Ammendment to the Post Below

After several minutes of experimentation and deep soul searching, I have changed my mind. I would recommend that you bake the crab thingies with the streusel on top, then chill and serve them cold. Also, I now plan to serve them with crispy flatbread spread with a relish? of grilled artichoke, Moroccan green olive, braised fennel, lemon and a touch of capers. That recipe will follow, which, in this world, means it will appear somewhere above the original.

Warm Crab Salad with Old Bay Streusel

Crab

2 lb maine crabmeat

2 bunches scallions, white and light green only, sliced thin

4 inches celery, sliced thin

½ tsp lemon zest

½ tsp salt

Old Bay Streusel

1/3 cup flour

3 Tbsp cornmeal

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning

3 Tbsp partially softened butter

- combine dry ingredients and cut in butter to form crumbs

Cream Sauce and Assembly

2 Tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp flour

½ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp Old Bay seasoning

¼ tsp cayenne

¼ cup white wine

15 drops worcestershire

2 cups milk

½ lb cream cheese

salt and white pepper to taste

- lightly brown the garlic in the butter, then add flour and dry spices

- whisk constantly 1 minute, then add wine and worcestershire

- whisk until thickened, then add milk, ½ cup at a time, whisking between each addition until thickened

- stir in cream cheese until melted, then season to taste

- strain, fold into above crabmeat mixture and fill 16 2 inch by 2 inch rings

- refrigerate until chilled and top each with 1/8 of above streusel mixture

- bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; serve with artichoke sandwiches (recipe to follow)

Basil Oil

Since the speck-cucumber relish called for basil oil, here is a recipe:

1# basil, leaves only

1 tsp salt

3 cups grapeseed oil

- blanch basil for no more than 5 seconds and remove to ice water; handle basil as little as possible

- puree with salt in blender, beginning with as little oil as necessary to puree

- gradually incorporate remaining oil

- strain through cloth, allow sediment to settle and decant

Speck & Cucumber Relish

Speck is smoked prosciutto, and ours - from La Quercia in Iowa - is delicious. It has a gentle apple wood smoke to it, while Italian hams can sometimes seem a bit scorched. Currently we serve this relish with scallops wrapped in thin slices of speck, the ambrosia melon sauce from yesterday's post, and sea beans (glasswort, samphire, pousse-pieds) tossed with a bit o' lemon.

1 1/2 cups brunoise of speck, deep-fried.
1 cup brunoise of cucumber
1 tsp lime zest
10 basil leaves, 1/2" chiffonade
2 pinches salt
1 Tbsp basil oil

- combine all and set aside at least 1 hour before using

For a Soft Shell Crab Appetizer: Stonefruit Salad & Red Curry Aioli

Stonefruit Salad

6 mariposa plums, pitted
5 flavortop nectarines
15 leaves mint, chiffonade
1/2 tsp salt

2 oz sake
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp szechuan peppercorns
1 point of pod star anise

- slice plums into 12 wedges each
- peel nectarines and reserve peelings for later use aside; cut flesh into medium dice
- toss with mint and salt; set aside

- combine sake, sugar, peppercorns and star anise in small saucepan over medium heat
- reduce to 1 oz and allow to cool
- strain and toss fruits with this mixture


Red Curry Aioli

2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp butter
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
reserved peelings from nectarines (above)

8 eggs, poached
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
3 cups grapeseed oil

- combine sugar, curry paste and butter in small saucepan over medium heat
- stir 1 minute and add coconut milk and peelings
- lower heat to low and cook 15 minutes; set aside
- meanwhile combine eggs, vinegar and salt in blender - puree
- with motor running drizzle in reserved coconut milk mixture
- still with motor runningm drizzle in grapeseed oil
- cool before use

Ambrosia Melon Sauce

9 lbs ambrosia melon or other true cantaloupe (such as charentais melon)
1/4 lb butter
6 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 bottle (750ml) prosecco
1 cup buttermilk
additional butter as needed

- peel, seed and rough-chop melon
- sweat melon in butter with sugar and salt over low to medium heat 10 minutes, stirring often
- add prosecco and turn heat to high
- cook until melon falls apart when prodded - about 15 minutes
- puree in blender with buttermilk
- to order, warm 1.5 ounces melon puree and mount with 2 Tbsp butter.

Steak Tips - a Few Hints for Choosing and Cooking that Yummy Brandt Beef

Choosing a great cut on the cheap:

if you are a fan of filet mignon or beef tenderloin, you might enjoy the teres major, or shoulder tender. It is similar in both flavor and texture and is a good choice if you plan on serving rich sauce such as bearnaise or bordelaise.

If you like the richness and depth of a rib steak, consider the flatiron. It is one of the most tender and flavorful cuts of beef available and has an almost gamey quality.

A personal favorite of mine is the skirt steak, juicy and bursting with flavor.

Another winner is the sirloin cap, or coulotte. A whole coulotte makes a great roast for four, and cut into steaks, it’s tender and delicious.

Important tips:

always season liberally with salt before cooking. This draws more proteins to the surface. That’s where the great steak flavor comes from – the caramelization of the surface proteins. Okay, food snobs, it's not technically caramelization as protein isn't sugar. It's the Maillard Reaction which is the brown resulting from the marriage of amino acids, sugar and heat. It's a plural marriage.

Also, to this end, get a good brown crust on the outside of the steak, either in a heavy skillet or on the hottest part of the grill. Contrary to popular myth, this does nothing to “seal in the juices” but its reward is the flavor.

after achieving the nice crust, finish the steak in the oven at around 275 degrees, or on a cooler part of the grill, covered.

steaks plump when you cook them up until they reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees, after which they deflate. Pull your steaks when they have achieved maximum plumpness and allow them to rest a few minutes.

my favorite internal temperature temperature is 128 degrees for beef and lamb, 132 for veal and 135 for pork . Do not trust thermometers that determine that rare is 140 degrees; it is not. Rare is between 110 and 120.

Do not assume that rare is cold. Adjust your tap water to between 110 and 120 degrees. Feel the water. Is it cold? No.

Flavors:

I like to make a mix of chunky sea salt, sweet smoked paprika and black pepper to season my steaks. The paprika mimics a wood fire, inside or out.

for the simplest sauce, gently warm a tablespoon of butter and whisk in a few drops of worcesterchire sauce. Liberally brush your steak.

One I make all the time is chimichurri – see recipe.