Blue Crab Festival

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Mr. T and I took our long weekend and enjoyed some one on one time.  The City of Palatka has a Blue Crab Festival every year during Memorial Day weekend.  This was our first trip out there to experience this "World Famous" food fiesta.

The art section of the festival left quite a bit to be desired, but whatever.  It's a crab festival, not an art festival. 

Mr. T and I passed a bunch of booths that were filled with an assortment of glorious fried foods, steamed crabs, and seafood combos.  We finally settled on a booth; Mr. T got the "3 crab dinner" and I got the "Captain's Platter".  I've been told on several occasions that if you're ever in a place that offers a "Captain's Platter" to order it.  Its always full of excitement and a myriad of random foods.

 

Here's my "Captain's Platter". I got 2 pieces of fish (I think it was grouper), shrimp, scallops, hush puppies, coleslaw, french fries, and a crab.  Mr. T's dinner had the same sides (hush puppies, coleslaw, and french fries) but he got 3 crabs.

The food was great but I am the person that needs to eat crab at a table, with a tons of paper towels, and a mallet/crackers/hammer/whatever. 

Jamaican Cabdriver Cocktail

I love fruity drinks.  I look for a drink that can be served on a beach or by the pool and would work well with a tiny umbrella or a plastic sword.  I'm easy to please.

Jamaican Cabdriver:
(Webtender)

Ingredients:
4 oz Orange juice
4 oz Coconut rum
1 - 2 oz Cranberry juice

Mixing instructions:

Put ice in glass. Add orange juice and coconut rum. Add 1 to 2 oz. of cranberry juice, depending on your taste. Stir well.

Mexican Chicken

We eat a lot of Mexican food.  I love tacos, nachos, quesadillas, etc.  This is one of my favorite ways to use chicken in Mexican.

Mexican Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Juice of lime juice
1/4 cup dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 large ziploc bag

Cut the chicken breast into bite size cubes (or whatever size would work for your dish).  Place the chicken in a bag.  Add the spices and lime juice.  Roll the chicken in the bag, making sure that the spices have coated everything.

Let the bag of chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

In a skillet heat up a tablespoon of olive oil (or spray with some cooking spray).  Pour the chicken in the pan and cook until the chicken is white all the way through.

Cajun Shrimp

I made shrimp and grits tonight for supper.  It's my favorite meal ever.  Here's how I usually make my shrimp.

Cajun Shrimp:

1 pound of shrimp, shells removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon Old Bay Blackened Seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a ziploc bag add the shrimp and all of the seasonings.  Mix around in the bag so all of the shrimp are covered with the spices.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter.  Add shrimp and cook until all the shrimp are pink and opaque, 5-10 minutes.

Mexican Seasoning

Most people buy the little packets of taco seasoning from the store.  They're cheap and easy but it's just as easy to make a batch of seasoning and it is much easier to control the amount of salt.  I like to make a batch of this and keep it in the cupboard.

Mexican Seasoning:

1/4 cup dried oregano
3 tablespoons dried chile powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix together ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Strawberry Scones

Someone at work brought in a whole bag of strawberries. I'm trying to branch out and make new things.  I was looking around at strawberry options and came across this recipe.  As luck would have it I just bought a container of Greek yogurt.

Strawberry Scones:
(adapted from Chobani Yogurt)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1-2 tsp for flouring work surface
1/4 cups sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling on top
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup chopped strawberries
3/4 cup Greek yogurt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Add butter, using hands or fork, work until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in strawberries, and then Greek yogurt to hold dough together. Do not overmix.

Turn dough onto floured surface and with floured hands, knead 2 to 3 times. Gently press dough into rectangle, about 1½-inches thick. Fold rectangle into thirds, like a letter. Press dough into 9-inch round.  Cut into 8 wedges.

Arrange wedges on a parchment-paper-covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle each wedge with a little sugar. Bake until golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

We made fish tacos for supper the other night.  I love fish tacos but I tend to get in a rut with them.  I got a container of greek yogurt and was trying to find a use for it.  I decided to make a taco sauce with it.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce:(inspired by Chobani)

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chipotle sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped finely
1 tablespoon lime juice

Mix everything together in a bowl and let cool in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

Fruity Fiesta Cocktail

Here is a cocktail that I made the other night.  It's a small list of ingredients and they're easy ones to find.

Fruity Fiesta:
(inspired by Webtender)

Ingredients:
3 oz Orange juice
3 oz Cranberry juice
3 oz Sprite
2 oz Spiced rum
2 oz Pineapple rum

Mixing instructions:

Pour the cranberry juice, orange juice and rums in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake until cold, pour into glasses then add the sprite.