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Traditional crabcakes are made with lump crab meat, are fried in clarified butter, and served warm. While this is a delicious way to serve them, it is by no means the limit on what you can do. You are really only limited by your own creativity when it comes to preparing and serving crab cakes.

Take the sauce for example. Many times crab cakes are served plain, but if you want to change up the flavors, a great way to do that is with a flavorful sauce served along with your crabcakes. You can serve your crabcakes with a nice Hollandaise sauce, or maybe even a citrus mayonnaise. If you prefer a more spicy flavor, go with a chipotle sauce. Feel like a taste of the orient? Try a teriyaki sauce or other Asian sauce variation. If you see a sauce recipe that you think might taste good, give it a try.

You can even change up the flavor of the crabcake itself by changing the ingredients a little. Try adding some Cajun, southwest, or Asian seasonings to the crabcake mixture before you cook it for a different taste. Do not be afraid to experiment a little.

Another way to change up the traditional crabcake is considering how it is served. Rather than serving just it plain, try serving your crabcakes on a sandwich. Try serving a couple of small crabcakes on a hoagy roll with lettuce, tomato, and some seasoned mayonnaise for a Crabcake Po'boy. You could also serve it open-faced on a piece of French bread topped with one of the sauces you created.

How about a crabcake salad? Simply serve one of your crabcakes on a bed of mixed salad greens with raspberry vinaigrette on the side.

The point is, your crabcakes can be as traditional or as creative as you want them to be. The only thing that is limiting what you can do with the crabcake is you. Whether you serve them as a main dish, an appetizer, or on a sandwich or salad, it all depends on how brave you feel with your creativity. Have fun and change up the flavors from time to time. Who knows, you may come up with a new taste sensation.

Just a guy who likes to spend time promoting web sites about Exotic Foods rather than sleeping

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Romanow

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The traditional crab cake uses lump crab meat, bread or cracker crumbs, chopped onion, seasonings, and egg to hold it together. The ingredients are mixed together, and formed into cakes or patties. The cakes are then fried and clarified butter and served warm. Depending on the size of the crab cake, they can be served as either appetizers or entrees.

While traditionalists would tell you that this is the only way crab cakes should be served, many others will tell you that crab meat is versatile enough to be used in more creative ways. Modern crab cakes are now being served in many different ways, along with the traditional style. You can now see Asian style crab cakes, Cajun crab cakes, and even South West style, as cooks across the country experiment with different ingredients and flavors.

Even those that enjoy the traditional crab cake have had fun mixing up different sauces to compliment the crab cake. You are likely to see it served with a Hollandaise sauce, or a lime sauce, or perhaps even a citrus mayonnaise. The possibilities are only limited by your creativity.

Do not be afraid to experiment. Nobody knows your taste in food as well as you do. If you like spicier foods, try a chipotle mayonnaise over your crab cake. Or if you prefer Asian, you may think about a teriyaki crab cake. The point is, you can be as creative or as traditional as you desire. There really are no limits to what you can try.

Crabcakes are easy to make, and they taste great. Once you find a recipe you like, you can either stick with it, or use it as a starting place for trying your own variations on how you serve them. As a main dish or as an appetizer, crab cakes are a dish that please crowds where ever they are served. Get started with your crab cakes today.

Just a guy who likes to spend time promoting web sites about crabcakes rather than sleeping.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Romanow

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Because of the Maine lobsters popularity, special care has been taken to protect their growing areas, and to keep the lobsters from being fished to extinction. Size limits have been placed on the lobsters that can be kept for resale in order to allow younger lobsters to grow and reproduce. The Maine also requires a special license to be obtained in order to harvest lobsters commercially. This keeps the waters off of the coast of Maine to be overwhelmed by unregulated lobster boats.

Once caught, care must be taken in the handling of the lobsters. Because the meat will spoil quickly, lobsters are kept alive until they are ready to be cooked or processed. That is why when you go to your local seafood restaurant you will see a lobster tank in the front. Fresh lobsters are kept alive in these tanks until they are ready to be cooked.

One thing that many people are not aware of is that lobsters can survive out of the water for up to two days, if they are kept refrigerated. When the temperature dips below a certain point the lobster will go into a hibernation state. It is best to refrigerate the lobster either in the container it was purchased in, or in an open container. Do not put the lobster in an airtight container or it will suffocate and die. Keep the lobster moist, and place it in the coldest part of your refrigerator.

Refrigerating the lobster is also a good option for people that are squeamish about putting a live lobster in a pot of boiling water. If you refrigerate the lobster first, the boiling water will kill it before it leaves the hibernation state.

For cooking the fresh lobster, most people prefer quickly immersing it into a pot of boiling water. Fill your pot with enough water to completely cover the lobster. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water, and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling, drop your lobster into the pot. You will need to cook it until the shell turns bright red. The time it takes to cook will be different depending on the size of the lobster. Some people like to steam or grill their lobster, but boiling is the quickest and easiest method.

Maine lobsters make for a delicious entrée. Regardless of which method you use to cook it, your friends and family will enjoy any meal you put on the table centered around a fresh cooked lobster.

Just a guy who likes to spend time promoting web sites about lobster rather than sleeping.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Romanow

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There are a lot of taco recipes available online, ranging from traditional Mexican tacos to tex-mex style tacos and even chocolate tacos. Only your imagination limits how many variations of taco fillings you can make, this is why tacos are so fun to cook and have become so popular around the world. Whether you're already a taco lover or just want to try something new, I think you will love these taco recipes.

Ground beef taco recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground meat
- 1 small onion or ½ medium sized onion
- ½ bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon of salt

Put the ground beef in a pan with good quality extra virgin cooking oil. When the ground beef starts getting browned, add onion, bell pepper and garlic cloves. Add the chilli powder, cumin, paprika, salt and a bit of water and let it simmer for a while until all the water has cooked away.

Serve with minced lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, guacamole and salsa.

Fish taco recipe

Seasoning:

- 1 tablespoon of chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper

Fish:
- 1 pound firm white fish
- 2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons of lime juice

Combine fish, oil, lime juice and one half of the seasoning mix in a plastic bag and marinate it in the refridgerator for about 30 minutes. Fry or grill the fish until it flakes easily

Fish taco sauce:

- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Half taco seasoning (see above)

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, cilantro and one half of the seasoning mix.
Fill tortillas with fish, cabbage, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, cheddar cheese, lime juice and top it with fish sauce. You could also serve with a homemade salsa.

Guacamole recipe

- 2 ripe avocadoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Juice from 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- chili to taste
- 1 minced tomato

Mash all the ingredients except the minced tomato which you blend into the guacamole when you are done mashing it.

Christian Hanson is the creator of tasty taco recipes, where he shares some of his recipes.

Whether you're already a fan of tacos or want to try cooking something new you will find a taco recipe you like.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_Hanson

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While many variations on the crab cake have been developed over the years, traditionalists still prefer the basic Maryland crab cake. It simple flavor combinations, and the ease and quickness of the recipe have made it a very enjoyable dish to prepare and eat.

Like most recipes, the higher the quality of ingredients you start with, the better the final product will be. Although crab meat is not inexpensive, you will enjoy the taste you get with high quality crab meat. Along with the quality of the crab meat, you will get better flavors from fresher ingredients.

The crab cake recipe itself is very simple. There are not many ingredients, which allows the flavor of the crab meat to come through, and not get buried by the other ingredients. The recipe itself starts with the crab meat. This typically lump crab meat, although some recipes will have you mix lump and claw meat together. This is mixed with saltine cracker crumbs, and a dressing made of eggs, salt, finely ground onion, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

These ingredients are carefully mixed together. You only need to mix the ingredients until they bind and you are able to form patties. Over mixing will break up the crab meat too much, and you will lose much of the desired texture.

Once the ingredients are mixed, form them into patties that are about ¾ to 1-inch thick. If you are making crab cakes for appetizers make a 2 ounce patty. For an entrée, make 4 ounce patties. When the patties are formed refrigerate them for about 2 hours before cooking so they will set and be firm enough not to fall apart when cooking.

In a frying pan or skillet you can sauté the crab cakes in clarified butter until they are golden brown. You can make clarified butter by heating butter until it is almost to the boiling point, Separate the solids from the top, and use the clear butter at the bottom to cook with. This allows you to sauté at a higher temperature without your butter burning in the pan.

Serve your crab cakes warm to your hungry guests and watch them enjoy this traditional American classic. It is quick and easy, and best of all, it is delicious.

Just a guy who likes to spend time promoting web sites
about Crabcakes rather than sleeping

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Romanow

Bryan Romanow - EzineArticles Expert Author

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Most of us are looking for ways to stretch our food dollars without cutting back on nutrition and taste. Casseroles are the perfect solution. They usually use lesser expensive meats, combine ingredients into some very tasty combination's and they are easy for the busy cook to assemble. Here are a couple of recipes for some casseroles from my vintage recipe collection. I think you and your family will enjoy them. Phil's Mexacali Casserole combines ground beef and noodles. Hamburger-Onion Hash combines ground beef with rice.

PHIL'S MEXACALI CASSEROLE

This recipe is from an old Southern Indiana Fire Department cookbook.

1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup chopped green peppers and jalapeño peppers* mixed
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 can (17 oz) cream-style corn
1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (4 oz) mushroom pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp chili powder
8 oz pkg noodles, cooked according to pkg directions and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet with the peppers and onion. When beef is browned, drain the fat. Stir in the remaining ingredients; mix together well. Turn into a buttered 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

*When working with jalapeño peppers, it is a good idea to wear gloves. Do not touch hands to eyes when handling hot peppers. Remove the seeds unless you want your dish to be really hot. The heat is mostly in the seeds.

HAMBURGER-ONION HASH

1 lb lean ground beef
2 medium or 1 large yellow onions, sliced
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 can (16-oz) diced tomatoes
1 to 2 tsps chili powder, according to taste
1/2 cup uncooked regular rice
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook meat, onions, and bell pepper until meat is browned. Drain off excess fat. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, chili powder, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into an ungreased 2-quart casserole dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until cooked through and rice is tender.

Enjoy!

For more of Linda's vintage recipes visit http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com

For more of her recipes and diabetic information, go to http://diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Carol_Wilson

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Spring is (finally) here - yeah! The menus this week reflect the changing season with a much lighter fare which also helps the food budget. I don't think you or your family will feel deprived with these menus; there are many different flavors and nice touches to liven the meals.

May Day is this Friday so I have planned a light salad supper and invited a few friends over to celebrate the day. We will eat on the patio if the weather is nice. I'll serve an appetizer course using a quiche party plan. The quiche can be meatless to keep the meal vegetarian or mix-and-match to suit your family or guests. The appetizers will also include chevre logs with red pepper jam; fruit tray of strawberries, kiwi, and star fruit with bittersweet chocolate dipping sauce; roasted garlic onion jam; bread sticks, and sesame water crackers.

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday:
Grilled Salmon with Dill Butter
Long Grain and Wild Rice (boxed rice)
Snow Peas
Toss Salad (bottled salad dressing)
Lemon Affogato (purchased ice cream and lemoncello liqueur or lemon-flavored soft drink)

Monday
Easy Cheeseburger Pie (baking mix, shredded cheese)
Green Beans
Tomato Wedges with Blue Cheese
Sugar Cookie Apple Crisp (prepared cookie dough, canned apple pie filling)

Tuesday:
Pork Cutlets with Mushroom Sauce (sliced mushrooms; save some pork for Thursday)
Pasta of Choice
Steamed Squash Medley
Banana Pudding Tarts (purchased graham cracker tart shells, instant banana pudding mix)

Wednesday:
Speedy Chicken Divan (cooked chicken if available, frozen broccoli and cheese mix)
White Rice
Fruit Salad with Yogurt Dressing (purchased yogurt, canned Mandarin oranges, pear slices, and pineapple)
Apple Pie a la Mode (purchased apple pie and ice cream)

Thursday:
Pork Fried Rice (Pork from Tuesday; instant brown rice, sliced mushrooms)
Asian Veggie Wraps (flour tortillas, broccoli slaw mix; save some tortillas for Saturday)
Fruit Pizza Cookies (purchased sugar cookies, canned fruit, apricot jam)

Friday (May Day):
Baby Blue Salad (vegetarian; bagged salad greens, bottled vinaigrette)
Crusty Bread
Coconut Macaroons (shredded coconut, chocolate morsels)

Saturday:
Dilled Tilapia Bundles (puff pastry)
Asian Stir-Fry (frozen stir-fry veggie mix)
Cranberry-Apple Salad
Tuilles with Ice Cream (tortillas from Thursday, purchased ice cream)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

These and other menu and party ideas can be found at http://www.MomsMealConnection.com The 30-Minute Menus give you instructions for preparing your complete meal in 30 minutes - flat! Party in a Bag offers ideas for 30-minute appetizer courses or cocktail parties.

MomsMealConnection is designed to help busy moms everywhere prepare meals - family meals, holiday celebrations, and special dinners plus entertaining. I am the mother of five grown children who are now starting families of their own so to say that I have 'been there, done that' is an understatement! My trick is to plan weekly menus and grocery shop only once per week. I am a firm believer that once-a-week meal planning and grocery shopping saves a lot of time and money! We can all use more of those commodities.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Randall

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May has finally arrived! To help with the grocery bill this week, I have selected a 'cook once - eat three times' weekly menu plan with the Turkey Breast on Sunday followed with a Chicken Taco Bake for Cinco de Mayo and Bistro Chicken on Thursday. All three meals are very different so your family will not be saying "Oh, no. Not leftovers again!".

The Pulled Pork supper on Monday will leave you with lots of pork for wonderful sandwiches or salads for lunch all week. The Linguine Primavera on Saturday is just a celebration of Spring and Mother's Day. I will be visiting my mother this weekend and want to prepare some nice meals for her.

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday:
Turkey Breast with French Country Gravy (crock pot; jarred Alfredo sauce; save some turkey for Tuesday and Thursday)
Long Grain and Wild Rice (boxed rice mix)
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts
Pound Cake Torte (purchased pound cake, prepared frosting)

Monday:
Pulled Pork (crock pot; bottled BBQ sauce and mushroom gravy)
Buns and Condiments (purchased buns, jarred condiments)
Black-Eyed Pea Salad (canned peas, corn, and chilies)
Cheesecake Filled Pears (instant cheesecake pudding mix, canned pears)

Tuesday: Cinco de Mayo
Chicken Taco Ring Bake (poultry from Sunday; crescent rolls, shredded cheddar cheese)
Salsa and Sour Cream Toppings (jarred salsa, purchased sour cream)
Lettuce and Tomatoes (shredded lettuce)
Refried Beans (canned beans)
Red Onion / Orange Salad (canned Mandarin orange sections)
Heavenly Hash (purchased angel food cake, canned fruit cocktail, jarred maraschino cherries, frozen whipped topping)

Wednesday:
Tortellini Rustica with Fresh Vegetables (vegetarian; prepared tortellini, grated Parmesan cheese)
Three Pepper Salad (jarred Italian salad dressing)
Quick Tortoni and Seasonal Berries (purchased coconut macaroon cookies and ice cream, frozen whipped topping)

Thursday:
Bistro Chicken (poultry from Sunday; canned tomatoes, jarred salad dressing, shredded mozzarella cheese)
Rice or Pasta (boxed rice or pasta)
Fresh Green Beans
Caramelized Peaches and Cream

Friday:
Grilled Shrimp with Greek Veggie Salsa (cleaned and deveined shrimp)
New Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
Ice Cream with Apple Crunch Topper (purchased ice cream)

Saturday:
Linguine Primavera (vegetarian; purchased linguine, grated Parmesan cheese)
Watermelon / Raspberry / Strawberry Salad (bottled raspberry vinaigrette)
Fresh Fruit Tarts (prepared pie crust, canned Mandarin orange sections and pineapple tidbits)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

These and other menu and party ideas can be found at http://www.MomsMealConnection.com The 30-Minute Menus give you instructions for preparing your complete meal in 30 minutes - flat! Party in a Bag offers ideas for 30-minute appetizer courses or cocktail parties.

MomsMealConnection is designed to help busy moms everywhere prepare meals - family meals, holiday celebrations, and special dinners plus entertaining. I am the mother of five grown children who are now starting families of their own so to say that I have 'been there, done that' is an understatement! My trick is to plan weekly menus and grocery shop only once per week. I am a firm believer that once-a-week meal planning and grocery shopping saves a lot of time and money! We can all use more of those commodities.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Randall

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What these people do not realize is, Maine lobsters are easy to cook, and with a little bit of care, they can prepare a tasty dish that will thrill their friends and family.

Lobster meat will go bad relatively quickly after the lobster dies, so fresh lobster is sold alive. If you are not going to cook the lobster immediately after you get home, or you do not have an aquarium set up t keep it in, you should put it into the refrigerator. Lobsters can be kept out of the water in a refrigerated state for up to two days. When the temperature drops below a certain point the lobster will go into a state of hibernations, so you do not need to be worried about it crawling around the refrigerator. Keep it moist by wrapping it in some wet paper towels, and put it into the coldest part of your refrigerator. Make sure you keep it in the container you purchased it in, or place it in an open container. If you put it in an airtight container, the lobster will die.

When it comes time to cook your lobster, you need to decide how you are going to do it. While some people like to steam or grill their lobster, the quickest, easiest, and most popular method is to boil it. Simply fill a large pot with enough water to completely cover the lobster, add 1 tablespoon of salt for each quart of water, and bring it to a boil.

Leave the lobster in the refrigerator until the water is boiling and you are ready to begin cooking. If the lobster is in a hibernation state, you can drop it into the water without a fight. The boiling water will kill the lobster before it ever wakes up.

Boil the lobster for between until the shell turns a bright red color. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the lobster. The internal temperature should be 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you do not want to deal with live lobsters, you can also purchase frozen lobster tails. Although many people feel that frozen tails loose some of the sweetness you get from cooking live lobsters, they are still delicious.

If you want to prepare a meal that will really impress people, consider adding fresh Maine lobster to the menu. You and your guests will be glad you did.

Just a guy who likes to spend time promoting web sites about lobster rather than sleeping

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Romanow

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Chinese food is one of the most delicious types of cuisine available to enjoy today. The wonderful thing about this food is that it tastes so good and is very easy to make. Chinese cuisine is a great addition to include to any family's homemade meals. Chinese cooking is actually super easy to learn with the right recipes and knowledge. Many of us love to visit our favorite Chinese restaurants or Chinese buffets and enjoy this mouth-watering cuisine. Just think of the great Chinese dishes many of us are so used to enjoying.

I know as a kid we always went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered our favorite selection of items, which often included, wonton soup, egg rolls, shrimp fried rice, steamed white rice, plus two or three other main dishes. Just think of the scrumptious Chinese recipes you've enjoyed in your favorite restaurants in the past. From stir-fried beef with broccoli to sweet and sour pork, from General Tso's Chicken to Moo Goo Gai Pan, the list goes on and on of the great dishes available in Chinese cuisine. There is such a wide variety of options in Chinese cooking - that's what makes it so enjoyable!

Other great aspects about cooking Chinese are the healthy benefits this food offers. Very often vegetables are balanced with entrees and fried dishes come with steamed dishes or soups. The majority of people believe that a Chinese cuisine is healthy and well balanced.

There are also so many interesting methods of cooking great this type of cuisine. The various cooking techniques include boiling, poaching, steaming, deep-frying, roasting, stir-frying, sautéing, braising, flavor-potting and smoking.

The different types of Chinese food that we love to enjoy include the following: crab, cabbage, carrots, duck, tofu, cucumber, bean sprouts, bamboo, eggs, chicken, beef, glutinous rice, mushrooms, ginger, watercress and sesame oil.

There are also several different styles within this cuisine. They include Mandarin cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Szechwan cuisine and Hunan cuisine. Each of these cuisines has its own unique style and come from the four major regions of China. For instance, Cantonese is more mild and the most popular type of Chinese cuisine in the United States, while Szechwan is much spicier in taste. Mandarin food consists of many breads and noodles and Hunan food has more oil in it and is often richer in taste than Szechwan food, but may also be spicy or sweet and sour in flavor.

As you can see Chinese food is a delicious and healthy cuisine to enjoy throughout the year! You'll also find that with the right Chinese recipes and instructions that Chinese cooking is very easy to learn.

You can Cook Delicious Chinese Food at Home starting tonight! Click the following link to find out how: http://www.FoodRecipeResources.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Kratsas

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