Paula Deen's Crab Salad Martini Recipe

Paula Deen makes this recipe for fresh Crab Salad not only tasty but also an attractive addition to your table.



Ingredients

Paula Deen Seasoned Salt (or Lawry's)
Paula Deen Lemon Pepper Seasoning (or Lawry's)
1 lb claw crabmeat, clean, picked and cooked
1 lb lump crabmeat, cleaned, picked and cooked
1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus more for dipping martini glass
2 to 3 small tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons spicy or Dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
12 to 15 fresh asparagus stalks
Paula Deen House Seasoning
crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
lemon wedges, for garnish
olives, for garnish

Directions

In a large pot bring salted water to a boil and blanch the asparagus by placing them in boiling salted water for 1 minute, and immediately shocking them in a bowl of ice water.

Trim the very bottom of the asparagus and discard. Cut off the top 2-inches of the asparagus and set aside for garnish. Finely chop the remaining asparagus.

In a medium bowl, combine the asparagus with the mayonnaise, mustard, tomatoes, and lemon zest and lemon juice. Gently fold the crabmeat into the asparagus mixture and season to taste with Lemon Pepper Seasoning, Seasoned Salt and House Seasoning.

Using the extra lemon juice wet the rims of the martini glasses and dip them into the crab boil seasoning. Put the crab salad mixture into the prepared glasses and serve with the asparagus tops, lemon wedges, and olives as garnish.

Always Enjoy!

Crunchy Winter Salad

This Winter Salad is easy, super tasty, crunchy, and attractive.

Always Enjoy!

Shrimp Salad

This scrumptious shrimp salad (try saying that five times really fast) is not only an excellent summer treat, but you can make it as an addition to your holiday party platter.

Your Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

4-cups freshly cooked boiled shrimp, medium size is fine
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2-cup celery, washed and very thinly sliced on the bias
2 anchovies, rinsed and minced
2-tbsp capers, drained
2-tbsp green (or black) olives, drained and thinly sliced into rounds
2 scallions, washed and sliced into thin rounds
4-tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-tbsp white tarragon vinegar
1-tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cayenne pepper
1/2-cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise, more or less

CUT boiled shrimp into half-inch pieces

IN a large bowl, combine the shrimp, chopped eggs, celery, anchovies, capers, olives, and scallions and toss well.

IN a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper.

ADD the olive oil mixture to the shrimp mixture and toss well to blend.

ADD mayonnaise to your shrimp mixture and blend thoroughly. There should be enough mayonnaise to bind ingredients together.

MOUND shrimp salad on a platter lined with Bibb lettuce or Arugula leaves (which has a peppery bite).

SERVE with thin, crispy vegetable, onion or garlic crackers.

Always Enjoy!

A Fast Healthy Recipe For A Lazy Day

It’s one of those days and you just don’t feel like doing anything more strenuous than clicking the remote or turning the pages in your favorite and closely guarded “Smiling Chef Recipe Book.” Alright, alright, maybe not exactly a book. But I can dream, can’t I?

Anyway, a few days ago you went grocery shopping and now you just happen to have the ingredients for this really healthy recipe that you just found in my book (this is my story) right in your fridge. And it’ll just take you about 15 minutes to prepare.

Well get up and GO FOR IT! It’s simple and easy and especially tasty. And you won’t feel a bit of guilt for being extra lazy today. It’s healthy too.

CARROT-WALDORF SALAD (serves 8)

2 cups shredded carrot (rinse well in a colander; you can buy the package already shredded if you like)
1-1/2 cups chopped Red Delicious apple (sprinkle with lemon juice to keep apples from oxidizing)
1 cup of sliced celery (looks really nice if you slice on the bias)
1/4 cup pitted chopped dates
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup nonfat mayonnaise
2 tbsp juice from an orange
1 tsp orange zest from the same orange
fresh spinach leaves

WASH the apple, celery, orange and fresh spinach leaves (not the frozen) before preparation and pat dry.

COMBINE first 5 ingredients in a bowl.

COMBINE yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice and orange zest in another bowl and stir well.

POUR yogurt mixture over the carrot mixture and toss gently.

COVER and chill for an hour or so.

SPOON salad onto spinach-lined serving bowls.

Pretty tasty, isn’t it?

Always Enjoy!

A Fast Dinner Recipe In The Name Of Love

You’ve had your eye on your dream love for about a month now. You’d like to move their eye (at least the good one) in your direction. You’ve tried everything. You’ve accidentally taken a drink (yes, with your very own lips) from the water fountain at exactly the same time they did. No reaction.

You’ve spilled super-glue on the back of your dress or pants (hmm) and accidentally tripped and fallen into their lap. No reaction (other than scissors). And you’ve accidentally slashed your own tires and begged for a ride home. No reaction (except to count out your bus fare).

What in the world are you going to do?

Well, you’ve come to the right place. Your Smiling Chef can solve most love problems.

You prepare the following recipe and take it into the office and say to your love interest (after you’ve gotten their attention in one of those sly ways you’ve become so adept at), “Would you do me a really, really big favor?” Being that they’ve always been polite they’ll say, “Of course I will if I can.”

And then you’ll say, “My best friend is head over heels in love with someone and wants to invite them to a quiet, romantic dinner but she (or he) doesn’t know how to cook and asked if I could put something together for them. This is what I’m thinking of making for them and I’d like you and (someone else in the office since there are two halves) to sample this at lunchtime and tell me what you think about it.”

And hand them your creation and say, “I’ll join you two for lunch so we can decide if this would be a great dinner alternative rather than the usual filet mignon and baked potato. Okay…I’ll see you two later.”

And off you go back to work.

Now of course, when lunchtime rolls around, the third person that will be joining you doesn’t show up at this prearranged…well…tryst. That’s because they’re very aware of your deceptive intentions.

Well, actually everyone in the office is. That is, everyone except your love interest.

So you’ve finally gotten your love interest alone. Just the two of you. Two people. Together finally. Alone. Now what do you do?

Heck, I don’t know…I’m just Your Smiling Chef!

PINEAPPLE LOVE TUB (hopefully serves 2)

Your Ingredients:

1 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 medium-sized fresh pineapple (smell the stem end of it and make sure it smells pineapplely, even if its not a real word)
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup maraschino cherries, halved and drained
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tbsp light rum

PREHEAT oven to 350˚F.

PLACE the coconut and slivered almonds on a dry baking sheet and spread out in one layer. If the coconut is unsweetened, add 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and toss everything together, then spread mixture evenly on baking sheet.

BAKE mixture in preheated oven and stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes until almost golden brown but still with flecks of white showing. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

WASH the outside of the pineapple, including the leaves thoroughly with a pineapple brush (sorry, I meant a vegetable brush). Pat dry.

CUT off the leafy crown and save it for garnish.

CUT the pineapple in half lengthwise.

SCOOP out the fruit from each half with a large spoon leaving a 1/4-inch shell (use a serving spoon or a tablespoon because you want large enough chunks to be able to cut into bite-sized chunks).

USE a paring knife to remove the woody core from the fruit and discard.

CUT remaining scooped out pineapple into bite-sized chunks.

COMBINE pineapple chunks, toasted coconut, toasted almonds, mandarin oranges, cherries, marmalade and rum in a bowl and toss gently.

PLACE prepared pineapple halves and mixture in fridge until ready to serve.

WHEN ready to serve, place each half on a pretty plate that will enhance the colors in your mixture. For the holidays, a red salad plate would pick up the color of your maraschino cherries. For autumn, a burnt orange plate would pick up the color of the mandarin slices.

DIVIDE mixture between both halves and garnish with the pineapple top. You could cut the top vertically in half (so now you have an identical pair) and attach it vertically to the end of the bowl with a toothpick with interspersed whole cherries stuck within the leaves. Or you could use kitchen shears to cut some leaves and lay them around the outer plate with whole cherries on top. It’ll be an attractive presentation either way.

Now, enjoy your romantic evening and let me know how your story ends!

Always Enjoy!

Fast Recipes Are Always Just A Creative Thought Away

I just love a great tuna sandwich on toast…especially if I happen to have a fresh loaf of 12-grain bread. Goes great with potato chips. I even like to put a scoop of tuna salad on a bed of bib lettuce with crackers on the side. Yum!

I am a firm believer that good, quality ingredients are the foundation of a great tasting dish. This tuna recipe is no exception. Use a solid white albacore tuna packed in oil, not water. There’s a very noticeable difference in flavor if you stray. I’ve tried using the tuna that was on sale and it just didn’t cut the mustard. So splurge a little…you’ll be quite pleased.

This is a fast recipe (but really tasty) that you can have for lunch or dinner. Here’s a few tips that will make all of your cooking and baking activities much easier and definitely much faster.

1. Always (and I do mean always), prep your ingredients before you even start to put the recipe together. Have all ingredients washed, measured and separated into their own bowls. Even the salt and pepper!

2. Always preheat your oven right after you’ve prepped your ingredients. I can remember many times when I’ve completely forgotten about it and then had to wait 15 minutes for the oven to heat to the desired temperature. “Waiting” and “fast” are oxymorons!

3. If you aren’t too busy the night before you intend to prepare your selected recipe…prep your ingredients then. You’ll be sooo happy the next day when all you’ll need to do is put everything together. Especially if you’re planning for a party…prepare as much as you can the day (or days) before, so that you can enjoy your party instead of being stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is having fun.

YOUR SMILING CHEF TUNA SALAD (serves 4)

Your Ingredients:

4 cans (6 oz each) solid white albacore tuna packed in oil (drain oil on all but one can)
1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives (chopped)
1/2 cup red onion, washed and chopped
1/3 cup celery, washed and minced
4 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup sweet relish
6 sweet gherkins (chopped)
real mayonnaise (enough to make it pretty creamy)

MIX all of the ingredients together and chill. Serve on toast spread with mayonnaise (I know, I know) and add lettuce and a slice of tomato. Eat with chips and pickles or just have crackers with the salad.

Always Enjoy!

Note: If you don't like green olives, try black ones. It will still be a great tuna salad. Post a comment if you enjoyed this recipe. It's another one of my favorites.