Recipes
Herbal Dungeness Crab Cake (with Tomato Chutney and Fennel Watercress Salad)
Dungeness Crab Cake
- 1 lb Dungeness crab meat, squeezed dry
- 2 Tbl. Parsley leaves, rough chopped
- ¼ cup Chives, rough chopped
- ¼ cup Basil, rough chopped
- 1 Tbl. Mayo
- ½ teas Worcestershire
- ½ teas Srisacha
- 1ea Egg yolk
- 1/3 cup Bread Crumb
Breading Station
- 1 cup Flour
- ½ cup eggs, beaten
- 1 cup bread crumbs
Tomato Chutney
- 8ea Cloves Garlic
- ½ cup Onion, rough chopped
- 2 Tbl Olive oil
- ½ teas. yellow mustard seed
- ½ teas. Cumin seed
- ½ teas. Fennel seed
- 3 cups diced Tomatoes (canned work well)
- ¾ cup Red wine Vinegar
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 teas. Salt
- Pinch Cayenne
Fennel & Watercress Salad
- One each Fennel bulb
- One Bunch living Watercress
- 1 teas. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbl. EV Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Cook the Crab Cakes. (Ingredients listed on right)
- Gently mix first set of ingredients. Divide mix into four to five crab cakes depending on desire & press hard into a biscuit cutter sized ring mold. This compression is one of the forces holding the crab cakes together.
- Place crab cakes in flour & then turn to coat both sides. Don’t worry about the sides as it is not necessary to bread the sides. Remove the crab cakes from the flour & place on a clean plate. Brush each side of the cake with the egg wash & then move them into the bread crumbs. Crust both sides of crab cake.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat (or use an electric griddle) and brown both sides of crab cake to golden brown.
Make the Tomato Chutney. (Ingredients listed on right)
- In a food processor chop garlic & onion until paste like.
- In a stainless pot (do not use aluminum) heat oil & add mustard seeds. Cook, while stirring, until seed start to pop. Add cumin & fennel seed and toast for one minute.
- Add onion/ garlic mixture and sauté briefly to mix. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, & cayenne.
- Turn down heat to a simmer and cook until thickened.
- Place chutney in ceramic bowl & cool for a few hours.
Make the Fennel & Watercress Salad. (Ingredients listed on right)
- Shave fennel thinly with a knife or Japanese mandolin
- Pick watercress leaves from stems and toss with fennel. Add olive oil and then season with salt & pepper. Finish with lemon juice and toss together.
To assemble the entie dish:
Place salad on plate. Place hot crab cake on top or off to side.
Top with tomato chutney and enjoy….
Pork Shank
Brine for the Shanks
- 4 Pork Shanks
- 4 cups water
- 1.5 cup Brown Sugar
- ¾ cup Kosher Salt
- 1 ea Yellow Onion, sliced thin
- 6 ea Garlic Cloves, crushed
- ¼ cup peppercorns (whole)
- 4 branches Rosemary—about 6” each
- 2 Tbl. Mustard Seed
- 2 ea Cinnamon Stick
- 5 cups Ice
Cooking the Shanks
- About 8 cups rendered duck fat.
(Lard can also be used - easier to find & much less expensive) - 6 ea garlic cloves
- 4 ea rosemary branches
Maple Sauce
- 8 cups Chicken Stock
(low sodium if store bought) - 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 ea yellow onion, rough chopped
- 2 ea carrots, peeled & rough chopped
- 6 branches (or so) English Thyme
Pickled Huckleberries
- 1 lb Huckleberries, fresh or frozen
- 1qt. Red Wine Vinegar
- ¼ cup Kosher Salt
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
This dish takes a couple of days to prepare, but has a serious effect on guests. It is well loved by the guests at the restaurant as well as our General Manager there by earning a permanent place on our ever changing menu. First the shanks need to be brined overnight. Then it is dried & seared. At this point the shanks are slow cooked in duck fat and allowed to cool in the fat. The last step for the shanks involves softening the fat, removing the shanks, & heating them in the maple glaze. A special occasion meal to be sure...
Brine the Shanks. (Ingredients listed on right)
Heat all ingredients until hot (except ice) and sugar/ salt dissolve completely. Stir to make sure and pull from heat. Add ice to accelerate the cooling time and place in refrigerator until cold. When the brine is cold add the shanks. Refrigerate overnight.
Cooking the Shanks. (Ingredients listed on right)
- Heat oven to 275 degrees
- Heat fat in pot until melted.
- Remove shanks from brine and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- In a large sauté pan & using a bit of melted fat, sear shanks on all sides until a rich color is achieved.
- Place shanks in a Dutch-oven just big enough to fit all four shanks. Nestle rosemary & garlic amongst the meat & then carefully pour melted fat to cover. Do not fill pan any further that one inch to the top.
- Cover Dutch-oven and place in oven. Cook for about three to four hours. Shanks are done when they are fork tender.
- Very carefully remove pot from oven and carefully remove lid. Place entire pot in refrigerator uncovered overnight.
Make the Maple Sauce. (Ingredients listed on right)
- Place all ingredients in a pot. Cook until reduced by half.
- Strain through a strainer making sure to press as much juice from vegetables as possible
Make the Pickled Huckleberries. (Ingredients listed on right)
- Place huckleberries & mint a clean 2 qt. glass container.
- Heat vinegar & salt to a boil.
- Allow vinegar to cool slightly & poor over huckleberries. Allow to cool & cover. These will keep refrigerated for quite a while.
To assemble the dish:
Warm fat until it is possible to remove the shanks without tearing them to pieces. Place the shanks into a large sauté pan and ladle sauce on top. Heat gently while continuing to turn shanks and baste the tops-- Once shanks are warm and starting to glaze place entire pan in hot oven. Allow the shanks to finish glazing. Pull pan to stove to & add about a cup or more of huckleberries. Don’t be shy—the acid will cut the sweetness & fattiness of the entire dish. Adjust seasoning of the sauce & serve either family style or one shank per guest.
Drinks: Urbane Perfect Rye Manhattan
Serves: 1
2 1/2 ounces rye whiskey
1/8 ounce sweet and dry vermouth (equal parts)
2 dashes of bitters
Ground fennel (two full twists of the wrist
Grind fennel into a chilled martini glass, spread fennel along bottom of glass.
In mixing glass combine ice, whiskey, vermouths and bitters. Stir mixture with a bar spoon to chill, strain and pour into glass. Garnish with a cherry syrup cherry.
