Food

Last night I decided to make Crab Bisque, something I haven't made in years. Doing a quick search on Google produced a gazillion recipes for things made with cans of things blended to make something that to me didn't bode well for all the fresh crab we had in stock.

I did find this fabulous recipe from Yankee Magazine, which I modified by removing about 1/3 of the fat, and adding crab stock instead of using chicken stock and using a bit more of it. I also added a bit more vegetables and used fresh ginger and lemon peel. It turned out absolutely beautifully.

I started by cracking and pulling out all the crab meat, after which I made a stock with the crab shells and an onion, a few pepper corns and a couple of fresh parley stocks (leaves removed for another dish). Then, follow the directions below.

Creamy Crab Bisque

Makes 6 side or 3 main servings

* 1 pound fresh crabmeat
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 scant teaspoon shredded ginger
* 2 celery stocks finely minced
* 1/2 cup finely minced green onion
* 2 carrots finely minced
* 1-1/2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
* 1/4 cup flour
* 2 cups light stock (suggest taking an onion with crab bones .. simmering 30 minutes, for stock, or use chicken)
* 1-1/4 cups 1% milk (or 2% or whole)
* 2 pinches cayenne pepper
* 2 pinches ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* pinch of white pepper
* 1 lemon's worth of finely grated peel
* 3/4 cups light cream
* 1/4 cup dry sherry

Pick over the crabmeat for cartilage and return to the refrigerator. Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan. Add the ginger, celery, green onion, carrot and garlic. Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Make sure ginger and garlic have mellowed before proceeding. Whisk in the flour. Gradually add the broth and milk, bringing the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. Add the cayenne, nutmeg, salt, white pepper, lemon peel, cream, and sherry. Heat thoroughly. Stir in the crabmeat and cook until it is heated through. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Posted by Mary Hodder at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I felt like having Chai today, and these were the ingredients I had, verse say, what came in the recipes I saw online. Instead, I made up my own which I liked more than any Chai I've had in any shop or even homemade by others. None did the orange zest, and most had very limited ideas of Chai, like the one with just cinnamon and ginger.

Step 1: Boil 5 minutes, then steep for 10 minutes:

1 Tbsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp cardamom seeds
2 or 3 pieces star anise
10 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2" ginger root, sliced thin
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
2 bay leaves
1 orange or tangerine worth of zest
4 Cups water

Step 2: Add, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes, then strain and save tea:

2 Tbsp good Darjeeling tea

Step 3:
Whisk together, either via in microwave for 3 min, or on stove:

6 Tbsp honey
3 Cup 1% milk






Step 4: Blend and serve in mugs.




Serves 4 (about 6 cups).

Posted by Mary Hodder at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)