Jan. 23 - Crab Legs!

We dined at Casa de Kurzeja on Saturday night and had the most amazing meal! Sarah steamed crab legs, which were absolutely amazing and we had cheesy garlic croissants, salad and hushpuppies on the side. I made the salad and hush puppies and have two great recipes to share!

First, the salad - it was just a simple romaine, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cheese and croutons mixture, but the dressing was the key. I found a copy cat recipe for Olive Garden's salad dressing and it was perfect! Here it is:

Olive Garden Dressing
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 tablespoons light mayo
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients, shaking vigorously. Serve chilled.

The other dish I made - hushpuppies - were a hit! The boy kept talking about them all night...it's not like him to rave about food, so I guess this was a fan favorite. Here's that recipe:


Hush Puppies
Ingredients
Oil for frying
1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Using a deep pot, heat oil over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in the onions.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg.
5. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry mixture and mix until well blended.
6. Drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning hushpuppies during the cooking process. 

Now, I didn't have self-rising anything or buttermilk, so I made a few changes to the recipe. In place of self-rising cornmeal, I used regular cornmeal and added 2 1/4 tablespoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. As far as the flour, I used regular flour and 3/4 tablespoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. For the butterrmilk, I used skim milk and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. It's nice not having to go out and by a whole bunch of stuff I knew I wouldn't use for much else!