shelidonFebruary 9, 2025Leave a Comment

Every year, my significant otter and I organize to view the Superbowl (which carries through the night since we’re based in Italy), and he cooks a menu inspired by the venue where the Superbowl is hosted. So here’s this year’s menu. The text comes from this excellent book:

Crab Cakes

Crab cakes are not native to New Orleans, they arrived from Maryland in the early 1990s, replacing the deep-fried crab ball.

Ingredients: White Remoulade Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Creole mustard
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco
Dash of granulated garlic

Ingredients: Crab Cakes

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter
¼ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground white pepper
1 cup warm milk
2 lb. lump crabmeat
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon (or ½ tsp. dried)
¼ cup plain bread crumbs
2 tsp. salt-free Creole seasoning
¼ cup clarified butter

Instructions:

To make the sauce: mix all of the rémoulade ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

To make the crab cakes: make a blond roux by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, salt, and white pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture just barely starts browning. Whisk in the warm milk until the blend has the texture of runny mashed potatoes. Cook it for three minutes. (You’ve just made a béchamel.)

Remove any shells from the crabmeat, trying to keep the lumps as whole as possible. In a large bowl, combine the crabmeat with the bell pepper, green onions, and tarragon. Add ¾ cup of the cooled béchamel and mix with your fingers, being careful not to break up the crabmeat.

Season the bread crumbs with Creole seasoning and spread the seasoned crumbs out on a plate. Use an ice-cream scoop to measure 12 balls of the crabmeat mixture. Gently form each into cakes about ¾ inch thick. Press them gently onto the bread crumbs on each side and shake off the excess.

Heat the clarified butter in a medium skillet. Sauté the crab cakes until they are golden brown on the outside and heated all the way through. (The way to test this is to push the tines of a kitchen fork into the center of the cake, then touch the fork to your lips. That will tell you whether the heat has penetrated all the way through.) Serve crab cakes with the rémoulade on the side.

Makes twelve large crab cakes.

Crabmeat and Corn Bisque

A bisque is a type of French soup known for its rich, creamy texture and smooth consistency. Traditionally, bisques were made with shellfish such as lobster, crab, or shrimp, and the shells were often ground into a paste to thicken the soup and enhance its flavor.

Ingredients:

Shells of 6 crabs or picked crab shells
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. dried thyme
10 whole black peppercorns
4 Tbsp. (½ stick) butter
¼ cup dry vermouth
2 ears fresh corn, kernels shaved off the cobs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup chopped green onion, green parts only
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. Tabasco
½ lb. lump crabmeat, carefully picked through

Instructions:

Make the stock by putting the crabs or the shells into a large, heavy saucepan over high heat and cooking them until the edges of the shells brown a little.

Lower the heat and add the brandy. If you’re comfortable with flaming dishes and have a fire extinguisher nearby, carefully ignite the brandy. Otherwise, just let it cook and boil the alcohol away. Add the onion, celery, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, and 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Strain the stock and discard the solids. Return the stock to a boil and reduce to about 2 cups. You can make this ahead and freeze it.

Make a blond roux by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux just begins to turn light brown. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about a minute.

Whisk in the vermouth and bring to a boil. Add the crab stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Add the corn and simmer 5 minutes more. Add the cream, green onion, salt, and Tabasco. Stir until smooth and bring back up to a simmer.

Add the crabmeat and blend it in gently, so as not to break the lumps. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.

Serves four to six.

Pecan Pie

Pecan pie is a beloved American dessert with roots tracing back to the late 19th century. Pecans had been used by Native Americans for over 8,000 years, primarily in the southern United States, and their name comes from the Algonquin word “pakani,” meaning a nut that requires a stone to crack.

Ingredients:

2 cups coarsely broken pecans
½ cup light Karo syrup
½ cup dark Karo syrup
½ cup light brown sugar
3 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. flour
Pinch of salt
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, melted
1 one 10-inch pie shell, unbaked

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the pecans out on a baking sheet and bake on the top shelf of the oven until they just begin to brown. Set the pecans aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the syrups, sugar, eggs (minus 1 egg white), lemon juice, vanilla, flour, and salt. Add the butter and microwave the bowl at 20 percent power for about 15 seconds. Stir again and repeat this process until the mixture feels slightly warm to the touch and begins to get thick.

Brush the unbaked pie-shell bottom with the reserved egg white. This keeps the crust from getting soggy. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Top with the pecans, pushing them down with a spoon, if necessary, so that all the pecans are at least touching the filling. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 275 degrees F and continue to bake for 30–40 minutes more. Cool to room temperature.

Serves eight to twelve.

Egg Nog

Eggnog’s origins are linked to early medieval Britain with a drink called “posset,” which was expensive due to its ingredients. It became popular in America during the Christmas season after being introduced by European settlers. It’s a rich, creamy, sweetened beverage traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites, flavored with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. George Washington played a role in popularizing eggnog in America by serving it at Mount Vernon.

Ingredients:

1 dozen egg yolks
1½ cups sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. nutmeg, plus more to taste
2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 cups half-and-half

Instructions:

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg together in a saucepan until creamy-looking. Add the cream and 2 cups of the half-and-half, and whisk until blended.

Cook over very low heat while stirring. Look for a temperature reading of 175 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Don’t overheat or cook longer than needed to reach this temperature.

Remove from the heat. Strain the egg nog into the container you will store it in and add the remaining half-and-half. Refrigerate.

If you’d like to add something interesting (i.e., brandy, bourbon, or dark rum), a cup of the stuff should be about right. Serve with some more nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible) over the top.