CRAB IMPERIAL STUFFED SHRIMP

This recipe is similar to my Chesapeake Blue Crab Cakes, minus the crackers.

You will have a half pound left over to make 4 crab cakes for your next dinner.

8 jumbo shrimp (16-20 per lb)

2 T melted butter, divided

Sea salt and finely ground black pepper

Imperial Sauce

1 large egg 

½ cup mayonnaise, preferably Dukes

2 t Old Bay Seasoning

2 t Coleman's Dry Mustard

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 T finely chopped Italian parsley

1 t snipped chives

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 lb fresh jumbo lump crab meat

Imperial Topping

4 T Dukes Mayonnaise

1 T freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Paprika, for garnish

Melted butter 

Peel, devein, and butterfly shrimp.

Place shrimp with cut side down on a greased baking sheet.

Brush with half of the melted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Refrigerate while making the crab Imperial filling.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg then mix in the rest of the Imperial Sauce.

Gently fold in the crab meat.

Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the Imperial Topping and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove shrimp and crab mixture from refrigerator.

Using your hands, mound some crab mixture onto the flat side of each shrimp.

Gently curl tail over top of stuffed shrimp.

Drizzle with a little of the Imperial Topping.

Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with remaining butter.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes.

Place under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges.

VANILLA CUSTARD CAKE

This is a delicious old fashioned custard or pudding cake. The cake will stay fresh for a couple of days, if you refrigerate it in a tightly covered container. Adding just the smallest amount of acid to the egg whites, such as cream of tartar or lemon juice, ensures full volume and prevents overbeating.

½ cup unsalted butter

2 cups whole milk

4 large eggs, separated into two mixing bowls

⅛ t cream of tartar or ¼ t lemon juice

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 cup pastry flour or all-purpose flour

⅛ t sea salt

2 t pure vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Butter an 8-inch square pan and place a sheet of parchment inside, with a slight overhang to lift the cake from pan when cool.

Butter the parchment and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt butter and set aside to cool.

Warm milk to lukewarm and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar or lemon juice until stiff peaks form and set aside.

Beat the egg yolks and confectioners' sugar until a light golden yellow.

On low speed, beat in the melted butter until completely combined.

Mix in the flour and salt until combined.

Slowly mix in the milk and vanilla until well incorporated.

Remove bowl from mixer and whisk in the egg whites a little at a time.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in center of oven for 45 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan completely and then remove by gently lifting up with ends of parchment paper. Place on a cutting board and cut into 9 squares.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve on a cake plate or directly from the cutting board.

TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BEEF BRISKET

The earliest mention of smoked briskets was in a Jewish deli in El Paso, Texas around 1910. 

Briskets should be slow cooked to make it tender. 

Slow smoking on a grill makes it delicious!

Serve the brisket with Texas Barbecue Sauce, Texas Tangy Coleslaw, Texas toast, and cowboy style pinto beans. 

Smoking a brisket takes 8 to 9 hours, so start early and check the meat every hour.

You can also chop the cooked brisket and place on a warm tortilla, add some BBQ sauce, Tex-Mex cheese, and a little Baja Sauce. . .for a Mexican taco.

1 (4 ½ to 5 lb) beef brisket    

¼ cup barbecue rub (recipe follows or use store-bought)

Rub entire brisket with barbecue rub, cover and let sit in refrigerator 24 hours.

Place about 5 cups hickory, apple, or mesquite wood chips in water and soak 24 hours.

Casa BBQ Rub

1 cup brown sugar

3 T smoked paprika

3 T dry mustard

2 T garlic powder

2 T onion powder

2 T ground cumin

2 T ground chile powder

2 t ground black pepper

2 t sea salt

Place in a container with a tight fitting lid and store up to 1 year.

Texas Barbecue Mop-Sauce

1 T avocado oil
½ cup apple juice

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup cold strong coffee

Place mopping sauce ingredients in a clean spray bottle.

Place about 25-lit charcoals on each side of grill or smoker and put some wood chips on the coals. 

Place an aluminum drip pan on bottom of grill or smoker. 

Adjust vents to almost closed.

Pour 1 cup apple juice in the drip pan. 

Place brisket, fat-side up, in the middle directly on grate.

Close lid and smoke for 1 hour.  Open lid and add a few charcoals to keep temperature around 225 degrees F.  Spray brisket with Mop-Sauce and continue to add charcoal and wood chips every hour to maintain temperature of 225 degrees F.  

Continue this until temperature of meat reaches 160 degrees F, after about 7 hours. 

At this point, smoking is done. 

Place meat on an disposable aluminum baking pan and cover tightly in aluminum foil.

Add a few more charcoals and place back on grill. Grill temperature should stay around 300 to 325 degrees F. 

Cook until temperature of meat reaches 195 to 200 F. This could take another hour.

Remove brisket from pan and return directly on grill or on a baking sheet and place in a 350-degree oven and barbecue or bake another 15 minutes, to crisp up the outside bark.

Transfer to a cutting board and allow the meat to rest for 30 minutes before carving against the grain into thin slices.  

Place on grilled Texas toast spread with garlic butter.

Drizzle with barbecue sauce and serve with extra hot sauce. 

Texas Barbecue Sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup beef broth
1 cup ketchup                                                 

¼ cup dark brown sugar                                 

3 T unsalted butter
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T yellow mustard

2 t hot sauce

1 t garlic powder

½ t onion powder

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the above ingredients in a saucepan and simmer gently, stirring, for 20 minutes.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of the meat drippings from the parchment paper into the sauce, stir and simmer a couple more minutes.

Texas Tangy Coleslaw

1 medium savoy cabbage

½ red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

2 Granny Smith apples, shredded

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

½ cup apple cider vinegar

2 T granulated sugar

1 T avocado oil

1 T dry mustard

1 t celery salt

1 t celery seeds

½ t garlic powder

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, carrots, apples, and jalapeño pepper.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, oil, mustard, celery salt, celery seeds, and garlic powder.

Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Remove off heat and pour over vegetables in bowl.

Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Toss again before serving.

IZETTA'S PORK CHOP & POTATO CASSEROLE

This was one of my mom's GO-TO recipes. I haven't made this in years and the aroma brought back memories of dinners that I had as a child and young adult. My mom didn't add garlic, thyme, or Homemade Ranch Mix, but it makes this a super delicious casserole. You can buy Ranch Dry Mix and add 2 tablespoons to broth.

Broth

2 T unsalted butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T all-purpose flour

2 T Homemade Ranch Mix (recipe follows) or store bought

1 cup chicken broth

1 T avocado oil

4 1-inch thick bone-in center cut pork chops 

1 yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

5 to 6 large yellow potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

Sea salt and fine ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.

Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.

Whisk in the flour and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook a couple of minutes.

Whisk in the Homemade Ranch Mix, thyme leaves, and chicken broth.

Simmer a couple more minutes.

Turn off heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large cast-iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.

Brown the chops on both sides and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove chops and set aside on a plate.

Layer half of the potatoes in the bottom of the cast-iron skillet.

Do the same with the onions and repeat until all of the potatoes and onions are used.
Pour broth over potato mixture and place chops on top.

Cover with a lid and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, raise heat to 375 degrees F.

Remove lid from skillet and bake another 10 minutes, or until chops register 140 degrees F and potatoes are tender.

Serves 2 to 4

Homemade Ranch Mix

1 cup dry buttermilk powder

6 T freeze-dried or dried parsley flakes

2 T freeze-dried or dried chives

2 T garlic powder

2 T onion powder

4 t dried onion flakes

4 t dill weed, divided

1 t granulated sugar

1 t thyme leaves

2 t sea salt

2 t fine ground black pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl.

Pour into a jar seal and store in a cool dry place.

To make a salad dressing

3 T Homemade Ranch Mix

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream or mayonnaise

Stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

SOY MARINATED GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH SAUCE

The marinade makes this simple grilled flank steak extra special. Serve with a baked potato or sweet potato fries and a green salad.

1 (2 lb) flank steak

Marinade & Sauce

¾ cup soy sauce

¼ cup dark brown sugar

3 T apple cider vinegar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T avocado oil or vegetable oil

1 t chopped fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

¼ t ground black pepper

In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, whisk together the marinade ingredients. 

Place steak in dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. 

Refrigerate 1 hour.

Remove from refrigerator, flip steak over and return to refrigerator for another hour.

Prepare BBQ grill. 

Remove steak from marinade to a platter or baking sheet.

Let sit on counter to come to room temperature while grill is heating up.

Pour marinade into a very small saucepan.

Slowly boil marinade for 4 to 5 minutes, until reduced by half.

Grill steak, 6 to 7 minutes, turn over and grill another 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove to a cutting board and let rest, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes.

Carve steak and place on a platter and drizzle with cooked Marinade & Sauce.

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers for sandwiches)