Roast Mortem (42 page)

 

Step 1—Mix the crabmeat:
Lightly beat 4 of the eggs in a mixing bowl, add the unseasoned bread crumbs, lemon juice, scallions, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Separate and flake the crabmeat. If the meat is fresh, make sure you pick through it carefully and remove any shell fragments. Add the crabmeat to your egg mixture and blend thoroughly.

 

Step 2—Shape into cakes:
Shape the crab mixture into 8 equal-sized balls, pat into cakes. Refrigerate uncooked crab cakes between two loose sheets of waxed paper for about 2 hours or up to 8. (The longer they chill, the easier they will be to handle.)

 

Step 3—Finish with egg wash and breading:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lightly beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Remove the crabcakes from the fridge and lightly brush each one with the egg wash. Gently roll each cake lightly in the panko bread crumbs. Do this quickly so they do not lose their chill, and do it carefully so they do not fall apart.

 

Step 4—Fry the cakes:
Gently set each crabcake into the hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Turn with care, only once or twice during cooking. Serve with Clare's Thai-Style Seafood Sauce on the side (recipe follows) or your favorite condiments or relishes.

Makes about 1 cup

 

 

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Clare's Thai Dipping Sauce. Chill and serve with seafood. This is an especially good sauce to serve with boiled shrimp (in place of cocktail sauce). It's also delicious with Clare's Crab Cakes (see previous recipe).

Makes about 1 cup

 

 

Place shredded cabbage and carrot peels in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise and dipping sauce. Fold the mayonnaise mixture into the bowl of shredded cabbage and blend well. Season with salt to taste. Chill and serve.

Makes about 1 cup

 

1 cup confectioners' sugar
½ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (about 9 or 10 cloves)
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (or one mashed anchovy fillet or
¼ teaspoon anchovy paste)
2 teaspoons
sambal oelek
—Indonesian hot chile sauce
(or add more to increase heat)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons finely grated or shredded carrots

 

Step 1—
Combine the sugar, water, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes.

 

Step 2—
Reduce the heat to simmer and stir in the garlic, fish sauce, and
sambal oelek
. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes, remove from heat, and cool.

 

Step 3—
When room temperature, stir in the lime juice and carrots. Store by refrigerating in a plastic container.

An emerging foodie trend these days in New York City is the enjoyment of Korean fried chicken
(Yangnyeom Dak)
, which landed on the U.S. East Coast circa 2007 and began to spread. In Korea, this dish is prepared from whole chickens cut up into bite-sized bits, which are then fried for crispy consumption in karaoke bars and pubs with beer or
soju
. Here in America, Korean fried chicken is prepared with wings or drumsticks, seldom the whole chicken.

Clare has created a very simple version of Korean fried chicken for the American kitchen, using a technique she honed making Buffalo chicken wings. (You can find Clare's recipe for Buffalo wings at
www.coffeehousemysteries.com
.) The creation of the glaze came out of Clare's long experience of making homemade syrups for her coffeehouse drinks. (See the Recipes & Tips section of my eighth Coffeehouse Mystery,
Holiday Grind,
for an array of homemade coffeehouse syrup recipes.)

Makes 24 pieces

 

 

Step 1—Prepare the chicken:
Cut the wings into three pieces at the joints and discard the tips (or save and use for making chicken stock). Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Dredge chicken pieces through the mix, coating thoroughly.

 

Step 2—Make the glaze:
Place the water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add ketchup and whisk until the ingredients are blended. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Mixture should thicken. Finally, add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.

 

Step 3—Double fry the chicken:
In a large skillet, heat the oil until rippling (or until a droplet of water bounces along the surface. In an electric skillet, the oil should be about 350° F). Gently add the wing pieces and cook for 7-9 minutes, turning once. Remove chicken from oil and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. (Make sure the chicken dries in a single layer—using the rack lets the air circulate around each wing.) Fry a second time for an additional 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and very crisp.

 

Step 4—Coat the chicken:
Drain the refried chicken on a rack over paper towels for a few minutes. Place the prepared glaze in a clean skillet and warm over a low heat. When the glaze begins to bubble, roll the chicken pieces in the mixture until the chicken wings are thoroughly coated.

 

Note:
Right after cooking, the chicken will be delightfully sticky. If you prefer a drier glaze, simply place the wings in a single layer on a foil-covered sheet pan and warm in a preheated 350° F oven for 8-10 minutes.

 

Authentic Korean Flavor:
This recipe is a good copycat of the soy-garlic wings served at the UFC Korean fried chicken stores in New York City. If you're after an even more authentic Korean flavor, substitute 1 tablespoon
myulchi aecjeot
(Korean anchovy sauce) for the tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. And use Korean brand dark soy sauce.

Makes 6 servings (fills a 2-quart casserole dish)

 

 

Step 1—Sauté the onions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large shallow pan. Toss in the onions and sauté. When they appear soft and translucent (but not brown), remove the onions from the heat. (This will take roughly 8-10 minutes.)

 

Step 2—Make an easy cheese sauce:
In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the Wondra flour and mustard. Slowly stir in the milk,
then
add the cheese. (Note: Do not add these two ingredients together—first the milk, then the cheese!). Simmer for 1-2 minutes. When the sauce thickens, it's ready to use. Remove from heat.

 

Step 3—Assemble and bake:
In a 2- or 3-quart casserole or baking dish, layer the onions, cheese sauce, and bread crumbs. (The bread crumbs will help absorb excess moisture released from the onions during baking.) After the final layer of cheese sauce, sprinkle some extra cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake 30-45 minutes. If using Caramelized Bacon Bits, sprinkle over the top of the casserole before serving.

 

Clare's Onion Storage Tip:
Sweet onions will keep for 4-6 weeks. Because sweet onions will absorb water, don't store them next to potatoes. Store whole, uncut sweet onions in the refrigerator. Place them in a single layer on paper towels in your vegetable bin. For longer storage, wrap them in foil before placing in fridge. To store a cut onion, wrap tightly in plastic and place in fridge.

 

Clare's Note on Wondra Flour:
If you've never used Wondra flour, look for its blue cardboard canister in the same grocery store aisle that shelves all-purpose flour. It's a handy little helper for thickening gravies and making quick sauces. You can make an easy white sauce with it, too. The recipe is right on the side of its cardboard container.

These bits of carmelized bacon make a delicious salty-sweet topping for cheesy casseroles. (No kidding. They're a
perfect
complement for mac 'n' cheese.) Just spread them across the top of the warm casserole before serving or present them on the side to your guests for do-it-yourself sprinkling.

Makes about 1 cup

 

 

Step 1—Slice and sauté:
On medium-high heat, sauté the bacon bits in a large skillet, stirring often, until half cooked (still soft and flexible with fat just beginning to change color) . Drain the rendered fat from pan.

 

Step 2—Caramelize:
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the brown sugar to the pan and stir until dissolved. Continue cooking and stirring until the bacon crisps up. Remove from heat. Drain and cool in a single layer on a sheet pan or another clean, flat surface. (Do not dry bacon bits on paper towels or they will stick! Use paper towels only to dab away the excess grease.) The longer you allow the bacon to cool and dry, the crisper it will become.

This is
the
best recipe for macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted. It's a “triple threat” of cheeses that work together in delectable harmony to serenade your palate. And forget the typical elbow macaroni, which simply does not hold a candle to the penne macaroni. When cooked to an al dente texture, the larger penne pasta allows this chewy, cheesy casserole to linger on your taste buds that much longer. This one's an absolute joy to eat.

Makes 8 servings (fills a 3-quart casserole dish)

 

 

Step 1—Cook the penne pasta:
First, preheat the oven to 375° F. Coat a 3-quart, ovenproof casserole dish (or Dutch oven) with cooking spray. Cook the penne according to directions on the pasta package; do not overcook. You want the penne al dente (still chewy, not soft). Drain the penne well, removing all water, and pour into the casserole dish.

 

Step 2—Make the cheese sauce:
Mix the three cheeses together in a large bowl and set aside. Melt the butter over low heat, in a large saucepan. When butter is completely melted, remove the pan from heat. (Note: To prevent the cheese sauce from breaking on you, make absolutely sure you
remove
the pan from heat before adding these next ingredients!) Stir in the salt, pepper, flour, and the Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Gradually add in the milk. Now return the pan to the stove. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Add in half of the cheese a little at a time, stirring with each addition.