Recently, I decided that it was time to create a spreadsheet for myself, so that I can locate recipes I’ve already posted. In the past week, I’ve cooked two dishes that I knew I’d written about. Finding those posts was a challenge. At this point, I’ve gone through all 2+ years worth of posts, notating date, recipe, and post title. Now to get that all into a spreadsheet. I started to question whether I ought to do what most sane food bloggers do, and use the recipe name as the post title. But what’s the fun in that?
We’re still taking our dietary restrictions into account when we put our weekly menu together. Ken is starting to feel a bit better, but we’re not rushing things, and I have to wait until my next round of bloodwork to know if the changes have helped. So we made two recipes we’ve had previously, and one new one that I want to share.
I made the ground beef and cabbage skillet back in May, and, since it fit our requirements perfectly, we cooked it again. I didn’t make any changes to the way I did it last time. However, then we served it over orzo, which was fine. This time, we had warmed flatbread alongside. I really enjoyed it with the flatbread, too. Plus, the next day, I made a big pot of rice in the morning, because we planned fried rice for dinner. I heated up the leftover beef and cabbage for lunch, and put it over some of the rice. Another excellent accompaniment. I really like this dish.
I had to go back to January 2025 to find the last time we made plov with chicken. This version of pilaf from Uzbekistan is so good, I really am kicking myself that it was so long since we’d made it. As before, I used boneless chicken breast instead of thighs, but this time, I cut the chicken into larger, 2-inch chunks, which is according to the directions. I had no issues with the meat drying out. When I made it before, I had substituted cilantro for parsley, but since I already had parsley, that’s what I used. It’s good either way. Steamed asparagus was a perfect side.
Yes, there’s a new recipe, too. Ken was hungry for crab cakes. The last time I made any was quite a while ago, and I wasn’t thrilled with the result. I went hunting for a new recipe, and found one for baked crab cakes on a blog called Sugar Spun Run.
The recipe is pretty simple: you mix all the ingredients, form the cakes, chill them, and bake them. I didn’t have Old Bay seasoning (I’d thrown out an old, old container a few months ago), and I wasn’t really sure if that might cause an issue for Ken. I found a recipe for a homemade version of Old Bay, and added a few of those ingredients instead. The crab cakes were good, but I will add the Old Bay next time.
Baked Maryland Crab Cakes
- 1 pound lump crab meat, pickled over, shells removed
- 1/2 cup plain panko crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with butter.
Ina large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, egg, mustard, lemon juice, Old Bay, salt, and pepper until well combined.
Add crab meat and panko. Use a spatula to gently work into the wet ingredients.
Scoop mixture by heaping 1/3 cup, packing into the scoop to encourage it to keep its shape. Transfer to buttered baking sheet, using your hands to press any stray pieces back into the cake. Do not flatten.
Place a small piece of butter on the top center of each crab cake. Cover baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Once oven is fully preheated, remove crab cakes from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap, and immediately place in oven, on center rack. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until baked through. For a browned exterior, switch oven to broil for the last 2 minutes ( do not switch oven racks.
Makes 8 crab cakes.
These were delicious, absolutely dominated by the crab, as they should be. I only got seven crab cakes. Maybe the author’s idea of rounding the scoop and mine were different. One was plenty for me. I had planned to make sweet potato fries, but the plantains we’d bought the week before were ripe, so it was either make maduros or pitch the plantains. This confirms that sweet plantains go with everything!
Happy eating, everyone!
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