Week 3: Crab Cakes Benedict with Avocado
This week's recipe is Crab Cakes Benedict with Avocado. First of all, I appreciate that Chrissy seems mindful of carbs. I mean, certainly not for last week's recipe but she is for this week's. I'm looking forward to making the crab cakes. I am also grateful that she is having us make a fake hollandaise vs. a real one because a real hollandaise plus my next confession would probably put me over the edge.
Confession:
I have never poached an egg before. I mean, I've poached an egg, haha, of course I have! But I used the egg cooker. I have never poached an egg in water before now. So. I am terrified. I know, I know. Worst case is I can use the egg cooker and we'll still have an edible breakfast. But, man, I am not sure how this is going to go.
Anyway. The goal of cooking through this book is to not let it intimidate me. I'm going to do it. It's going to be great, and I will learn something about myself in the process. Hopefully that thing is not that I am a total failure at poaching eggs or keeping a crab cake together while I'm trying to cook it.
Here we go.
Requisite ingredients photo:
The fake hollandaise was super simple and tasty.
The crab mixture needed to chill in the refrigerator for an hour so I did, too. Chill, I mean. Definitely not in the refrigerator. I mean. Duh. Also, it would really help if I read the instructions. I don't know if it would have made a difference but instead of forming the patties and putting them into the refrigerator, I just put the whole bowl of the crab mixture into the refrigerator. And, of course, it wouldn't be me making these recipes if I didn't screw it up in some fashion. Anyway, after an hour, I took the bowl out, formed patties, and started to fry. They looked like this:
Really feeling happy I bought that cast iron skillet now.
I didn't take photos of the poached eggs because it all happened very quickly and was a blur. I don't know how I did it, but I did do it and it wasn't an unmitigated disaster. In fact, I would say for my first time poaching eggs it was a success!
Look at this lusciousness:
I mean, yeah, I could have used a better avocado but you have to roll with what you're dealt when it comes to avocados.
Kid #1 (12 years old): Well, she ate the egg and avocado. She did take a bite of the crab cake so she did try it. It just wasn't for her. She was about to head to the trash when her brother intercepted her so he could eat her crab cake. That leads us to...
Kid #2 (19 years old): He loved it. Of course, he has a highly developed palate and always has had one. He said he'd definitely eat this again.
Husband: He also loved it. He thought I should make it for a family brunch and I swear to god he was about to invite people over so I could make this again.
This recipe was kind of a lot of work but really not too bad. Most of the time involved was spent with the crab chilling. I bet I could even make them ahead the night before. The fake hollandaise was amazingly delicious. I have some left over and saved it for something to put it on this week. Maybe a salad with the 6 ounces of crab I still have. The only change I would probably make for this is to lightly dress the arugula in a lemony vinaigrette or something. It was kind of a bummer being dry and plain.
Next week's recipe is "Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs." I can't decide if I should double it because the recipe only serves 2. I guess I'll think about it and we will all find out together.
Confession:
I have never poached an egg before. I mean, I've poached an egg, haha, of course I have! But I used the egg cooker. I have never poached an egg in water before now. So. I am terrified. I know, I know. Worst case is I can use the egg cooker and we'll still have an edible breakfast. But, man, I am not sure how this is going to go.
Anyway. The goal of cooking through this book is to not let it intimidate me. I'm going to do it. It's going to be great, and I will learn something about myself in the process. Hopefully that thing is not that I am a total failure at poaching eggs or keeping a crab cake together while I'm trying to cook it.
Here we go.
Requisite ingredients photo:
The fake hollandaise was super simple and tasty.
The crab mixture needed to chill in the refrigerator for an hour so I did, too. Chill, I mean. Definitely not in the refrigerator. I mean. Duh. Also, it would really help if I read the instructions. I don't know if it would have made a difference but instead of forming the patties and putting them into the refrigerator, I just put the whole bowl of the crab mixture into the refrigerator. And, of course, it wouldn't be me making these recipes if I didn't screw it up in some fashion. Anyway, after an hour, I took the bowl out, formed patties, and started to fry. They looked like this:
Really feeling happy I bought that cast iron skillet now.
I didn't take photos of the poached eggs because it all happened very quickly and was a blur. I don't know how I did it, but I did do it and it wasn't an unmitigated disaster. In fact, I would say for my first time poaching eggs it was a success!
Look at this lusciousness:
I mean, yeah, I could have used a better avocado but you have to roll with what you're dealt when it comes to avocados.
Kid #1 (12 years old): Well, she ate the egg and avocado. She did take a bite of the crab cake so she did try it. It just wasn't for her. She was about to head to the trash when her brother intercepted her so he could eat her crab cake. That leads us to...
Kid #2 (19 years old): He loved it. Of course, he has a highly developed palate and always has had one. He said he'd definitely eat this again.
Husband: He also loved it. He thought I should make it for a family brunch and I swear to god he was about to invite people over so I could make this again.
This recipe was kind of a lot of work but really not too bad. Most of the time involved was spent with the crab chilling. I bet I could even make them ahead the night before. The fake hollandaise was amazingly delicious. I have some left over and saved it for something to put it on this week. Maybe a salad with the 6 ounces of crab I still have. The only change I would probably make for this is to lightly dress the arugula in a lemony vinaigrette or something. It was kind of a bummer being dry and plain.
Next week's recipe is "Creamy Parmesan Skillet Eggs." I can't decide if I should double it because the recipe only serves 2. I guess I'll think about it and we will all find out together.
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