recipe: lingiuini with clam sauce

taken from: foodnetwork.com 

changes: reduced quantities since we only had ~2 dozen clams, used dried oregano & parsley since it's all we had, added shallots, added a few dashes onion powder, white pepper, & Italian seasoning.

result: absolutely delightful -- would make again without any changes.  

ingredients (for 2):
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 shallot, finely diced
- 2 dozen little neck clams, scrubbed under cold running water 
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 lb lingiuni
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped oregano leaves
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt 

recipe: crab dip (T-day 3 of 5)

made this as an app for T-day, in the hopes it would taste even remotely as close to the crap dip from Tasty n Alder. while it wasn't quite the TnA dip, it was actually really damn good. i ate way more of it than i should and was barely all that hungry by the time T-day din came around. worth it though! 

*picture from allrecipes.com 

i used the Spicy Maryland Crab Dip recipe from allrecipes.com as a base recipe, adjusting things a bit to our own taste. 

ingredients list: 

- 1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 1/2 cup mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 & 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tsp dry mustard

- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 3/4 lb fresh crab meat

- 3 dashes hot sauce

- Old Bay seasoning to taste

- bread, pita chips, blue corn tortilla chips for dippin

to make: 

preheat oven to 325 degrees F. lightly grease an 8x8" baking dish, and set aside.

in a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, Parmesan cheese, majo, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, mustard, and about half of the cheddar cheese. fold in crab meat, hot sauce, and Old Bay.

transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish, and top with remaining cheddar cheese. bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. 

recipe: corn and crab bisque

terrible picture, delicious soup!

one of the perks of living in the PNW is that every now & again alaskan king crab legs will pop up in the grocery store on sale for $9.99/lb. yesterday was one such event, so it seemed like the perfect opp to cook a nice din for the man piece. i decided to make a crab bisque, using the Corn and Crab Bisque recipe from allrecipes.com. 

i made a few adjustments, adding in some Old Bay seasoning (seemed like a sin not to have the OB in the pot), shallots, extra garlic, white wine, swapping canned chicken broth for homemade crab stock that i had frozen, and double the amount of crab. 

it came out fantastic, although i personally prefer a little bit thicker/creamier of a soup... next time i think i'd cut back slightly on the seafood stock. and possibly add in bacon into the pan with the onion/garlic mixture... that sweet & smokey bacon flavor would have been dope in this. 

ingredients list (scaled back to 4 servings):
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup shallot, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup wine
- 21 ounces (roughly) of crab stock or chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1/4 tsp old bay seasoning
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
- 2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
- 1/4 cup half-and-half
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 lb fresh crab meat
- salt & pepper to taste

recipes: seafood risotto & crab stock

after cooking up a bunch of crab (one of the perks of living in PNW), i took advantage of the giant bowl of crab shells and took my first spin at making crab stock. i thought it would be as easy as chicken stock - throw some bones in, add some veggies, but it was like a full recipe in and of itself. it only seemed like the right thing to do to make a baller seafood risotto with all the delish broth we had. 

i pulled the stock recipe from Simply Recipes, and the risotto recipe from Epicurious.

ingredients list - seafood risotto: 
- 4-5 cups seafood stock (recipe below)
- 1/3  cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
- 1 & 1/3 cups arborrio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (i used Savignon Blanc)
- 8-10 mussels, scrubbed and debearded 
- 6 medium sea scallops
- 1/2 cup peeled, crushed, and seeded plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt & fresh group pepper

recipe: cheddar bay biscuits

a belated bean post from Valentine's Day. we cooked up a nice lil seafood feast - king crab (god bless the west coast crab scene), sauteed asparagus, and cheddar bay biscuits. the biscuits i've made on one or two occasions before, and damn they are always good. not exactly like Red Lobster, but a really good substitution. and crazy easy. the recipe is from allrecipes.com, adapted a bit based on the site reviews. 

ingredients list: (makes about 10 biscuits)
- 2 cups Bisquick baking (pancake) mix
- 1 & 1/2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley, divided
- 1/4 & 1/8 tsp Old Bay seasoning, divided  

CCK Chinese Restaurant

the one thing we didn't get to do in San Fran that was on my must-do list was to hit Chinatown and have some dim sum. when we got back i tried to find a few places in Albany that had it, only to learn that really none do. Yips is our go-to Chinese place, and they had it on their menu... only to inform me that they stopped serving it as no one ordered it... baaah! after a little digging online, i found CCK which apparently not only has it on their menu but was Yelped as the best Chinese restaurant in Albany. it's very unsuspecting from the exterior (it's located on the borderline of ghetto-Albs), but it's very quaint and cute inside. 

we ordered the dim sum sampler - i can't recall exactly what everything was... Spring Rolls, Dumplings (which were slightly blackened on the bottom - oh-so-good), Shrimp -something or others- and some type of Pork wonton that was quite yum. we also got the steamed pork buns as an app - i've seen them on every menu but never tried them - carpe diem. loved them.

we both got crab as our entree - i had the Crab with Curry and kyle had the Crab with Ginger and Scallion. we assumed it would be a dish with a few scant pieces of crab, but we served these awesome whole crabs simmering in some banging sauce. the curry was nice & spicy - enough to get the sniffles but not enough to drown out the dish, and was stuffed with yum veggies. i didn't try K's, but the it smelled awesome with the hot fry they did to the garlic & scallions... yum city. 

we would def go back - they had a lot of specials that were not on their menu but are very diff that what the typical Chinese restaurants in the area serve. on top of that - they are super reasonable. the crab dishes were $9.95 each - they were on special, but even still that anywhere else would be at least the $13-$15 range. 

recipe: lobster bisque

there was a raging lobster sale going on @ Price Chopper this week, so the boy thought it was a good idea if we i cook up some lobster bisque for lunch. i've never bisqued before since i just started eating seafood not that  all long ago, but was pleasantly surprised at how absolutely yum this turned out. (clearly i have nothing to compare it to, but after making it i would definitely not be opposed to ordering it out). i used the recipe from food.com, which was simple but still had more / better ingredients than many of the other recipes out there, as well as very well rated. solid.

ingredients list:
- 1/2 lb lobster meat, cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp minced shallots
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 tsp worchestershire sauce
- 2 tsp tabasco sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 6 tbsp dry sherry
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tsp lobster base
- 4 oz tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 tbsp butter
- olive oil (i used garlic EVOO)

to make: in a saute pan, heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat and saute shallots, onions, and garlic for 1 minute. deglaze pan with the white wine. add the worcestershire, tabasco, and thyme, and saute for 1 more minute. deglaze the pan with the sherry.

add the paprika, hot water, and lobster base and mix well. stir in the tomato paste and add the bay leaves. simmer for 10 minutes. remove bay leaves, then pour mixture into a blender, blending for 1-2 minutes until all chunks are gone. return to pan.

whisk in the heavy cream and butter and bring to a boil. add the lobster and simmer until cooked through, then serve. 

recipe: shrimp alfredo pizza

even though i'm not a major shrimp person, the shrimp pizza from Pepe's Pizza is SO good even i like it. the other night we decided on an impromptu DIY version for dinner... it's so simple, but something about it is so damn good. it tastes like a really good garlicy white pizza, but the shrimp that cooks down into it melds to become some whole other delicious animal... MM' MMM! (and it's not in a very fishy way... it just works perfectly with the garlic and creamy alfredo/cheese). don't worry about adding the raw shrimp to this... the high heat / pizza timing are actually just right for shrimp prep.

ingredients list:- 12-15 uncooked raw shrimp (i used small-medium sized)
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1 cup alfredo sauce
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1.5 - 2 cups mozz cheese
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil

to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees; and heat outdoor grill over medium heat (only do this last step if you are finishing the pizza on the grill). 

roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread alfredo sauce onto the dough along with the minced garlic, then pile on first some cheese, the shrimp, tomato, more cheese, fresh basil, and some garlic powder and black pepper (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.

you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking.