Homemade Imitation Crab

I really like mock crab and lobster. Since I couldn't find a recipe to make my own online, I made my own using facts I know about the mock crab I get at the grocery store:

1. It's made of whitefish.

2. It's firm, sweet, and buttery. 

3. Mock lobster and crab are interchangeable. 

I used cod, I suppose you could use just about any mild white fish. I used a little food coloring to give it 'the look':

It's not exactly the same, but it's great for recipes like crab rangoon or lobster mac n' cheese. You could probably even mix it with some mayo and throw it on a bun for a makeshift lobster roll. 

Mock Imitation Crab

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt 

1 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp vinegar

3-5 drops red food coloring

6oz whitefish

Combine water, sugar, salt, butter, vinegar, and food coloring in a small baking dish. You should have enough liquid to cover the bottom of the dish, adjust as needed. Place fish in dish and cover. Bake at 300 for 45 minutes, 60 if frozen. Do not flip at any time -- you want the pink-to-white gradient. 

Transfer the cooked fish to a plate, discard liquid and allow fish to cool. Flake it with your hands into desired pieces. 

Must Have Hot Wings

I love a nice plate of chicken wings. Everyone has their preference; some like the whole wing, some like non traditional sauces, some bake, some fry, fresh, frozen, ranch, blue cheese...

I like wing parts. I like traditional buffalo sauce and lots of it. I like my wings crispy and thoroughly cooked. I don't want to do a lot of work, and I do want a lot of flavor. This is how I do mine. 

(Note: When you cook frozen wings for this length of time, they shrink a lot, about 50%. I like to cook them for a good long time so there's no greasy/gummy surprises. The butter in the sauce more than makes up for the lost fat.) 

Start with a bag of frozen wing sections. They're about $10 at the grocery store, and a bag holds 40-50, so it's a good deal.

You'll also need:

A baking sheet

Foil

Cooking spray

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

A microwave/oven safe dish, like Pyrex

Hot pepper sauce, like Frank's Red Hot

Butter

Celery and ranch or blue cheese, if desired

Preheat the oven to 400, maybe 425. My oven runs hot, so I set to 400. 

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Arrange desired amount of wings evenly, I can easily eat a dozen by myself... ;)

Spray the wings with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake the frozen seasoned wings for 40 minutes.

While the wings are baking, microwave equal parts hot sauce and butter until the butter is melted. For a dozen wings, 1/4 cup each is a good amount. Stir and set aside. 

Transfer cooked wings to dish of sauce, stir to coat, and pop the dish in the oven for 10 minutes. If you have the patience, flip them and cook in the sauce for another ten minutes. Serve with celery and ranch or blue cheese if you like. 

And, lots of paper towels.

We're not fancy here. :)

Donuts for Everyone!

These donuts really are for everyone. 

Everyone can make them because there are no special tools, and everyone can eat them because they're vegan! Makes 1 dozen.

2 cups flour + more for kneading

2 tsp salt

1 cup water between 90-110 degrees

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 heaping tsp yeast or 1 pkg

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Vegetable oil for frying

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

A pinch of salt

A few tablespoons water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Stir sugar, vanilla, and yeast into warm water, let sit until foamy. Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture, add 2 Tbsp oil, stir to combine. Turn out onto a generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic adding more flour as necessary. Let the dough rise in a well oiled bowl for 1 hour in a warm place. 

This is the part that may get me in trouble with the purists: I didn't use a donut cutter. I divided the dough into 12 portions and pushed each portion into a smooth ball. I then stuck my finger through the ball and formed a ring like so:

Feel free to roll the dough out and use a donut cutter, but this works too. Gently cover the rings with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour.

Fill a large iron skillet with oil so it's an inch and a half or so deep. Heat the oil to about 350. Many recipes say heat the oil to 375 or more but that will result in an overly dark donut. 

Transfer the dough rings to the oil in batches. The dough will deflate when you move it no matter how careful you are, but don't worry, it will puff back up as it fries. Fry each side until it is lightly golden brown. They will be slightly irregular especially on the bottoms.

Drain on paper towels.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and water in a bowl big enough to dip a donut in. Stir until smooth, it should be about as thick as house paint. Coat each donut in icing while it's still warm. 

Grilled Summer Veggie Pizza

The pizza and the veggies are both prepared on the grill (or grill pan) for the ultimate summertime treat.

For the pizza dough:

1 cup flour plus more for kneading

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

1 tsp sugar

1 heaping tsp yeast

1 Tbsp olive oil

Toppings:

1 cup of your favorite cheese

2 cups of roughly chopped seasonal vegetables, big enough to not fall through the grates if you are using a real grill. I used zucchini, asparagus, spinach, and onion in my grill pan. 

3-4 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2-3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

To make the dough, combine flour and salt in a bowl. Heat water to 90-110 degrees, stir sugar and yeast into water. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes. Add olive oil and yeast mixture to flour and salt. Stir until combined, then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead dough, adding flour as necessary, until it is smooth and elastic. Put your dough ball into a well oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. I turn the oven on for 30 seconds then off again and let it rise in the oven. 

Place your vegetables in a ziplock bag with oil, lemon juice, and seasonings. Toss to coat. Heat up the grill and grill the vegetables; if you have some that cook faster than others, stagger your timing. Just keep an eye on them and turn as necessary. When they are cooked to desired doneness, remove from heat and set aside.

Stretch dough into a round. Place on the grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, turn 1/4, then cook for 2 more minutes. Flip it over and add shredded cheese, then veggies, then Parmesan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove from grill and serve. 

I recommend some red pepper flakes and a little ranch or garlic butter sauce for dipping! 

Lemon Cake

This was a special request for a coworker. In search of a good lemon cake recipe, I decided to modify my favorite cake recipe, the BHG Devil's Food cake. This is what I came up with; the cake is light and springy, the frosting is flavorful without being too sweet.

Lemon Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp lemon extract

4-5 drops yellow food coloring, optional

Whippy Lemon Frosting

1 cup shortening

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4-5 Tbsp milk

1/4 tsp salt

Zest of 1/2 a lemon

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

4-5 drops yellow food coloring, optional

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour 2 round 8 or 9 inch cake pans. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet ingredients. Stir to combine, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth, 2-3 minutes. The batter will be thinner than a typical cake batter and it will taste like melted ice cream. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

For the frosting:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined. You can adjust the amount of milk to make it thicker or thinner, just watch out for 2 things: Don't add the lemon juice until the milk is mixed in or it will curdle. If you use food coloring, make sure it is thoroughly and evenly blended or you will end up with streaks and speckles! 

Very Berry Summer Pancake Syrup

You bought strawberries on sale. You have blueberries left over from your Fourth of July flag cake. The blackberry, mulberry, and/or black raspberry bush in your yard is bursting with ripe fruit. At least, that's what happened to me! Celebrate a beautiful summer morning with waffles or pancakes topped with succulent summer berries. 

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups mixed berries

Stir ingredients together in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Mash the berries with the back of a wooden spoon to break them up as they cook. Let stand for at least 10 minutes to thicken and cool; serve on waffles, pancakes, ice cream, cake, or anything you like. 

Fry Those Pickles!

Sometimes you just need fried pickles. There are many, many recipes out there. After looking through most all of them, I decided to do it my way. 

Fried Pickles for One Hungry Person With A Serious Craving

16 good sized pickle slices

1/2 cup milk

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Oil for frying

Heat an inch or so of oil in a sturdy pan. Put the milk in a bowl and soak the pickles in the milk. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and spices. When the oil is hot enough for frying, coat each pickle slice in flour and fry until golden brown. That took me about 7 minutes, you may have a different experience; just keep an eye on them. Drain on paper towels.

You'll probably want some dipping sauce. Plain ranch is good, cocktail sauce is fun, barbecue sauce is daring, and you can't go wrong with good old ketchup. I mixed ranch dressing with a dab of liquid smoke and a spoonful of jalapeño brine, voila, chipotle ranch!