Joseph's Birthday Recipes

This month has flown by. So fast. It was just Easter, and now it's almost June! This past Friday was Joseph's 26th birthday! He is officially in his "late 20's". I'm so glad that it coincided with a holiday weekend, because we were able to make a lot of yummy food on Saturday since we had the extra time. I thought I would share a few of those recipes with you!

Crab Cakes with Spicy Remolaude

~Adapted from myrecipes.com ~

Crab Cakes:

•  2 T finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 T chopped parsley (I used dried) 
• 1.5 T mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/3 C Panko bread crumbs
• 1 lb. lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
• 1 T olive oil 
• 
  
• Remoulade:
• 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
• 1 T chopped shallots
• 1 T capers, drained and chopped (if you're not a caper fan, you can leave these out. I just lessened how much I put in there) 
• 2 tsp creole mustard (add some to taste) 
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt

To Prepare: 

1. Combine first 8 ingredients of crab cakes and mix well. Add Panko and crab meat. Refrigerate for 30 min (optional). 

2. Form patties about 1/3 cup each or for miniature patties 1/6 cup each. 

3. Set saute pan to medium heat, add olive oil 

4. Once heated. place 4 patties in oil and cook a/b 4 min on each side (or until golden brown)

5. To make remoulade sauce, combine all ingredients and stir. Serve with crab cakes! 

** When I made these, I made about 24 miniature crab cakes for the party with a double recipe. If you do them 1/3 cup each you end up with about 14 or 15 with a double recipe

Sweet Asian Chicken Skewers

~adapted from recipe.com~


Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch thick strips (about 24 strips)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I recommend a honey BBQ or brown sugar BBQ)
1/2 sweet chili sauce (in asian section of grocery store)
1/2 cup yellow mustard
2 T white sugar
1 T brown sugar
24 bamboo skewers, soaked in water

To Prepare:
1. place chicken strips into baking dish (I used a 13x9 Pyrex)
2. Mix ingredients 2-7 to make sauce
3. Pour sauce over chicken, cover and marinate in refrigerator overnight (save 1/4 cup of sauce for basting on the grill if desired)
4. When ready to make, soak bamboo skewers for about 30 minutes while heating up your grill
5. take chicken out of refrigerator, and place each chicken strip on a skewer
6. grill for about 7-8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit
7. Enjoy!

Homemade Chipotle Hummus

~adapted from Penzey's Spices magazine~

Ingredients: 

1 16oz can chickpeas

2 T tahini (sesame seed paste; can also sub peanut butter or almond butter with little difference)

1/4 C lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 T olive oil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1-3 chipotle peppers (get a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from your ethnic food section at the grocery store and use 1-3 of the peppers according to your taste. I use 3, and I'm not a huge fan of food being super hot. And don't worry about the drops of adobo sauce that get into the mix when you drop the peppers in there...it's delicious!)

1 tsp ground cumin

To Prepare: 

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you need extra moisture, add a little more olive oil 

2. Enjoy with sliced red peppers (my favorite), pita chips, or other veggies

Sadly, I did not take any pictures during the party, so all of these are the photos from the original recipe websites. I am definitely not one of those recipe bloggers who takes pictures as he/she cooks/bakes. I can't stand it! It gets in the way of my fun. I hope some of you enjoy these recipes at your own parties. They were all first time tries for me, so I cannot wait to make them again! 

-Abby