When it comes to food, my father is a very picky man. He only eats certain foods, doesn’t like leftovers, and prefers his meals presented in an aesthetically pleasing fashion.

So it’s not surprising that I’ve always found cooking for him to be a bit of a challenge. Over the years though, I’ve learned what works, and what doesn’t. Crab-based dishes are usually winners. And this vegetable-heavy crab soup made in a slow cooker is one of them.

Ingredients

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 cup lima beans
4 tablespoons Old Bay
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes

1 cup diced green beans
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 1/2 cups peas
2 cups crab meat

Directions

1. Place chicken stock, chopped onions, chopped celery, lima beans, Old Bay, Worcestershire sauce, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

2. Add green beans, corn kernels, peas, and crab meat to the slow cooker. Cook for another 1 to 2 hours.

3. Serve with fresh, crusty bread or crackers.

Serves 6-8

Adapted from Coconut and Lime.

Last week, I posted a recipe for one of my latest snack obsessions: roasted red pepper hummus. But I didn’t explain how to roast the peppers used in the recipe. For those who are interested, here’s the (incredibly simple) method, which can be done in advance and stored until ready for use.

Continue to recipe.

Ingredients

Red bell peppers (other colors work, too)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Line baking tray with aluminum foil.

3. Arrange washed peppers on lined tray. Space them out evenly.

4. Place tray in the oven. Roast the peppers, turning every 10 to 15 minutes for about 30 minutes until done.

5. Remove tray from the oven. Allow the peppers to cool in a covered bowl.

6. Once cooled, carefully remove the charred skin. Cut the tops of the peppers, and carefully remove the seeds.

7. Drizzle with olive oil and a little sea salt.

8. Serve or store in a covered jar or container in the refrigerator. Roasted peppers will keep for about a week.

I’ve been on a hummus kick lately. Roasted red pepper hummus to be exact. It’s so easy to whip up, and can be used as a dip for veggies or pita bread, or as a spread to spice up a sandwich. But I think my addiction to this snack is not necessarily its versatility and convenience, but rather its flavor… the smokiness of the roasted peppers along with a kick stemming from an unlikely ingredient: Sriracha!

I think the Thai hot sauce Sriracha can be a great addition to many dips and dressings. It adds more zing than Tabasco, as well as subtle hints of vinegar and garlic. For this hummus recipe, you can simply mix in a quarter of a cup or so of Sriracha after all of the other ingredients have been blended, or you can do it in a made-to-order style, and stir in a few tablespoons before serving. This way, you can control the amount of heat for each helping.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas (with some reserved cooking liquid, if available)
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves
1 lemon or lime
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup Sriracha

Directions

1. Add chickpeas, tahini, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice or lime juice in a food processor or blender.

2. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add liquid from chickpeas or water if mixture is too dry.

3. Blend in Sriracha.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add additional lemon juice or lime juice as needed.

5. Serve with a little drizzled olive oil and paprika.

Alternate option: Skip step three, and instead stir in 2-3 tablespoons of Sriracha into half of cup of hummus before serving.
Makes 6-8 servings.

My mother is an amazing cook. True, I may be a bit biased, but I’m not the only one who’s lauded her culinary skills and talent for creating mouth-watering dishes day after day for our food-obsessed family.

While she’s capable of preparing a wide range of dishes originating from various countries—Italian pastas, spicy Thai noodles, Chinese barbecue pork and dumplings—it’s her Cambodian and Vietnamese dishes that my sister and I drool over the most. She’s been giving us mini Cambodian/Vietnamese cooking lessons lately, in hopes that our family’s future generation will be afforded the same delicious home-cooked meals that we grew up with.

Last weekend’s lesson was Khmer Krom Khor, a caramelized pork or chicken and egg stew. So good.

Khmer Krom is an ethnic Cambodian group living in the lower part of the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, which was once part of the Khmer empire. Khmer Krom Khor is similar to the Vietnamese dish, Thit Kho.

Continue to recipe.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mushroom seasoning
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, plus more to taste
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken or pork, cut into 2-inch chunks
4-5 pieces sliced ginger, cut into 1/6-inch thickness
6-8 hard-boiled eggs

Directions

1. Heat sugar and vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as sugar caramelizes, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Add mushroom seasoning, fresh ground pepper, garlic, and chicken into the caramelized sugar. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes. Stir in sliced ginger, and cover for about 5 minutes.

3. Once the chicken has cooked through, add the hard-boiled eggs. Stir and cover for about 5 minutes.

4. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.

5. Serve immediately with white rice.

Serves 4.

When it comes to lunch during the workweek, I go through phases. I was on a bagel kick for a while: multigrain with cream cheese or Dijon mustard. After that, it was Whole Foods’ pizzas with fancy combinations like balsamic chicken and caramelized onions. I also had a brief affair with yellowfin tuna sandwiches. And then, there was my CVS phase. To the disgust of my co-workers, I went through a period of consuming sandwiches, wraps and high-sodium subs preserved and packaged in noisy plastic. It was a convenience thing, I told them. And it really was, as CVS is nearly right next door to our building.

But things are different now. No more CVS sandwiches, and fewer pizzas and cream cheese-loaded bagels for me. I’m aiming for healthy, and one of my new lunch favorites is quinoa.

I’ve been cooking quinoa with all sorts of vegetables: broccoli, bell peppers, kale, mushrooms, onions… But the very first quinoa dish I made was with roasted corn, a recipe from the ever-resourceful Mark Bittman. The quinoa and roasted corn combination is slightly sweet and crunchy, great alone, and pairs perfectly with fish or chicken.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (best if freshly shucked; defrost if frozen)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup quinoa (well rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 cups chicken, beef or vegetable stock
Chopped fresh chives, chervil, parsley, cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

1. Heat oil in a skillet or saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. When hot, add corn, salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, until corn begins to brown, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in quinoa. After a few minutes, add stock and bring to a boil.

3. Stir one last time, cover with lid, and reduce heat to low.

4. Cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.

5. Uncover and stir a bit. If the kernels are still hard, make sure there’s enough liquid in the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Add a little more liquid, if you need to.

6. When ready, season to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs, and serve immediately or room temperature.

Serves 4.

I wish I could say I’m an expert bread baker, or even a mediocre bread baker. But I can’t because I’m not. My early bread making experiences resulted in hard, inedible baguettes that resembled the fake bread home décor and furniture stores often use as props. Sadness. It was one failed experiment after another, until eventually I just stopped trying. But then I discovered Jim Lahey’s magical no-knead bread recipe. Happiness!

When Mark Bittman wrote about Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread in 2006, food bloggers on the Interwebs buzzed with excitement. Why? Because the recipe is so easy, requires little work and yields a deliciously crusty loaf. The aroma of freshly baked bread soon filled my kitchen. I experimented with variations: whole wheat flour, grated cheeses, onions, garlic, fresh herbs… life was grand.

One of my favorite combinations is whole wheat with sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Sometimes I’ll add a little Parmesan and caramelized onions. It’s really fabulous as sandwich bread or drizzled with a bit of olive oil and good balsamic vinegar.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped black olives
2 cups water at about 70 degrees F
Cornmeal as needed

Directions

1. Combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and stir until blended. Fold in sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Dough will be shaggy and sticky. Add a little more water if dough seems dry.

2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest for about 18 hours in a warmish area, about 70 degrees F.

3. Remove dough from bowl, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Fold dough a few times. Cover the dough loosely with plastic, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

4. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, gently shape the dough into a ball. Coat a cotton towel with cornmeal. Place the dough seam side down on the towel, and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel or plastic wrap. Let it rise for two hours.

4. About half an hour before the dough is ready, heat a 3- to 4-quart cast-iron, ceramic, Pyrex, or enamel pot with the cover on at 450 degrees F.

5. When the dough is ready. Carefully remove the pot from the oven, and place the dough seam side up inside the pot. Cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the loaf is browned.

6. Carefully remove the bread, and cool on rack for 30 minutes before slicing.

Baking has become my preferred method for cooking brown rice. The recipe is simple, nearly foolproof and can easily be jazzed up before going into the oven.

I like to use chicken stock instead of water to give the rice a little extra flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand, water is fine.

For fancier rice, try one of the following variations. The additional ingredients can be stirred in after the water has been poured over the rice.

• 1-2 tablespoons fresh herbs (oregano, thyme or rosemary)
• 1/2 to 1 cup caramelized onions
• 1-2 tablespoons mashed roasted garlic or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes or 1 cup seeded, chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms
• 1/2 to 1 cup cooked, chopped sausage

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or water)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Place rice in medium-sized glass baking dish.

3. Boil water, butter and salt in a covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice and stir. If using one of the above variations, now is the time to stir the additional ingredients in.

4. Wrap dish tightly with heavy aluminum foil.

5. Bake on middle rack for 1 hour.

6. After an hour, remove dish from oven. Remove foil and fluff rice a bit before serving.

Serves about 4

Adapted from Alton Brown’s Baked Brown Rice

Broiled grapefruit?? What?! No way!
Oh, but yes.

I’ve always been a grapefruit fan. I usually consume it without any accompaniments, simply sliced and segmented. No fuss.

But then I heard about broiled grapefruit. With a little bit of cinnamon and brown sugar, the results are akin to crème brûlée. The sugar crystalizes the top, and the juicy flesh inside slightly warms. The simplicity is still there, but the flavors and textures elevate the fruit into something a little more special.

Continue to recipe.

Ingredients

1 grapefruit, halved crosswise
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Using a pairing knife, carefully loosen the grapefruit segments along the edge of the rind. Afterward, gently loosen segments from each other.

3. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or ramekin. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of grapefruit half. Top with a bit of freshly grated ginger. If ginger isn’t your thing, feel free to omit.

4. Repeat above steps with the second grapefruit half.

5. Place both halves in a baking dish, and broil for 3-5 minutes, until sugar begins to bubble and crystallize.

6. Remove from oven, and serve warm.

One of the first real meals I recall making for my family was on Mother’s Day. I was in my very early 20s, with only a handful of successful dinners under my belt. And those dinners were of the basic variety: spaghetti and meatballs (made with store-bought sauce and meatballs, of course), salads, rice, and anything fried. But that day, I decided to stretch my skills and take it up a notch. After all, it was Mother’s Day. I made panko-crusted pan-fried crab cakes (still something fried, but a little fancier!), served with a chili-lime dressing. Several years later, this meal is still one of my go-to dinners for the family.

For this recipe, I used Chipotle panko to give it a bit of a kick, but feel free to use regular panko. And if you can’t find panko, regular bread crumbs are fine.

Kitchen Notes: Panko are Japanese bread crumbs. They have a coarser texture, and are lighter and flakier than regular bread crumbs. Panko can be found in the same aisle as regular bread crumbs in some American grocery stores. They’re also sold in Asian markets and specialty food stores.

Continue to recipe.

Ingredients

4 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped green onions (green parts only)
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 pound jumbo lumb crab meat
4 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups Chipotle panko (or regular panko or bread crumbs)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Chili-lime dressing (recipe follows)
1 cup mesclun or assorted baby greens, for garnish
Lemon wedges or wheels, for garnish

Directions

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine butter, mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, green onions, chives, and parsley into a bowl. Stir vigorously until well blended and slighted thickened. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne, and mix until well blended.

3. Transfer to a medium bowl with crab meat and bread crumbs, and fold gently to mix, being careful not to break up the lumps.

4. Form crab meat mixture into 2 1/2 to 3-inch round cakes. In order to yield more crab cakes, I made mine a little smaller this time around, about 1 1/2 to 2-inch cakes. Pack them gently, but firmly. Place on prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 to 2 hours.

5. Place flour in a small, shallow dish. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk to make an egg wash. Place the panko in a third shallow dish.

6. Dredge each crab cake in flour, then in the egg wash, and then in the panko crumbs, shaking to remove any excess breading. If the crab cakes become too loose while breading, they can be refrigerated again until firm. Place each crab cake aside on a tray when done.

7. Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry the crab cakes three or four at a time until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Add more oil as needed. Once done, place the crab cakes on a plate lined with paper towels.

8. To serve, arrange two crab cakes on each plate. Two teaspoons of the chili-lime dressing can be served on top of the cakes, or off to the side. Garnish with greens and lemon wedges or wheels. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 8 crab cakes.

Adapted from Emeril’s Delmonico’s Pan-Fried Crab Cakes

Chili-Lime Dressing

This recipe uses a chili garlic sauce that can be found in Asian markets and in the international aisle of some grocery stores. It’s a medium-hot sauce that’s used as a condiment for many Southeast Asian meals, and can also be added to marinades and dressings, and used for cooking.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
3/4 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the chili garlic sauce, lime juice, sesame seeds, and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Stir well to combine.

2. Slowly add the olive oil, and whisk to combine. Set aside until read to serve.

Kitchen Notes: This chili-lime dressing will keep for up to three days in a covered container and refrigerated.

I came across some of my old cookbooks during a little spring-cleaning the other day. One was Emeril’s Delmonico, a gift from an old ex who presented it with expectations of fried soft-shell crabs, seafood gumbo, and beignets in his near future. Unfortunately for him, none of those items, or anything from that book, was made until years after we said our goodbyes. One of the first recipes I whipped up from the book was Emeril’s shrimp remoulade, an interpretation to that classic Creole dish.

This recipe produces a reddish New Orleans-style remoulade, with a variety of chopped vegetables and spices to give it texture and a little heat. The sauce is served over boiled and peeled shrimp here, but it can be used to compliment any type boiled or fried seafood.

Ingredients for Remoulade Sauce

1/2 cup Creole mustard or other mild whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions for Remoulade Sauce

1. Combine mustard, horseradish, yellow onions, green onions, celery, sugar, paprika, Worcestershire, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until well blended.

2. Slowly add in the oil and continue to mix well until the mixture is thick and emulsified.

3. Slowly add in the vinegar, and mix well to blend.

4. Transfer the sauce into an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Kitchen Notes: This sauce will keep for up to five days in an airtight container and refrigerated.

Ingredients for Presentation

1 small head iceberg lettuce, trimmed and shredded
2 dozen large shrimp, boiled, peeled and deveined
1 cup remoulade sauce (recipe below)
4 lemon wedges or wheels, for garnish

Directions for Presentation

1. Mound shredded lettuce on four chilled plates.

2. Place six shrimp on a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup of remoulade sauce into the bowl. Toss the shrimp around in the sauce, until generously coated.

3. Arrange shrimp on one of the prepared lettuce plates, and garnish with a lemon wedge or wheel.

4. Repeat steps two and three for the remaining servings.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Emeril’s Delmonico’s Shrimp Remoulade