A Little Crabby

Happy Wednesday! time to get a little fancy and the good kind of crabby.

I love a midweek fancy meal. But I will say I don’t always want the calories and carbs that come with it. One of my favorite meals of all time are Crab Cakes. Since I do a pretty low carb life at the moment this recipe is perfect for just that.

I used a circle mold to form the patties. This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. You can make fancy salads, a sushi tower, or just use it when you need a perfect circle.

Make sure you’re setting aside the time to enjoy your lunch and take a minute for yourself. I hope you enjoyed this recipe!

Brunch In French

Happy Wednesday Friends!

This week has been a rough one. I threw out my back at the start of the week so I have been pretty much useless. One thing that will always cheer me up? Brunch! And not just brunch…brunch in french!

First, let’s talk about a french cooking staple: Crème fraîche

Not only is it easy to make, it adds a lot of luxury to a dish. It’s similar to a sour cream. Here’s how you make it!

This absolutely fabulous recipe is from the cookbook “Dinner in French” but makes the most perfect brunch addition. It looks hard but its just as easy as it is fancy. The recipe in the book calls for a Tarragon cream but I was unable to find it so I substituted with basil. I also cut down the recipe from four to two.

“French Baked Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Basil Cream”

what you need:

what you do:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and brush two ramekins with butter and place them on a baking sheet.

2. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in leeks and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until very soft, around 15 minutes, reduce the heat if need be. Don’t let them brown just become golden.

3. Stir in three tbsp of cream, the crème fraîche, basil, and lemon zest, and remove from heat. Then, divide mixture among the ramekins.

4. Crack two eggs into each ramekin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Float one tbsp of remaining cream on top of each one and bake until yolks are still runny, about 17 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Top each ramekin with salmon and if you’d like capers but I left those out. Serve with bread or toast.

I was so excited to make this dish when I saw it that I only made it to page 16 in this fabulous cookbook. Brunch isn’t brunch without smoked salmon, right?

I hope all of you are having a fantastic first full week of January!

‘Tis The Season

For cranberries!

I don’t like to “not like” something. If ever there is something I’m not crazy about when it comes to food I still try and find a way to like it. I’m still working on liking sauerkraut (my least favorite food ever..* shutters *). Also, I always want to broaden my horizons and cook with things that I never have. I know making things with cranberries this time of year isn’t unusual but I never have before. I saw them in the grocery store and snatched up a couple bags and got to work…

YOU GUYS! I’m fully obsessed with this recipe! It will absolutely be a staple of mine when cranberries are available. It’s fast and will sure to be a crowd pleaser!

“Cranberry Salsa”

what you need:

what you do:

1. Put all ingredients in a food processor and chop.

2. Put everything in a bowl and chill for at least an hour. I chilled overnight.

3. Pour over a block of cream cheese.

That’s it! You’re done! This is by far one of my favorite things I’ve made recently. I’m already planning to make it for Christmas Eve dinner. I also served it with Classic Ritz Crackers and it was quite the perfect combination.

Next up is :

“Cranberry Sauce with Oranges”

what you need:

what you do:

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil.

2. Add cranberries, oranges, and zest. Let boil for about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and cool.

   Another easy one! I added the oranges because of the nest recipe. It’s a little more involved than the two recipes I’ve already shared but pretty delicious and great for the holidays…

“Cranberry Almond Cake”

what you need:

what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and press 1/2 cup of almonds up the sides. (This is a little time consuming but worst it in the end)

2. In a food processor combine cranberry sauce, cornstarch, and a dash of salt. Mix until smooth.

3. In a small bowl mix together flours, baking powder, and 1/2 salt.

4. In a large bowl mix together 1 cup sugar, all eggs, orange zest, and almond extract. Then, mix in orange juice, and melted butter. Add flour mixture to this and mix until well combined.

5. Spread batter in the buttered pan. Then drop in the cranberry all over the batter. Sprinkle 1/3 almonds over the top and sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar over the top.

6. Bake 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Using a knife loosen from side of pan. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

So what did I learn from this cooking/baking experience? I love cranberries! I hope you enjoy one or two of these this holiday season!

Enjoy your Wednesday!