These little gems are awesome. Leave it to Cathy at Noble Pig. She comes up with some of the best appetizers. For holidays, for game day, for company, everyone will love to see a platter of these coming their way. Love the little Parmesan/Panko cups....they hold together surprisingly well.
Mini Crab Cakes
From Cathy at Noble Pig, adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 24
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
4 teaspoons plus 4 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Large pinch cayenne pepper
6 ounces fresh lump crabmeat, picked over, patted dry, coarsely shredded
1-1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter , melted
Fresh chives cut into pieces
Method:
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan and egg; beat to blend. Beat in sour cream, citrus zest, 4 teaspoons chopped chives, coarse salt and cayenne pepper. Fold in crabmeat. (This can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Spray mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Toss 1-1/2 cups panko, 3/4 cup Parmesan and 4 tablespoons chopped chives in a bowl. Drizzle melted butter over, tossing with a fork until evenly moistened. Press 1 rounded tablespoon panko mixture into bottom of each muffin cup (makes a well with your thumb), forming crust. Spoon 1 generous Tablespoon crab mixture into each cup. Sprinkle more panko mixture over each.
Bake crab cakes in a 350 degree oven until golden on top and set, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan at least 5 minutes. They will firm up. Gently lift each crab cake out of the pan with a fork onto a serving platter.
(Can be made 2 hours ahead. Arrange on baking sheet, let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in a 350 degree oven for 5-6 minutes.)
Arrange crab cakes on a serving platter; sprinkle with chives.
Bet you thought these would be either too moist or too tart, didn't you? I sure did. Couldn't have been more surprised...they were perfect. I expected them to be soggy after the rhubarb baked in them. Didn't happen. I adore scones and to pair them with my favorite rhubarb, have them turn out beautifully, well....what could be better?
Rhubarb Scones
From Food 52, by Midge (Who calls them Naughty Rhubarb Scones for some reason.)
Ingredients:
3 stalks rhubarb
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
2/3--3/4 cups heavy cream
Method:
Preheat oven to 425.
Slice rhubarb stalks 1/4 " thick. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl or bowl of food processor. Cut butter into flour mixture by hand (or whiz with food processor) until butter is the size of small peas. Blend in 1/4 cup of the sugar. Blend in sliced rhubarb. (If using the food processor, just pulse -- you want the slices left mostly intact.) Blend in cream until a soft dough forms. (note: you may need to add more than 2/3 cup depending on the weather,etc.) Transfer dough to floured surface and divide in half. To make triangular scones, flatten into 6-inch disks and cut each circle into 6-8 scones. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 20 minutes or until reddish-brown on top.
Summer's here and along with it, come recipes for grunts and slumps as well as cobblers, crisps, crackles, roly poly, buckles, bettys and dumplings! I love every single one, too.
Aside from my mother's, Ina's recipes really are the best. I made this plum crunch last year and never posted it; I can't imagine why as it was wonderful. Sometimes recipes get lost in files and it's always fun to discover one everyone really liked.
(I'm skipping Ina First Friday in July because I'm joining Louise's online Picnic Game, so consider this my July Ina offering!)
Plum Crunch
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics
Ingredients:
3 pounds Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons creme de cassis liqueur
For the topping
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
For the fruit, in a large bowl, combine the plums, brown sugar, flour, and cassis. Pour the mixture into a 12 by 8-inch shallow baking dish.
For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, walnuts, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the plum mixture.
Bake the plum crunch for 40 to 45 minutes, until the plums are bubbling and the top is browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.
