INGREDIENTS

• 1 small honeydew; seeds and rind removed
• ¼ cup heavy cream or sour cream; thinned with water
• 3-ounces fresh basil; stems removed
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 small cucumber; peeled and seeded
• Salt to taste
• 1 small sweet onion; peeled
• 1 large crab cluster; meat removed from shell
• 2-ounces lime juice

PREPARATION

Set 4 large basil leaves aside. Blend 1-ounce of the basil and ¼ cup olive oil in food processor until smooth. Set aside. Using the food processor, blend melon, remaining basil, cucumber, onion, lime juice and salt until slightly chunky, like a thick pasta sauce. Refrigerate 1 hour. Serve in a bowl with cream and basil oil over top of soup. Top with a basil leaf. Float crabmeat in center of bowl.

Prepare and gather the following:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup onion
• ½ cup celery
• ½ cup diced red pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

Gather:

• 1 lb. Dungeness crab meat
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¾ cup mayonaisse
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs plus more for breading outside
• Vegetable oil

Get a medium skillet hot over medium high heat and add olive oil. Place vegetables and salt in pan and sauté for about 3 to 5 minutes until vegetables are soft.

Place remaining ingredients in bowl, add sautéed vegetables, and GENTLY mix until everything is combined. With your hands, gently form into 2 oz. crab cakes. Bread LIGHTLY on outside until they just hold together. Get a non-stick pan hot over medium heat, add enough oil to barely cover bottom of the pan. Place crab cakes in pan and cook until they are browned and crispy on the first side. Carefully turn and brown other side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with spicy mayonnaise.

Spicy Habanero-Tomato Mayonnaise

• 1 clove fresh garlic
• 2 Habanero peppers, seeds and stems removed*
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ¾ cup sun dried tomato pesto
  (available in our Plus stores in the produce department)
• 2 cups prepared mayonnaise
• ½ cup Dijon mustard

Place garlic, peppers, lemon juice, and salt in food processor and pulse until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue pulsing until very smooth.

*These peppers are extremely hot. Wear gloves when handling and take care not to wipe eyes or face with anything that has touched the peppers.

INGREDIENTS

• Kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper
• 2 sticks of butter; softened
• ½ cup fresh key lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• ½ tablespoon garlic, chopped
• ½ tablespoon shallot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 6 to 8 parsley sprigs
• 8 thin key lime slices
• 4 snow crab clusters
• 1 cup white wine

PREPARATION

Combine key lime juice, cilantro, garlic, shallot, and honey in a mixing bowl or food processor and puree on high. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fold in butter on low speed and mix until fully incorporated. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use.

Cut out a strip of shell in each claw that is about ¼” wide, exposing the meat inside. Put about 2 teaspoons of the key lime butter into the shell or use more or less as needed. Place crab legs in a glass container. Add the white wine to the container and lightly sprinkle the legs with some salt and pepper. Arrange lime slices and parsley sprigs over legs. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for about 10 minutes at °350F. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until crab legs are hot throughout.

Papayas are ripe when they are slightly soft to the touch, with mostly yellow skin. They can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

• 1 cup papaya, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon grated, peeled, fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons light vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 large Belgian endives, cut into matchsticks (about 3 cups)
• 1¼ cups very thinly sliced English cucumber or regular cucumber
• ¾ cup jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over

METHOD

Whisk together ginger, lime juice, oil, and salt in a medium bowl. Add endive, cucumber, papaya cubes, and crabmeat; gently toss until evenly coated with dressing.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and Bistro Market has a lot of great party food prepared and ready for you to host a “Super” party. For those of you who like to make your own party trays, here are some ideas for great finger foods. Go Raiders! Oh. Wait a second… (sighs) maybe next year.

• BBQ Baby Back Ribs
• Brie with Tomato-Basil Coulis
• Guacamole with Veggies
• Cilantro Crab Cakes

Nothing says football like ribs, but going outside to BBQ in the snow is not my idea of a good time. Here is a method for cooking ribs that is guaranteed to please the most discriminating tastes.

For the Ribs:

• ¼ cup paprika
• 2 tablespoons Kosher cup salt
• 1 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 slabs baby back ribs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups light chicken broth

METHOD

In a medium-size bowl, combine the paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, coffee, and brown sugar. Reserve two tablespoons of the mix and set aside for sauce. Rub remaining mixture liberally onto both sides of ribs. Get a skillet very hot over high heat. Add oil to pan and sear ribs until dark brown. You may have to cut each rib rack in half first to fit in pan. Place seared ribs into a broiling pan, cake pan, or sheet tray with sides and pour broth into pan. Cover tightly with foil. The key to this method is to get an airtight seal, so don’t skimp on the foil! Place in an oven preheated to °300 and bake for 3 to 4 hours or until meat is almost falling off of the bone. Baste with sauce* and serve immediately.

*For the Sauce:

• 1 ½ cups ketchup
• ¾ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Reserved dry rub

In a medium-size saucepan combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Set aside.

You don’t have to use Triscuits, but the nutty flavor and crispy texture really worked well with the tangy tomato sauce and creamy Brie.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small wheel of Brie or Goat Cheese Brie
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 bunch or 8 large leaves fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaf
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarse, black pepper

METHOD

Place tomatoes, garlic, and basil in a small bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour onto a small cookie sheet or ovenproof pan and cover with foil. Bake tomato mixture at °375 for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until you are able to handle. Remove to cutting board and with a sharp knife, chop tomato mixture until somewhat smooth.

Pour tomato coulis over cheese and place on a microwave proof plate. Microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds or until cheese is soft. Serve with Triscuits.

Even though it is the Super Bowl and you are probably going to eat some fun food that may not be as healthy as you would like, it is good to have a few healthy items on hand. I’ve found that almost everyone likes guacamole and when served with some fresh vegetables or Garden of Eatin’ blue corn chips, it is a filling, healthy, and delicious appetizer!

INGREDIENTS

• 6 ripe avocados
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 large, ripe tomato, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 poblano chiles, roasted, skinned, seeded, and diced*
• ½ cup loose packed cilantro
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce or Cholula
• 2 teaspoons salt

METHOD

Peel and seed the avocados. In a small bowl, mash the avocados with the back of a spoon. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

*To roast poblanos; rub peppers with olive oil evenly coating the skin. Place on a greased cookie sheet and cook in a °450 oven for 15 minutes, turn over, then cook for another 15 minutes. Total cooking time is 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place in a brown bag or other tight fitting container. Wait 20 minutes or so then remove chiles from bag and peel skin from the peppers. Open them up and remove seeds. They are now ready to dice. This procedure can be used to skin and seed any pepper.

Everyone likes crab cakes. I once ate at a restaurant near Destin, FL, called The Red Door, which claimed to have the best crab cake in the world. Intrigued, we all ordered the crab cakes. I haven’t yet tasted one better, but the recipe below is as close as I have gotten to recreating that masterful recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup onion, finely diced
• 2 ribs celery, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
• Two, 10 oz. cans crab meat
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons Miracle Whip
• 2 tablespoons Hiland Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• Juice and minced zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup finely chopped cilantro
• ½ cup panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs plus ½ cup extra for breading

Have ready:

• ½ cup vegetable oil
• Non-stick skillet

METHOD

Form the crab cakes into 2 to 3 oz patties. Pour some of the remaining panko breadcrumbs onto a plate and gently push the breadcrumbs onto the crab cakes until each cake is evenly coated with a thin layer of breadcrumbs. Heat non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add enough oil to just cover bottom of pan. When oil is hot but not smoking, add crab cakes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown. Be careful when turning crab cakes as they can fall apart. Serve with Remoulade Sauce* and some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

*Remoulade Sauce

• ½ cup red bell pepper
• 1 stalk of celery
• 2 green onions (including all the green)
• ½ cup of fresh parsley leaves
• ½ cups of Miracle Whip
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of horseradish
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Purée in food processor or blender until smooth.

Can you think of anything that screams AWESOME more than steak and lobster? When you figure it out, let me know!

In This Menu:

• Steak and Lobster
• Crabmeat Terrine
• Single Layer Carrot Cake

BROILED LOBSTER TAIL

INGREDIENTS

• 4 lobster tails
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse pepper
• ¼ c. lemon juice

PREPARATION

Cut shell on back side with sharp scissors down the middle until you get to the tail. Pull meat out of shell being careful not to separate meat from the tail end. Lay meat over shell and make an incision along each side of the tail meat about halfway through to the bottom. This will butterfly the tail and allow the meat to cook evenly.

Drizzle melted butter over lobster meat; sprinkle with salt and pepper and lemon juice. Place lobster on rack 4-6 inches from broiler. Broil 12 minutes. Serve on shell with melted butter.

GRILLED PRIME RIB

INGREDIENTS

• Four, 12 oz. All Natural Rib Eye Steak
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Coarse, black pepper

PREPARATION

Brush steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over a hot fire to desired temperature; about 4 minutes per side for medium.

Serve with the lobster, steamed broccoli crowns and whipped potatoes.

This dish represents the best of summer! Tangy, cold, Gazpacho acts a base for the striking tower of perfectly ripe mangoes, tomatoes, and avocado. The whole stack is topped with ice cold Dungeness crabmeat. Served with lime wedges to give the whole thing that little “kick” that makes this one of my very favorite summer dishes! We have done this dish before. A couple of you commented that you loved it, but that it was really time consuming to make the Gazpacho. Here is an updated version with a sauce that takes 30 seconds to make. How’s that for a time saver!

The technique used in this recipe is a really cool one to have in your arsenal of kitchen tricks. A terrine is very often stacked, hence the name of this dish. The recipe calls for PVC to use as a stacking vessel, but I used a can of enchilada sauce that had both the top and bottom cut off. I washed the can and used it to stack the food. Any clean cylinder will work as long as it is at least 3″ in diameter and between 4″ and 7″ tall.

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup diced ripe tomato
• ¼ cup diced ripe mango
• ¼ cup diced avocado
• 2 oz. king crabmeat
• ½ cup sauce (see recipe below)
• Lime, black sesame seeds and cilantro for garnish

PREPARATION

On a cold, large plate, spoon sauce up to rim of plate. Place a 3″ diameter piece of PVC that is about 5″ tall or other cylinder in middle of sauce. Stack first four ingredients; tomato, mango, avocado, then crab. Tamp each layer down lightly with any object that comfortably fits into the cylinder (a clean wine bottle works well). Insert wine bottle or other object into cylinder and apply GENTLE pressure to the terrine while removing cylinder. This takes a little practice, but take heart! You can always eat the ones that fall! Remove PVC and garnish with lime wheels ½ dipped in black sesame seeds and a cilantro sprig on top.

For the sauce:

• One, 12 oz. jar of cocktail sauce
• ½ cup sour cream

Mix together with a wire whip until completely blended with no lumps.

Pick it up in your store bakery.