Super Bowl Matchup: Cheesy Sourdough Bread vs. Crab Cakes

Just when you thought I would let the Super Bowl slip by and not provide you with any recipes...I come through and surprise you with not one but two recipes for Sunday!

And do you want to know what's even better?  It's an appetizer matchup, San Francisco vs. Baltimore.  Sound familiar?  Good!  That means you know who is playing in the big game this weekend! 



So it's only natural that I pitted a "San Francisco" food against a "Baltimore" food.  I'm using "San Francisco" and "Baltimore" foods very loosely here.  Because while San Francisco is very well known for their delicious sourdough bread and Baltimore for their crab cakes...these recipes may not exactly be reflective of how either would be served in those cities.  True or not, you get what I'm going for right?  

Now that we've gone over the disclaimer...we can talk about how perfect these would be to serve at your Super Bowl party (or any future party for that matter).  First the bread.  It's obviously cheesy.  Gooey.  Buttery.  Necessitates finger licking.  Just the ultimate finger food.  Oh and did I mention there are mushrooms?  Yep.  There's mushrooms under all of that cheese.

And the crab cakes.  Seriously, who doesn't LOVE crab cakes?  I hesitate to say it, but these might be the best I've ever made.  I made a few changes this time and combined a few different recipes that I've used in the past.  Hello, perfection.  And with a tiny dollop of the spicy remoulade?  My goodness.

I should declare a winner.  But I won't.  I'm putting that one in your hands.  Make both of these.  And let me know which one won your taste buds over.

"San Francisco" Cheesy Pull Apart Sourdough Bread

Adapted from Beantown Baker

Makes: 8-10 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
1 Round Sourdough Loaf
10 ounces mushrooms (I used baby bella)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
salt and pepper
8-10 ounces very thinly sliced provolone cheese
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup green onion, diced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons poppyseed
1 teaspoon garlic, minced

Directions:

• In a medium saucepan melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they start to sweat.  Add thyme and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350°.  Slice the bread lengthwise and widthwise without cutting through the bottom of the bread.  The second cut gets a bit tricky but just do it carefully and it will be fine.
• Place the loaf on a foil lined baking sheet.  Place cheese in between the cuts and then push the mushrooms down into the bread.
• In a small microwavable bowl heat butter, olive oil, dijon, poppyseed, and garlic until butter is melted.  Add green onions and pour over the bread.
• Wrap the loaf completely in foil and bake for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes remove foil from the top and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

"Baltimore" Mini Crab Cakes

Makes: 16 small crab cakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time:  30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
1 lb crabmeat, picked free of shells
1/3 cup buttery crackers like Ritz
3 green onions, green and white parts, thinly sliced
1/4 cup green pepper, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup mayo
1 egg
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
olive oil for pan

Directions:

• In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well but don't over mix.
• Shape into approximately 16 small patties. 
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and place 4-5 crab cakes in pan.  Pan fry for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides.
• Serve warm with your favorite sauce. (I used this one)

Zucchini and Mint Gazpacho with Radish Salsa

Finally, after 7 days of being in Missouri I have made a home cooked meal.  It's sad, but true.  I went an entire week without preparing food.  And I didn't like it one bit.  Except for the times when I was feasting at my favorite restaurants, having a glass of wine, and enjoying great company instead of slaving in the kitchen.  That part wasn't so bad.

Several days ago my mother kindly informed me that I would be preparing dinner for some of their friends.  This time constrained news sent me into a planning frenzy.  Luckily, I was informed that Tom, a good friend of my parents who happens to be a phenomenal cook and sincere food lover, would be grilling the main dishes leaving me in charge of only the side dishes and dessert.  Whew. 

After speaking with Tom about what he would be grilling I started to pull some things together.  I knew I wanted some late summer veggies, a lot of color, and things that would go well with some steak and grilled seafood.  Flavor was also on the list.  Obviously. 

And so...this is what we ended up with:
  
the appetizers - Spicy Grilled Portobello Mushrooms plus a Shrimp and Avocado Salsa
the sides - Zucchini and Mint Gazpacho with Radish Salsa, Lobster and Apple Summer Salad, Baked Summer Tomatoes, and Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
the "meats" - Grilled Swordfish, Filet, and Garlic Shrimp
the sweet stuff - Toasted Coconut Cream Pie

Not too shabby, right?

As it should be completely obvious...we feasted.  However, I managed to take a few pictures before everyone started digging in just so I could share with you.  Feeling special?

The first one I'm going to share is the gazpacho.

Because I absolutely adored it.  It was light.  Refreshing.  Eye-popping colors.  Great flavor.  And it was my first attempt at a non-tomato gazpacho.  I'm sold.

Adapted from Coastal Living Magazine

Makes: 4-6 servings   Prep Time: 15 minutes   Chill Time: 1 hour   Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
1 pound zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
1/3 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 slice bread, torn into pieces (I used ciabatta)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup radish, finely chopped
1 tablespoon red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3/4 cup water in a blender.  Puree until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  Cover and chill for 1 hour.
2. Combine radish and the next 3 ingredients in a small bowl.  Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, tossing to coat.  Pour gazpacho into bowls and top with radish salsa.  Garnish with mint leaves or fresh chive.  Serve immediately.

Caprese Bruschetta

We'll get to that yummy stuff above in just a minute but first...I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the giveaway!  You guys are truly awesome.  I loved reading about all of your summer plans and your sweet words about this blog were almost worthy of a few tears.  I hope I continue to hear from all of you because I love new bloggy friends!

Are you ready to hear who the winners are?  Of course you are!

The winner of the S'mores kit from Matchbox Kitchen, the Campfire Cuisine Cookbook, and a My Politic album is...

Courtney from The Fig Tree!  Your summer plans sound amazing!  Hopefully you'll get to do some outdoor cooking and take advantage of your new S'mores kit and cookbook while listening to My Politic of course!

{P.S.-her blog is amazing.  Go look.  NOW.}

And the winners of the new My Politic album American Will are...

Sue Roweton from Life Moves Pretty Fast, Andrea, Monica from MonMon Makes, and Richard Forrist!

If you guys can leave me a comment with your email, I'll get your address and mail out your goodies!

Once again, thank you all for participating!  I wish all of you could have won!  Maybe I'll just have to keep doing giveaways...what do you think?

Now for something to balance out the sugar rush from the S'mores cake...

Caprese Bruschetta...

Makes: 4 servings   Prep Time: 10 minutes   Cook Time: None!   Total Time: 10 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:

fresh ciabatta (mine was homemade! yummm!)

2 tomatoes

4 ounces fresh mozzarella

several sprigs of basil

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

 Gather the goods.

 Dice up your tomatoes.

 And do the same to the mozzarella.

 Next the basil.

 And then toss it all into a big bowl.

 Add the olive oil...

 Balsamic vinegar...

 Oregano and garlic powder.

 Give it a couple shakes of salt and pepper to your liking.

 Then stir it all up and it's ready to go!  Easy peasy right?

Now put it on top of some bread.  That stuff there on the right is homemade ciabatta bread.  And it was yuuuummy.  I'll share the recipe with you as soon as I make it again.

 Yum.....

Luckily I had these two jokers hanging around to help...or maybe they were just waiting to be fed?

I was right...just waiting to be fed.

Baked Chips

Guess what.

None of you made an offer to let me tag along for your Memorial Day weekend festivities...so I made plans of my own.  Now are you regretting that offer you didn't make?  Didn't think so.

Last night I got a last minute offer to head to Newport, RI for a day on the beach.  Uhh.  Yes, please. 

So, this morning I got up bright and early, had a nice cup of coffee, packed my beach bag, and then started to make snacks for the day.  Obviously.  You can't go to the beach without snacks.

First I made {these} roasted chickpeas...Packed up some leftover oatmeal cookies from {these} whiskey oatmeal cream pies...Put together a bowl of fruit...And then I whipped up these baked chips...

Baked Chips...

Makes: 4 servings  Prep Time: 5 minutes   Bake Time: 15-20 minutes   Total Time: 25 minutes

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
4 russet potatoes, washed but not peeled
1/4 cup olive oil OR 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup), melted
course sea salt
other seasonings (such as rosemary, black pepper, cajun seasoning, sprinkle of cayenne....)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500° and grease two large baking sheets.
2. With a mandoline slicer (obviously I didn't learn my lesson!) or a very sharp knife, slice potatoes very thin, about 1/8 inch thickness. 
3. Press potatoes with a paper towel to dry them off and then place in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Brush with olive oil or melted butter.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings that sound good!  I used a seasoning mix but anything would be good!  Just be creative!

Homemade Beer Pretzels

I received a request from Miss Katy Rose at the Small Things blog for some good homemade pretzels...probably 6 months ago.

And I'm finally obliging.  Obviously not in a very timely fashion but hey, better late than never.  Right?

I actually decided to make these in a very roundabout way the other day while I was reading one of her blog posts.  I was reading {this} one about her last summer in Columbia and my heart started to well up with tears.  Not my eyes.  My heart.

You see, I abandoned Katy to come to Boston several years ago.  We spent one glorious year together as suitemates and then I just up and left.  Which was painfully tearing at my heart as I read through her list of things to do this summer because I desperately want to be there for all of them.  I did breathe a small sigh of relief when I saw number 27, thankful that seeing me made it onto the list of 34 things she plans to do in the next three months.

So...uh...the pretzels.  Right.  I decided to make these after I read her blog because well...I missed her.  And this seemed like a satisfactory way to ease the pain.  Makes sense right?

homemade beer pretzels... 

 from the flourishing foodie

Makes: 8 or 9 pretzels   Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour rising time   Bake Time: 15 minutes   Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

{Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup beer (I used Blue Moon)
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups hot water
1 egg, beaten
course sea salt for sprinkling

for the honey mustard dipping sauce-
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Gather these items.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup warm water, sugar, and yeast.  Stir and let the bowl sit for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast starts to foam.

 In a large bowl, add the beer...

 foamy yeast mixture...

 flour...

 and salt.

Stir it all together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.  If it's too dry add a little bit of water, and if it's too wet add a bit of flour.

Move dough ball to a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.  Place ball in a well oiled large bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for an hour.  After an hour, preheat the oven to 425° and divide the large dough ball into 8 or 9 (somewhat) evenly sized balls.

If you've ever been to Auntie Anne's you know how this works.  But if not....roll each ball into a thin strip.

Put in a U shape.

And fold each side up and across.

And for goodness sake you're making HOMEMADE pretzels, so don't worry about uniformity.

In a medium bowl combine 2 cups hot water and 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Dip each pretzel in water for 5-10 seconds and then place them on a well greased baking sheet.  Allow pretzels to sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes brush each pretzel with the egg wash.  This will make them nice and shiny.

Sprinkle with course sea salt and throw them in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the pretzels are baking, combine mayo, dijon, apple cider vinegar, and honey.

Grab those babies out of the oven.

Tear off a piece and dunk into honey mustard.

It's funny how fast they come home when homemade pretzels are involved compared to dishes needing to be done....

Enjoy!  Miss you Katy Rose!

P.S. -- Come back tomorrow for a yummy shrimp dish and a story about how I sacrificed the tip of my finger.  Like the whole tip.  Don't worry, pictures will not be involved.