Oyster Season

We moved to Maryland this summer and immediately picked up on the crab scene...I mean before our furniture was delivered, we had crab traps. It was excellent.

Crab season ends with the summer and oyster season starts. We hailed our first season with a trip to the oyster festival...saw the oyster king and all.

  

We looked into harvesting some ourselves, but found it takes years for them to grow, and given that we are here with the Navy, there's no telling how long we actually have here...but, what we found out we could do was to buy a bushel and keep them in milk crates in the bay. We just pull them up whenever we want to have some, clean them, and shuck away!

This weekend was our first time prepping them ourselves. We tried them raw, grilled just for a minute with a red pepper butter, and grilled in a delicious way...recipe thanks to Magnolias. LOVED it!

Carolina Cup Crackling Oysters 

6 T grated Parmesan 

1 C mayo 

1 t Worcestershire sauce 

24 oysters, top shell removed, muscle cut, shell wiped clean of mud and shell pieces 

3/4 C ham cracklings 

Mix first three ingredients. Spoon over raw oysters. Top with cracklings and extra Parmesan. Roast for 8-10 minutes. Share with your neighbors...they'll love you for it!

Orville

Lots of people have dogs. Some people have lap dogs...others have working farm dogs...others are the crazy dog people who have kid dogs (you know what I mean, I'm sure!) ...and then there's the good ol' family pet. Cue Orville.

 Orville is our shelter dog...who is supposedly a dachshund beagle mix....yeah right. Take one look at those legs. He loves chewing, sniffing, turning front flips, giving high fives, oh, and did I mention chewing?

He's getting a shout out because I've learned some lessons from him, so I thought I'd share.

1. Wag more.
What I mean is...be positive! Everyone loves to see other people who are happy. Simply put. And in dog terms, everyone loves doing something that the dog then wags his tail in response. We TRY to make his tail wag.

2. Bark less.
Now, it wouldn't be bad if he started being a little more of a guard dog, but typically the only bark you'll hear is the "I want to play" howl. No need to fuss if something isn't going your way. No need to complain or beg. No need to stir up trouble or make a fuss.
If only humans were like this...





3. Always say goodbye.
My mom always stands at the door and waves and watches until she can see you no more. Depending on the morning, Josh or I will leave the house first. Orville takes after Mom and stands at the door, paws propped up on the pump to the screen door. He watches and watches until you get in the car and leave the driveway...always sees you off safely. It's too cute.

4. Give a proper welcome.
Alright...we could do without the jumping...but it's nice to have the excitement nonetheless.

5. Get your tail outside.
Enough said! See the sunrise. Go for a walk. Meet your neighbors. See the sunset. Go for another walk. Take in that Chesapeake Bay air. It's good for your health in all sorts of ways.

6. Consistency is key.
Training is all about the consistency, and if our balance or emotions or instruction is off, the dog will likely show us with his behavior. Hoping this will pay off past the puppy stages, of course. We're just trying to give the right reinforcements, day in, day out.  
I'll have to keep you posted on this one...when we're past the "I want to eat every stick, piece of popcorn, sock, slipper, chicken breast with spinach, makeup brush, Kleenex, fire kindling, government I.d. card, puppy training guide, beer solo cup, pet bed, rope toy, squeaker toy, trash can, recycling bin item (we actually let him make toys out of bottles and boxes...rather it be that than everything else listed!), pine cone, driftwood, and of course, crab legs" stage.

7.  Lick your plate clean. 
Even if it's in the dishwasher?!

8. Treats are worth waiting for.

9.  Play games.
Hide and seek is his favorite.

aaaand 10.  Take naps and yawn like a dinosaur.  It's awesome.

 Here's to lessons learned from Orville! (like the Wright brother...not the popcorn, by the way!) 

Since September?!

Well, school started.  And instead of just substituting for elementary music, I'm hired and teaching elementary music.  And life actually hasn't been as busy as the last couple years.  That's why I'm so surprised to see my last post from SEPTEMBER!  I PROMISE I haven't been living at school like I did my first two years of teaching!  PROMISE!!!

Since the holidays have come and gone and I didn't post a single time, I'll do a tribute to my holiday baking.  When I have spare time (aka my FAVORITE holiday ever, Thanksgiving and then Christmas), I bake.  My favorites this year come from several places...but all from friends and family.  These recipes are the best of the best when it comes to my baking, so enjoy!  But make sure you have people to help you eat these tasty treats...otherwise, it'll be really hard to keep your paws off of this goodness and your new year's resolutions will be DONE FOR.

In the order that I learned these recipes....drum roll, please...and by the way, this will completely make up for my lack of blogging as I will share one recipe for every month I was "gone"...oh boy!.....here we go!......

7 Layers

Oreo Truffles

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Apple Pear Crumb Top Pie

7 Layers: These little bars have been made every Christmas since I can remember...reheat them in the microwave for 14 seconds for a little gooey goodness and man, oh man......

Ingredients: (7 of them, of course)

1 stick butter

1 pkg. graham cracker crumbs (1 ½ C)

1 sm. Pkg. butterscotch chips

1 sm. Pkg. chocolate chips

1 sm. Can coconut

1 C pecans

1 can Eagle brand milk

Directions:

Melt butter in 13x9x2 inch pan; sprinkle crumbs over butter. Layer chips, coconut, and pecans. Save a little coconut and pecans for top. Put Eagle Brand over top, then sprinkle coconut and pecans on top and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.

 

Oreo Truffles: College roomies helped with this one!  I'm almost ashamed to tell you how easy these really are for how delicious they really are.  Now, they are a royal PAIN to roll in the chocolate, but trust me...they're worth it.  And once you drizzle a little white chocolate on top, you'll look like a pastry pro.  Cover up all your chocolate melting mistakes.

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos

1 package of Neufchatl cream cheese

1 pack chocolate chips (good to have more on hand just in case you need more)

small amount of white chocolate (just a baking bar is great)

Directions: 

Blend oreos completely.   Mix with cream cheese and get your hands messy.  Roll into small balls.

Melt chocolate (double boiler is great for this if you have one.  otherwise, microwave it).  Roll oreo balls in chocolate and place on cookie tray (line it with wax paper for less cleanup).  Place tray in freezer to harden.   Melt white chocolate & dribble white chocolate over hardened bon-bons.  Done.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies: The best. holiday. cookie. period.

Ingredients:

1 c. unsalted softened butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c. dried cranberries
6 oz. white chips

Directions:
Oven 350. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda. Add oats and mix until just combined. Stir in cranberries and chips. Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 min and let finish baking on cooling cookie sheet.

Apple pear crumb top pie: My newest addition and my favorite pie as of now.  This pie is so incredibly delicious and perfect.  Lets just say, there have never been leftovers and I've made it on five occasions since Thanksgiving.  It's January.  Can we say addicting?! crowd pleaser?! best thing to impress friends and family since those summer hand fruit tarts?! It's that good.

They wish they could have some. And I really don't have a picture of this one.  Take it as a testament to how good it really is.  It disappears before I can even capture it on camera.  The focus is 110% on eating it, not staring at it. So. good.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup crushed Nilla wafers (about 24)               
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted                        

1 ready to use refrigerated pie crust...or of course, make your own!

4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese

2 large baking apples, peeled and chopped
1 large pear, peeled and chopped           

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup of flour                                                     

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Mix wafer crumbs, brown sugar, and butter until well blended; set aside.  Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate. Spread cream cheese carefully onto bottom of crust; sprinkle with half of the crumb mixture. Set aside.
Combine fruit in large bowl.  Add granulated sugar, flour, and cinnamon; toss to coat.  Spoon over crumb layer in pie crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.

Bake 35 min. or until fruit is tender and crust is lightly browned, covering loosely with foil after 25 min. if necessary to prevent crust from overbrowning.  Cool (if you can take it) and devour. 

Crab Season

Moving to waterfront Maryland, we immediately bought our crab pots and started catching Maryland blue crab that abound in the Chesapeake Bay.  We've only missed a couple weekends since moving here...so we've had fresh crab every weekend for almost 3 months now.  We love it.  The Maryland way is steamed with tons of Old Bay and salt, optionally dipped in vinegar.  It's so much work to pick the meat out, so it becomes more of a social event than anything.  Sit around for hours, have something to eat other than crab, and then pick at the delicious crab in between.  And for the diligent workers that have the determination to pick even after dinner is over, there are CRAB CAKES!  In honor of the time I've spent digging in the gills, mustard, and claws of these creatures, I will post our favorite crab cake recipe thus far.  It's a Donald Barickman recipe (owner of Charleston restaurant Magnolias)...we've played around with it some...added an egg and more or less ingredients dependent on the amount of crab meat you actually have.  And for those non-crab eaters out there, I'll post a favorite side dish (besides the mandatory corn on the cob with fresh basil)...cheddar chive biscuits.  

Life is great on the Chesapeake Bay....taken from our bedroom window!  Good morning crabs!

Crab Cakes
1/2 C minced red onions
1/3 C minced red bell pepper
1 tbl minced fresh tarragon (we've also tried cilantro and parsley)
1/3 C mayo (don't skimp on this...it's just not the same...tried it...)
1 lb crabmeat (good luck)
3/4 C panko (the Japanese bread crumbs...also used for making mozzarella sticks!)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne (Josh does more)
6 tbs olive oil

Place onions, bell pepper, tarragon, and mayo in a mixing bowl and combine.  Fold in the crabmeat.  Add the panko and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes as the panko will absorb some of the moisture to hold the mixture together.  Form the mixture into 8 equal size 3-oz cakes.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.  Preheat oven to 350.  You can then sear the cakes on a frying pan and then bake or just fry them or just bake them.  The least messy (and still very very tasty) is baking.  I love these.

 Cheddar Cheese Chive Buttermilk Biscuits
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar
1 tsp cracked black pepper (I use a little more)
1/4 C chives
1/2 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425.  Combine dry ingredients.  Blend in butter with your fingertips.  Add milk and stir until a dough forms.  Knead dough.  Form biscuits (makes 8 large biscuits) and bake 12-15 minutes.  Devour!  Life couldn't be better!