). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, basting once or twice with additional sauce. Place the wings on a platter, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.