Special Ingredient: Potato and Crab Croquettes with Sweet and Spicy Aioli by Rachel

After thinking long and hard about an ingredient to feature in December, Heather and I decided that we would feature potatoes.  They are a starch used in so many foods and I wanted to pair them with something that people might not usually think to pair potatoes with.  I chose crab meat.

Boring, old potatoes?  I think not!

Crab meat is such a delicate thing and potatoes are so heavy, but when brought together in a nice and crispy croquette, they are unforgettable. I had friends in town from LA (my dear friend, the Skinny Critic and her fiancé) as well as my fiancé's brother.  I wanted them to have a really special dinner with us so I made these croquettes as an appetizer.

Ingredients

makes about 24 croquettes

3 large russet potatoes
1 pinch of salt
2 tbsp heavy cream
16 oz of canned crab meat (lump)
1 tbsp paprika
1 bag of panko bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Canola oil

Green Tea Poached Salmon with Soba by Heather

On days when I want to eat healthy, but want to feel indulgent, I turn to this recipe.  I make salmon at least once a week and I love its versatility.  Don't be worried about poaching the salmon here.  It's actually quite easy.

This recipe was adapted from Sprouted Kitchen, and I've made only minor tweaks to the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
2 tbs. sesame oil
2 tbs. tahini
2 tbs. honey
Juice and zest of 1 lime
3 tbs. soy sauce
1 inch piece of ginger, grated

For the salmon:
3 bags green tea
1 tbs. whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 8 oz. salmon filet

1 package soba noodles
1 bunch broccolini or broccoli, chopped
2 tbs. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Garnish:
2 green onions, cut on the diagonal
black or white sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

Combine broccolini, garlic, and olive oil on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  If you are in a hurry and need to save time, you can also microwave the broccoli in a microwave safe bowl with lid for 2 minutes.

In a medium sized sauce pan, bring 1 cup of water to a simmer.  Turn heat down to low and add tea bags and peppercorns, steep for 3 minutes, then remove and discard tea bags.  Add rice vinegar to the poaching liquid, then slide in the salmon, skin-side down.  Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until salmon is just barely cooked in the middle.  Remove the salmon and set on a plate, and flake it into pieces with a fork.

Meanwhile, cook the soba according to package instructions.  Once the soba has been drained, divide the soba into individual bowls.  Top with sauce, broccolini, and salmon, then garnish.

Homemade Teriyaki Tilapia by Rachel

Working in and around Times Square, sometimes it's hard to find a place to have a good, well-balanced lunch.  Some of my favorite lunches in the area tend to be bento boxes from little Japanese delis.  If you aren't familiar with a bento box, it's basically a mix of things that you can eat with rice.  Usually it comes with a protein and a few vegetables or a salad.

My favorite bento boxes have a teriyaki glazed fish as the protein and last night I had a serious craving for it.  Luckily for me, homemade teriyaki sauce is super easy to make and you can make it sweeter or saltier depending on what you like.  I prefer mine a little saltier, but if you like yours little sweeter, just add a little more mirin and a little more agave.

Ingredients
1lb of fish separated into two filets- I used tilapia, but this type of sauce is popular on salmon as well
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp good soy sauce
4 tbsp Agave
2 tbsp water


- Mix the mirin, soy sauce and agave together in a dish that will be big enough to place your fish flat into the plate.  Make sure that the agave is well mixed into the soy sauce and mirin.

Yummy sauces all mixed together!