Seafood Kick

I have decided that I do NOT like being home by myself at night. Hubby runs work in construction and is working the graveyard shift for this week. I had no idea how scary a house can be at night in the country. Since I can't sleep. . .because I am listening for all the creaks thinking they are footsteps, I am staying up making menus for the following evening.

I leave for work at 5 a.m., work a 10 hour shift, and get home at 6 p.m. Traffic is a bugger from Seattle to my home. That gives me 2 1/2 hours to fix a nice dinner, make a lunch to tide hubby over for the evening AND have him to talk to before he goes. I know, what a baby! We have a golden retriever but he has allergies from pollen right now so when I get home, I give him 2 Benadryl tablets. . .which makes him drowsy. No help there. He would just sleep through everything. Well, 2 days to go and this whole fiasco will be over and I will be able to sleep like a normal person. The crab cakes are set on a Kaiser roll with poppyseeds, topped with a creamy remoulade sauce, and a pretty lettuce leaf. I like simple the best. Also, I love panko flakes instead of saltine crackers or breadcrumbs.

In the meantime, this is what I devised for dinner. Hubby LOVES crabcakes so I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought 2 Dungeness crab to shuck. Dinner (and lunch for the evening) was Crab-cake Sandwiches, Remoulade Sauce, and Nectarine and Plum Salad. The nectarine salad has lemon olive oil, which I found at Oliver and Company. A French store selling different olive oils and balsamic vinegars. There is even a friendly lady that lets you try different flavors. Very tasty and "always" hard to make a decision on just one. The lemon olive oil is my favorite right now.

Crab-cake Sandwich
3/4 c. panko flakes
1/3 c. thinly sliced green onion
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 t. Old Bay seasoning
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 pounds fresh lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
3 T. butter
6 lettuce leaves
6 poppyseed kaiser rolls
Remoulade Sauce (I have included that recipe just below)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the panko flakes, green onion, bell pepper, mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, salt , and egg, stirring well. Gently fold crabmeat into mixture. Shape into 6 patties.

Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Keep warm.

To serve the crab-cakes, place a lettuce leaf and crab cake on bottom half of each bun; spoon 2 Tablespoons Remoulade Sauce over each crab cake; and top with remaining halves of buns.

Remoulade Sauce
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1 clove garlic, minsed
1 t. lemon zest

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Nectarine and Plum Salad
3 T. lemon olive oil
2 T. honey
1 T. apple-cider vinegar
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground pepper
2 large nectarines, cubed
3 ripe plums, cubed
6 large leaves red leaf lettuce

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper until blended. Add fruit, tossing to coat with vinaigrette. Serve fruit over lettuce leaves. Yum.