Wednesday, May 21, 2008

My Last Cooking Class At The North Carolina Aquarium. Sniff. Sniff.

Tonight, Mr. Hawthorne and I went to the last class
in the seafood series
at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.
Unfortunately, xmaskatie and Glowria weren't in attendance.
Glowria returned early this morning (1 AMish, I think.) from a delayed flight
from her 10-day Mediterranean Cruise.
And Glowria, I say "Bitch" in only the most loving way.
You know that, dear. Bitch.

Glowria was severely jet lagged.
Xmaskatie, where were you?


The class was held by Chef Scott of Coastal Provisions Market.
It was all about soft shell crabs and I loves me some soft shells.


Here are all the little soft shell critters waiting to be battered and fried to perfection.


Chef's recipe for Crispy Soft Shell Crabs:

4 eggs
4 TB milk
2 cups flour (separate 1 cup)
3 cups semolina flour
4 large soft shell crabs, cleaned
1 part pepper to 3 parts salt
Cajun seasoning
Old Bay seasoning

Heat at least 1 1/2 inches oil in a large heavy pan to 350 degrees.
(Chef used a combo of canola and olive oils.)

Combine flour, salt and pepper in shallow dish. Stir until well blended.

In a separate shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and milk with pinch of salt and pepper.

In a third bowl, mix flour and semolina with a tsp. of Cajun Seasoning and Old Bay.

Dredge each crab in flour, shaking to remove any excess, then the egg wash, and finally in the Semolina mixture.

Fry crabs until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 2 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.

Chef's Pesto Sauce

1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 TB pine nuts or walnuts, toasted
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place nuts on baking sheet, season lightly with salt and bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
Place all ingredients in blender except oil.
Puree, adding olive oil slowly.
(Can store in fridge for up to two weeks.)



Chef Scott also offered a Creole Remoulade.
It's one of his "signature dishes" so he wouldn't give the amounts, just the ingredients.
And, here they are:

Hellman's mayonnaise
Pickled Relish
Cajun seasoning
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Whole grain mustard
Hint of ketchup


He served the softshells with a
Coleslaw.
Again, a "signature dish."

3 parts cabbage, shredded
1 part mustard greens, sliced
scallion oil (Heat up oil, add sliced scallions until foamy, then puree)
mayo
mustard seeds.



Here are the plates ready for the condiments.


From top left and clockwise, the coleslaw, then the crabcake
(I only got half a crabcake first time around.),
the Creole Remoulade, and the pesto.

This was delicious.

Even Mr. Hawthorne said he liked these soft shells "BETTER THAN HIS OWN!"
No small praise, indeed.
He could only eat two soft shells.
(Mr. H. only does one seasoned flour battering. No flour/egg/coating mix.)

Since this was my last time at the aquarium for a while, I decided to shoot some pictures of the flora in the solarium.
First time I was here, for the very first class, I shot pictures of all the fauna.

Check out that big hornet's nest.





Directly in front, is the otter tank.







Mr. Hawthorne had to stop at a light on the way home, so I had Mr. H. move out of the way so I could shoot these pictures.
The sunset was beautiful.




Another view.

And another wonderful, informative cooking class.

Not to mention, a beautiful sunset to boot.


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