Black Bean Blue Crabs With Lotus Crab And Avocado Parfait Food

WHOLE BLUE CRABS NEW ORLEANS-STYLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add bouquet garni, crab boil, lemons, halved garlic, corn, and sausage. Add blue crabs and cover. Cook for 10 minutes or until crab is cooked through.
• In a small saute pan over medium heat, melt butter with the 3 peeled garlic cloves. Simmer the butter for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the garlic cloves.
• Remove the crabs, corn, and sausage from the crab boil and serve on newspaper, with butter sauce over top.

BLACK BEAN BLUE CRABS WITH LOTUS CRAB AND AVOCADO PARFAIT

Steps:

• In a hot wok fill 1/3 with oil and bring to a high temperature. In a large bowl, season the crabs, crab shells and lotus and toss well with the cornstarch. Blanch the crab/lotus in the hot oil for only 45 to 60 seconds and set aside on paper towels. Dump out the oil leaving 2 tablespoons and stir-fry on high heat the beans, garlic, ginger, jalapenos and scallions for 1 minute. Season mixture and add back the crab/lotus and deglaze with wines. Reduce by 50 percent and add soy. Check for seasoning.
• Plating: Fill the shells with hot rice. On large dinner plates, place shell in the middle and surround with 3 crab halves and lotus. Spoon on sauce.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the juice, zest, Dijon and honey. Drizzle in the oil and season. In another bowl, lightly toss together the crab, avocado, chopped chives and add half of the vinaigrette. Check for flavor. Lightly rub extra virgin olive oil on the inside of the molds and fill with the crab mixture. Keep in refrigerator. Season the tomatoes.
• Plating: On small plates, place 1 slice of seasoned tomato and top with parfait. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette and garnish with chive batons.

CHEF STUART'S MARYLAND CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, and celery in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the crab boil seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until all the vegetables are coated with seasoning and spices. Add all the other ingredients except for the crab. Simmer over low heat until potatoes are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• While the soup is cooking, pick through the crab meat just to ensure that all shells are removed. Stir in crab the last 10 minutes of cooking.

SOFT-SHELL CRAWFISH TAQUITOS

Steps:

• Season each crawfish with the paprika and crab boil seasoning. Dredge each crawfish in the cornstarch, and then shake off any excess. Fry crawfish in a hot, greased skillet for only 45 seconds, so as to not overcook it.
• For each taquito, lightly butter and warm the tortilla. Drizzle 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce over the entire toasted tortilla, and then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. In the center of the tortilla, layer the 2 tablespoons romaine, 1/2 tablespoon red cabbage, and top with 1 teaspoon Habanero Onion Puree. Next, drizzle with 2 teaspoons Jalapeno Mayo and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon fried rice sticks. Place a slice of avocado and a crawfish on top of the mixture. Finally, drizzle the crawfish with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and garnish with a cilantro leaf. Repeat with remaining tortilla.
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a fine textured puree is formed. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Blend all the ingredients together in a bowl. Adjust seasoning with the salt and pepper. Refrigerate until needed.

AHI TUNA PARFAIT WITH TWO CAVIARS

Steps:

• To make the vinaigrette, combine the mustard, vinegar, oil, and tobiko in a small bowl. Season with the salt and pepper and whisk lightly.
• In a small chilled bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Reserve.
• Fill a large bowl with ice. Place a medium bowl in the ice and add the tuna, Tabasco sauce, chopped chives, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix lightly.
• Spray the insides of four 1- to 1 1/2-inch ring molds, or tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed, with nonstick cooking spray. Layer the tuna mixture and caviars in the molds as follows: one-eighth of the tuna, one-fourth of the tobiko, one-eighth of the tuna, one-fourth of the osetra. Press down lightly on the parfaits after each layer with the bottom of a Tabasco bottle (it's the perfect size) or the butt end of a whisk. Top the layers with a thin layer of the cream, smooth to cover, and unmold cream side up onto white serving plates. Or use the Tabasco bottle to push the parfaits from the bottom, then carefully lift them onto a plate. Garnish each portion with 2 chives. Drizzle the vinaigrette around and serve with demitasse spoons.

STEAMED PITTU WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Line a steamer with several layers of cheesecloth and fill with the all purpose flour. Steam for 45 minutes. Spread the steamed flour on a baking sheet to cool.
• Combine the steamed flour, roasted urad dal flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the hot water, a little at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the dough resembles cornmeal (may not need all the water). Place the mixture in a food processor and pulse until it resembles couscous.
• Pour into a large bowl and mix in the crab meat, 1/2 cup grated coconut, shallots and basil. Pack the Pittu steamer** with 1 tablespoon of coconut then 1/2 cup Pittu mix, repeat until the steamer is full. Steam for 5 to 7 minutes, until the steam comes out the top of the steamer. Push the Pittu out of the steamer onto a platter.

CRAB AND AVOCADO CROSTINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice the bread into 1/2-inch thick slices. Lightly brush the bread slices with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet fitted with a rack and bake until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before topping with the crab mixture.
• In a large bowl whisk together the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
• Add the yellow pepper, the avocado, shallot and the crabmeat to the lemon vinaigrette and toss gently, so as to not break up the crabmeat. Top the bread slices with about a tablespoon of the crab mixture and arrange on a serving platter.

BLACK BEAN AND GINGER DUNGENESS CRAB

Steps:

• In a large wok, bring peanut oil to high temperature. Dust the crab pieces with cornstarch and a little salt. Shallow fry the crab for only 1 to 2 minutes until the crab shells turn red. Drain on paper towels. Do the same with the 2 shells. Reserve oil and wipe wok clean. Add 2 tablespoons oil back to the wok on high heat. Stir-fry the beans, ginger, garlic and scallions for 1 minute until soft. Add back the crab and deglaze with shaoxing and add soy and stock. Check for seasoning and bring to a boil. Thicken with the slurry and cook 30 more seconds. Serve immediately with the cooked shells.
• PLATING On a large oval, place the 2 shells down near both ends. Fill with hot rice. Mound the crab between the shells. Enjoy with your fingers. Can also serve with lemon finger bowls.
• Wine suggestion: Marsanne, Bois du Renard, Languedoc 1998

CRAB CORN AND BLACK BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and stir well.
• Add all the salad ingredients to the bowl and gently toss to mix and coat well.
• Serve over greens.

STIR-FRIED CRABS WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat the crabs dry with paper towels and set aside.
• Chop the black beans and combine with the rice wine, garlic, ginger and scallions. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, combine the hot pepper flakes, soy sauce, sugar and chicken stock. Set aside.
• Heat the peanut or vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet and add the crabs. Stir fry for about three minutes over medium heat. Add the black-bean mixture and continue stir-frying for about one minute.
• Add the soy-sauce mixture, stir and bring to boil. Cover the pan and cook for two minutes. Then add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy. Correct seasoning (you may wish to add more soy sauce or pepper) and add the sesame oil. Remove from heat and place on heated plates. Sprinkle with coriander and serve.

BEST BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine beans, onion, and garlic, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Season with cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.