Oh Captain My Captain!

I love Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, and my favorite boat is the Cornelia Marie.

Captain Phil Harris was my favorite captain, and his death this week saddened me greatly. What I loved the most about him was how good a father he was, and how much hard work he put in to raising his sons and providing for them in addition to teaching them about crab fishing on the bearing strait. The love for his children was evident on each episode, and for that I think he will be remembered for the most.

There are many forums to honor his memory, but the one I joined seemed most appropriate: Eat Crab Legs in Memory of Captain Phil. While I cannot afford crab legs at the moment, I splurged on some great lump crab meat for crab cakes. Sipping some chardonnay, I raise my glass to Captain Phil...a great captain, but an even greater father. The show will never be the same for me, nor will the seas, nor will your sons.

Cornelia Marie Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lump crab meat, picked over

1/2 juice of a lemon

1 small red pepper, seeded and diced

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3/8 cup of plain bread crumbs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for pan frying

Lemon wedges, for serving

Tartar Sauce, for serving

Directions:

Combine first ten ingredients and form into desired crab cake size. Place on a plate and cover with saran wrap and place in freezer for ten minutes. Heat a nonstick skillet with enough oil to coat the pan. Pan fry (time will depend on the size you make). Serve hot with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

(For a crab recipe right from Captain Phil, click here.)

The Goodness of Hummus

My supper club's theme this month is citrus. A great theme considering its the deep cold of winter and foods with citrus are bound to invoke thoughts of warm, summery days.

What are your favorite foods with citrus? I love lemon the most and would choose a lemon dessert over a chocolate one any day, and I consider myself a chocoholic. I love key lime pie and I love eating clementines right out of the box. There is nothing better than a lemon ice from The Lemon Ice King of Corona during the summertime. I love blood orange sorbet, Asian orange beef, Greek lemon and egg soup, orange cranberry muffins. The only citrus I dislike is grapefruit...unless its juice is mixed into my favorite cocktail called The Papa Doble.

I made three dishes for supper club. The first was an appetizer - lemon artichoke hummus. I must say the word "garlic" should be in the title of the recipe as well! The original recipe I saw called for 6 cloves, but I reduced it to five and that was quite enough, thank you very much!

Other posts to come this week will be the two other dishes I made: lemon parsley mashed potatoes and an orange chocolate trifle.

If you are not in a supper club, I highly recommend it. It is a wonderful way to meet new people, talk food, and have fun sharing recipes. The women in my club are amazing, and I look forward to it each month.

Lemon Artichoke Hummus

Ingredients:

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of Artichoke hearts

5 cloves garlic

2 Lemons

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon White pepper

1 tablespoon parsley flakes Virgin olive oil

Directions:

Juice the lemons. Combine all ingredients but the oil in the bowl of a food processor, turn on, and slowly drizzle in olive oil as the ingredients are being processed to a creamy consistency. Serve with drizzled olive oil and lemon wedges on top.