Long Island Crab & Corn Cakes

Whenever the topic is crabs -- or crab cakes—the state of Maryland comes to mind. But Maryland isn’t the only place to catch crabs, there’s plenty of blue crabs in the bays of Long Island and the season here is in full swing.

I like to go crabbing in the evening, when blue crabs swim to the surface and can be lured in toward a net with a flashlight. During the day, we toss in a line with bait (usually chicken) and wait for a tug to reel them in. And what do I do with them? After boiling the crabs and carefully picking the meat out of the shells, I make crab cakes.

This is my favorite recipe; it combines crabmeat and another seasonal Long Island treat -- corn. These two ingredients really work together well. There’s no need to catch your own crab, crabmeat from a fishmonger or canned crabmeat both work well. Serve them with some homemade tartar sauce.

1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 ear of fresh corn
16 ounces lump crabmeat
¾ to 1 cup fresh bread crumbs*
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Vegetable oil, for cooking

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in small frying pan over low heat. Add shallots and cook until shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Steam corn or cook corn in boiling water about 4 minutes. Cool and remove kernels. Combine corn and crabmeat in large bowl. Add bread crumbs and mix lightly, trying to keep lumps of crabmeat intact.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together egg, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, Old Bay and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in shallots and cilantro.
4. Pour egg mixture into crabmeat and gently combine. Divide mixture into about 6-8 portions and flatten into thick patties. Place in freezer for about 30 minutes to set.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and a little vegetable oil, enough to coat the bottom of a large frying pan, over medium heat. Add crab cakes, in batches if necessary (do not crowd otherwise they will be difficult to flip) and sauté until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

*For breadcrumbs, can use about 5 inches of french bread. Slice as if making a sandwich and scrape out (or pinch out) white portion, leaving crusts.

Asian Soba Noodle Salad

Sometimes I think I could eat something every day and never get tired of it. This summer, this salad featuring soba noodles, Napa cabbage and a really tasty Asian-inspired dressing, is one of those dishes.

I’m a big fan of soba noodles, skinny Japanese noodles made from buckwheat. I’m also a fan of Napa cabbage, a light, crunchy cabbage that is ubiquitous in Chinese stir fries. And it’s a good thing, because we recently had somewhat of a Napa cabbage crisis: A friend gave use several heads of cabbage the same week our CSA delivered a head.

My husband’s solution to this crisis was kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish made by fermenting cabbage and other vegetables. We used this YouTube video to make the kimchi and it turned out great (although I am still humming the background music.) I have to say that, for me, it was an entirely unique way of preparing food. It also called for ingredients I’ve never used, like sweet rice flour and garlic chives. Who knew?

I, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do with the cabbage: Make this salad. It’s perfect for lunch or a light summer supper. I think it would also work well as a side dish with grilled meat.

For the salad:
3-4 ounces snap peas or snow peas (one big handful), blanched 3 minutes
1 bunch soba noodles (they usually come packaged in 3 or 4 separate bunches), cooked about 5 minutes, drained and rinsed under cold water
Half head napa cabbage (depending on its size and your taste) halved lengthwise and sliced in thin ribbons.
3 scallions, cut in 1/4 inch slices, including green part
1/2 cucumber (or one small cucumber), chopped 1/4 pieces
1 red peppers, cut in quarters lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 wide ribbons or julienned
1 carrot, made into ribbons with a peeler or julienned
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
A handful of sprouts (optional)
A handful peanuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients well in large bowl and toss with dressing.

For the dressing:1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of half of one lime
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalepeno pepper, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well or combine all ingredients in a tupperware type container, cover, and shake to combine.

Makes 2 generous main courses

Pasta with Feta Cheese, Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes

We’re having a heat wave here, with record high temperatures and stagnant, sultry air . In this weather, my strategy for cooking is simple: spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.

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This recipe exemplifies the laziness of summer. Crumbled feta and grated parmesan cheeses are simply folded into hot pasta, then combined with a flavorful mixture of sautéed spinach, onions, garlic and sundried tomatoes. I used campelle, but other types of pasta that hold sauce well -- such as orecchiette, gemelli or fusilli -- will also work well.

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2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1/2 medium-large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (or more to taste)

1 6-7 oz. bag of baby spinach

1 lb. box pasta, such as campanelle

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

salt, to taste

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1. In large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add chopped onions. Saute onions, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add red pepper flakes and sundried tomatoes, stir. Then add spinach, cooking until spinach is wilted. Set aside.

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2. Cook pasta as instructed, drain and place hot pasta in large bowl. Add feta and parmesan cheeses and mix well, allowing cheeses to melt. Fold in spinach mixture, pepper and salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with parmesan cheese.

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Serves 4

Mud Pie

I don't know for sure if mud pie originated in Mississippi (and apparently either does anyone else), but I do know it's one of my husband's favorite desserts. He used to get his mud pie fix from Starbucks, which, for an all-too-brief while, made a sort of ice cream sandwich version that was really great. I still search grocery freezer sections for their mud pies, but I haven't seen them for more than a year. So, when my husband's birthday came around last week, I decided to make a mud pie.

This recipe, based on one my mom used to make, is an ice cream pie as opposed to a gooey chocolate-filled pie also called mud pie. My mom made it the easy way; she just bought already-made coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce, adding kahlua to the sauce, then made a pie crust and put it together. Still in the midst of ice cream-making mania, I decided to make everything from scratch, but, to be honest, next time I'll probably skip the homemade ice cream and just mix in a couple of tablespoons of kahlua into a softened pint of Haagen-Dazs.


Mud Pie

For the crust:
1-1/4 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

For the fudge sauce:
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon kahlua

For the coffee ice cream filling:
3/4 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup dark-roasted coffee beans
1-3/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon finely grinded espresso powder
1 tablespoon kahlua

1. Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chocolate wafers and butter, stir until well blended. Press into 9-inch pie pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

2. Fudge Sauce: Combine in a bowl over hot (not boiling) water 1-1/2 C chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remover from heat, stir in kahlua or other coffee liquor. Chill 10 minutes. Spread 1/3 cup sauce on bottom of chocolate wafer crust. Chill 15 minutes. Reserve remaining fudge sauce for the top of the pie.

3. Coffee Ice Cream: Combine Milk and coffee beans in a heavy saucepan and heat over medium heat to a simmer. Pour hot mixture into a bowl, cover and set aside for an hour. In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat sugar and egg yolks until mixture is thick and pale yellow, about four minutes. Beat flour and salt into egg mixture. Reheat coffee mixture until bubbles form at the side, remove from heat and remove coffee beans from milk with slotted spoon. Slowly pour hot milk into eggs, whisking constantly, to temper eggs. Pour entire mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat, whisking constantly until custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat and pour coffee cusard through a strainer into a large bowl. Cool 5 minutes, then mix in cream, vanilla, espresso powder and kahlua. Chill, covered, at least 4 hours. Stir and freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer instructions. When done, pour ice cream into pie crust and freeze until hard. Remove from freezer and cover with remaining fudge sauce. Return to freezer until set.

Fresh Corn Chowder

I admit it, I'm a corn snob. I refuse to eat corn-on-the cob in winter. I turn my nose up at those plastic wrapped-packaged ears you see throughout the year in grocery stores. For me, corn has to be just-picked from the farm. The good news is that local farm stands have been stocking fresh Long Island corn for the last couple of weeks and my CSA doled out its first batch of corn this week.

Usually, I just boil corn-on-the-cob for five minutes, butter it, sprinkle a little salt on it and eat it quite happily, but I also like to use fresh corn in a few recipes. One of my favorite recipes is one for corn chowder. This particular batch was made with sweet white corn, which is highly coveted by most corn hounds. I may be in the minority, but I prefer ears with both yellow and white kernels. While yellow and white corn may not be as sweet as white corn, I think it has a better corn taste.

Fresh Corn Chowder

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook

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5-6 ears of corn (about 4 cups kernels)

3 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chopped onions

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 medium/large potatoes (russet or yukon gold), peeled and cut into 1/4 dice

1 cup half-and-half

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt, to taste

1 red pepper, cut into 1/4 dice

3 scallions, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Boil or steam ears of corn for about 4 minutes. Cool. Slice kernels off cob (hold cob vertically in shallow bowl and slice down cob, cutting off kernels)

2. In large pot, wilt bacon over low heat about 5 minutes to render fat. Add butter and melt completely.

3. Add chopped onions and wilt for 10 minutes over low heat. Add flour, stir over heat for 5 minutes.

4. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Raise heat to medium and cook 12-to-15 minutes until potatoes are just tender.

5. Add half-and-half, corn, black pepper and salt. Cook 7 minutes, stirring occassionally.

6. Add red pepper and scallions and cook another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning, serve with cilantro (or not).

Serves 6