Baked Mahi Mahi

I am not sure why but for some reason I have had this subconscious fear of cooking seafood especially fish. I have always been afraid that I would not be able to tell when it is cooked through and I would then overcook it. I was raised loving seafood and my dad is by far the best cook when it comes to seafood. I have never tasted such flavorful and delicious seafood as I have when he cooks it. There once was a comedian that said something along the lines that he would never understand the people who say they love seafood but then smother it in tartar and cocktail sauce lol. That is me except when my dad prepares seafood! When I order seafood at a restaurant I have to have bowl of tartar sauce so I was determined to prepare seafood like my dad does. Please forgive me but I must compliment myself on this recipe I made. It was phenomenal and I didn't need any tartar sauce! After talking with my dad I bit the bullet and conquered my fear in the kitchen and can I say I am so glad that I did. This recipe was DELICIOUS!

Baked Mahi Mahi

Phenomenally Delicious

2 Mahi Mahi Fillets
1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons Butter
2 cloves minced garlic
garlic powder
onion powder
complete seasoning
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash Mahi Mahi fillets and place each on their own piece of foil
3. Squeeze lemon juice on fillets and place 2 lemon slices on top of foil
4. Place butter and minced garlic on top of fish. For the butter and minced garlic measurement divide by 4 to ensure you season both side of each fillet for a total of 4 sides.
5. Sprinkle generously with garlic powder, onion powder, complete seasoning, salt and pepper
6. Place seasoned side down on top of lemon wedges.
7. Repeat steps 2-4 for the top side of the fillet. Place 2 lemon slices on top of fillet
8. Repeat steps 2-6 for the second fillet
9. Close foil tightly but ensure their is a space between the foil and fillets. In essence you are creating a pocket so the fish is also steamed
10. Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until fish is opaque and beginning to become flaky. Do not overcook the fish because is will dry out very fast 
11. Serve immediately

Recipe inspired by my Dad and created by Me

Crab Cakes

For my Aunt's birthday this year with the help of my dad we decided to do an all seafood menu. For the appetizer's I made shrimp dip (see previous post) and crab cakes. As usual I am always very nervous to try new recipes with a crowd of people. In the end boy am I so glad that I tried this recipe. These crab cakes were so yummy! They were moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sauce complimented them wonderfully and were a nice change to the traditional sauce served with crab cake's. I tweaked this recipe and am so happy with the turn out. Also, this recipe doubled perfectly for me. My husband says that he is looking very forward to me making this recipe again. Enjoy this special delicacy :)

Crab Cakes

Moist on the inside and crispy on the outside

Crab Cakes:

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 green onions, chopped

3/8 cup olive oil (I used only what I thought necessary)

1 (16 ounce) can canned crab meat, drained

1 egg

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry mustard (I used 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard)

8 ounces buttery round crackers, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 teaspoon paprika plus some)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or regular dry bread crumbs

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute green onions briefly until tender; cool slightly.
2. Combine crab meat, sauteed green onions, egg, mayonnaise, dry mustard (or Dijon), crushed crackers, cayenne pepper (or paprika), garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Form into 1/2 inch thick patties. I was able to get about 20 crab cakes from doubling the recipe.
4. Coat the patties with panko or bread crumbs.
5. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook cakes until golden brown on each side.
6. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve hot. If desired serve with following sauce.

Sauce:
2/3 c fat free chicken broth
3 tbs chopped shallots
2 tbs white whine vinegar
2 1/2 tbs butter

1. Combine broth, chopped shallots, and vinegar in a small sauce pan; bring to boil.
2. Cook until reduced to a 1/2 cup (about 4 minutes); remove from heat, stir in butter.
3. Serve with crab cakes.

Crab cake recipe inspired from Allrecipes
Sauce recipe from my cousin Alison's Blog

Shrimp Dip

This shrimp dip is by far the easiest dip to make as well as delicious. It also contains only a total of 4 ingredients! I recently made this dip for a family get together and everyone raved all evening about how yummy it was, and in the end there was not one crumb left! You know it is good when family raves about it because out of all my taste tester's they are not afraid to give me their honest opinion :)

Shrimp Dip

1 bag of frozen cooked, devined, and tail removed shrimp; thawed
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
Garlic salt with parsley*
Whole round loaf of bread or Ritz crackers

1. Place thawed shrimp (put a few a side to decorate dip before serving), cream cheese, and desired amount of garlic salt with parsley in food processor and combine till uniform
2. Refrigerate dip a couple hours before serving
3. If using a whole round loaf of bread remove the center to create a hollow bread bowl. Tear apart the center of the bread into bite size pieces.
4. When ready to serve place dip in bread bowl or regular bowl and serve with bite size bread or Ritz crackers
5. Refrigerate leftover's

*Recently when I made this dip I accidentally made it too salty so I added more cream cheese and it turned out perfect.

Recipe from a friend