While bustling about town I found myself ending up in Ballard at the Fisherman’s Terminal.  The day was warm and bright and the perfumed scent of the briny sea filled your nostrils.  It was a perfect day to meander the docks and look at boats in the marina, some of them laden with crab pots and fishing tackle.

All that wandering about made me a bit peckish so I stopped in at The Highliner Pub.  I ordered up a cold frothy beer with a cup of Clam Chowder and a heap of their homemade crispy french fries to stave off my hunger.  They are in a great location at the Fisherman’s Terminal and offer cheap beers with cheap pub eats.

The whole while I sat enjoying my meal, my mind was on the boxes of live Dungeness Crabs being unloaded over out front at Wild Salmon.  All the things that I could do with fresh crab… Crab Boil, Crab Louie, Crab and Butter, Crab Corn Chowder.  All these thoughts flitted in and right back out, the only one to stay cemented in my mind: Crab Cakes.

Now when I say Crab Cakes I am not talking about those bread crumb laden “Crab Cakes” where there is more cake than crab.  The kind of Crab Cakes I make are mostly crab, so you can actually see the delicate crab meat with just enough bread crumb and egg to hold it all together.  I also don’t “jazz it up” with a bunch of ridiculous ingredients, if you start with good quality, fresh crab meat you do not need to mess around with a list of ingredients as long as the Magnolia Bridge.  What I make is simple, it’s fresh and it showcases the crab meat the way it should.  The Crab is the star.  The fresh, delicious, sweet star of the show.

So I headed over to Wild Salmon and picked out a couple fat Dungeness Crabs to go home with me and help me make up some of my Crab Cakes.  The folks who work there are really good to their customers.  I’ve been going there for over 10 years and I’ve never been treated badly.  Plus if fighting the crowds at Pike Place Market just isn’t your thing, this is a nice little spot hidden away from the bustle of downtown and there is some nice scenery just a couple steps away from the store front.

When I got home, the crabs got a dip in the kettle and when finished they got a good cleaning and picking to get as much of the meat as possible.  Now for some, especially the squeamish, this is pretty hardcore.  You can certainly pick up already cleaned crab meat and be ready to go with this recipe.  Do not use tinned crab meat,  in a recipe like this where the crab is the star, you will not do the recipe or the crab any justice.  Use fresh crab meat, the freshest you can get for the best results.

Crab Cakes

• 1 lb of lump Crab Meat, fresh
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs, plain
• 1/2 cup Green Onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper, finely ground
• 1/4 Teaspoon Mustard Powder

Additional 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs, Plain (set aside in a small bowl for dredging)
Couple pats of Butter (for frying)

Combine the first 8 ingredients in one large bowl.  Stir to mix the ingredients thoroughly .  Using your hands grab a small handful of the mixture and form a ball, then pat it down into a patty shape.  You can make them small appetizer size, or giant entree sized patties, it is up to you.

Place your dredging crumbs in a small bowl, and coat the flat sides of your patty in crumbs, set aside and get your pan ready.

Get a large skillet and melt a pat of butter in it over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, start adding your crab cakes in to the pan.  Do not overcrowd the pan, as doing so will result in a soggy greasy crab cake so give the cakes about 1 1/2″ inches between each other.  If you need to do this in a couple batches, feel free to add more butter to the pan to help in the browning process and prevent them from sticking.

Cook until the crab cakes turn golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Very important, do not keep flipping the crab cakes.  Set them in the butter and resist temptation to flip them before they are golden brown on one side.  This will prevent the crab cakes from falling apart and ensure that they are cooked all the way through.

Cook’s Notes:
Since the size of the Crab Cake is up to you, you can make mini crab cakes as appetizers for a party.  You can also make “Slider sized” patties and make your own Crab Cake Sliders.
This recipe is great served with a side of Spicy Mayo, Remoulade or Tartar Sauce.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from The Fisherman’s Terminal, Wild Salmon Seafood, The Highliner Pub or any other organizations mentioned for this article.

Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

In the Pacific Northwest there is one fish that is King, and that fish is Salmon.  Whether you get it at your local Farmer’s Market, the Fisherman’s Terminal in Ballard, from the flying fish guys at Pike Place Market or you catch it yourself, Salmon is best here in the Northwest.  Summertime is the perfect time of year for putting our local fishy royalty on the grill.  And there isn’t a recipe that is easier than this.

To take it up another notch without complicating things, you can throw the salmon on to a Cedar Plank (you can find these online and in some local grocery stores like Metropolitan Markets, PCC & Thriftway).

Cedar Planking gives the Salmon a rich, delicious smoky flavor and it really could not be simpler.  A few tips before you get started:

• Make sure that the wood you are using is Food Safe – a Cedar Shingle from the hardware store is loaded with industry chemicals that can make you very sick
• Soak the Cedar Plank for at least 3 hours in salted water before you plan on using it
• Use fresh Salmon – check out your local fish market, the fresher the better
• Keep the skin on the Salmon, it helps make it easier to remove the Salmon from the plank

Cedar Plank Salmon
This recipe can easily be doubled

• 1 Cedar Plank
• 1 lb Salmon, skin on, cut into fillets
• 1 Orange, cut into round slices, then halved
• 1 Red Onion, cut into round slices, then halved
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh Rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Flake or Chili Threads

Soak your Cedar Plank for at least 3 hours in salted water (Just enough salt in the water so that you can taste it, all it really is there to do is help season the fish during grilling).
Pull the Cedar Plank out of the water soak and lay the Salmon, skin side down, on the plank.  Place half a slice of Orange and Red Onion in between each piece of Salmon, followed by a sprig of Rosemary.
Now to season it: Drizzle the Olive Oil over the top, followed by the Black Pepper, Salt and Chili.  Set this aside and get your grill ready.
You will be grilling over a medium high heat setting.  If you have a gas grill simply turn your dial to Medium-High.  For Charcoal, get your coals ready and hold your hand over the center of the flame about 6″ above the actual grill, if you can comfortably leave your hand there for about 7-8 seconds your coals are ready.

Now the simplest part – stick the planks on the grill, put the lid on the grill, wait 20-25 minutes and they are done.
Tip: Do not keep opening up the grill to check on the fish.  You will lose all the delicious smoke that has built up in the grill and your fish won’t get that nice smoky flavor.

I like to use the boards to serve the fish, either put them on a platter, baking sheet or piece of foil to prevent the scorched underside from leaving any marks on tabletops.  Enjoy!

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from PCC , Metropolitan Market, Thriftway or any other organizations mentioned for this article.

Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved
All content, text and images are  ©2010 All Rights Reserved and may not be used or reposted without express written consent.

If you can't get to New Orleans, bring New Orleans to you with my recipe for homemade traditional style Shrimp Po Boy or Eat at Joe's!

I have many wonderful memories specifically tied to the scents and tastes of certain foods.  So many to share, but for now I will just share my latest trip down a food filled Memory Lane.  This will require us to travel back in time to the Summer of ’08 and the journey of a lifetime that traversed over 7,000 miles across America.

We had always joked about getting in a car and driving to Florida, I never thought the day would come when we would actually do it.  Tom Waits was performing and the closest tickets we could get were in Jacksonville.  Jacksonville, Florida.  And so the master plan began to unfold, we would drive straight to Florida and back.  Little did we know Mother Nature would have a say in the route we took to get there.

Turns out that the route we had planned on was being hit hard with the Midwestern floods, in fact several of our Highway routes were closed off due to the flooding.  Add to that our last leg of Kansas into Oklahoma was driven trying to outrun the giant black thunderhead cloud that was dropping tornadoes left and right.  When we arrived in Oklahoma we were shaken by the high winds, lightning and hail… and the hotel reception desk didn’t ease our worries any further as they told us about their tornado alarms and how to get to the storm cellar… which was just beyond the “All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet”, which we could enjoy if we survived the night.  Awesome.

After staying glued to the satellite radio and keeping it only on the Weather Station we ended up heading straight south and into Texas.  I will just say now that I will not ever complain about Seattle drivers after experiencing a rush hour drive through Dallas/Fort Worth.  We pushed on for Louisiana, and as night fell we asked our trusty GPS to guide us to a night of rest in the swamplands.  Our hotel was hot.  It was humid.  It smelled like it too.  So while we were there and looking over the map I made the executive decision to make a stop off in New Orleans and have a couple days of rest and relaxation from the road.  This decision turned into one of the most memorable highlights of our trip.

We splurged on a room on Bourbon Street with a private balcony overlloking the courtyard where the sounds of Jazz blew in & lingered like ghosts in the early evening.

After many consecutive nights in different towns sleeping in a different flea bag hotel each night I had decided that we deserved to splurge while in New Orleans, so I booked us a room at the Royal Hotel Sonesta.  The location was perfect, in the heart of the French Quarter right on Bourbon Street.  Walking out on our balcony the soft sounds of live Jazz being played in the bars and on the street wafted up piggyback on the scents of crunchy Softshelled Crab, spicy Gumbo chock full of Andouille and succulent blackened Redfish.  We ate.  And we ate.  And when we were done eating we ate some more.

Memories of the road, alligators inspecting toes to nibble, neon green Louisiana swamps and so much more!

On our last night it had occurred to us that we had not had a Po Boy sandwich!  So we called down to the front desk, we were determined to have Po Boys despite the fact that we could hardly swallow air let alone a giant sandwich.  Room service was closed for the night but they informed us that we could call up the Alibi Room, who had a late night menu and might deliver.  So we called… and they delivered, and despite not having the room to stuff our faces, stuff our faces we did.  The best food we had that whole trip was in New Orleans.  Our brief visit in Lousiana left us with full tummies, memories of sipping Mint Juleps on Bourbon Street, Alligators wanting to snack on our toes, the gorgeous Tabasco Plantation and a longing to return.

After many days on the road, and one too many gas station coffee stops, we were ready for our beautiful Seattle.  Coming home after watching 7,000 miles of flat heartlands, swamps, ghettos, deserts, and towns you’d miss if you blinked while passing through… we longed for the lush hilly forests and jade green waters of Seattle.  Coming home has never felt so good.

Coffee and a new Endolyne Joe's menu featuring New Orleans

Home is where the heart is.
So why all the reminiscing about New Orleans?  That’s a good question, and I’ll tell you right now.  There’s a little place tucked up near the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal in West Seattle, it’s called Endolyne Joe’s.  They run a scratch kitchen and change out their menu every three months to fit a theme.  I took my Guy and my Assistant out for breakfast  because they have the BEST Biscuits & Gravy in town!  Well, I walked in and I noticed that the theme changed to New Orleans… be still my beating heart!

Absinthe Art and Chandeliers at Endolyne Joe's

Endolyne Joe’s doesn’t just change the menu, but they change the decor as well.  Staff paints pictures  and doctors up the place inspired by the theme.  When I say they have a scratch kitchen, that is to say they make everything from scratch right there in the exhibition kitchen.  Don’t come expecting Haute Cuisine.  The food is not fancy, it’s homey and it’s wonderful.  You can actually taste the love in every bite.

Our server Jake greets us with warm smiles & piping hot Caffee Vita coffee

The people who work there are great.  I’ve never had bad service in all the years I’ve been eating there, even when they are slammed they go out of their way to be attentive to their customers.  When you eat here it feels like you are eating at home.  Charming mismatched wooden tables and chairs and worn hardwood floors add to the warmth of the service.  If you’ve been and you’ve seen them on an off night, give them another chance, let them know and they will bend over backwards to see that you are happy.  They are good people making good food.

Travis makes the Andouille Sausage in house at Endolyne Joe's & they are put to good use on this mouth watering Andouille Po Boy with Creole Seasoned Frites.

Along with our breakfast I ordered up an Andouille Po Boy.  I hadn’t planned on it until our server Jake told us that the Chef, Travis, makes the Andouille in house.  Well, of course I had to try that!!!  When it came to the table all splayed open with glistening grilled pieces of sausage laid out on a bed of lettuce we all had to take a bite.  I have to say that it was one of the best Andouille Sausages that I have ever put in my mouth, and I’ve tasted the real deal in New Orleans… Endolyne Joe’s has got it down.  Eating at  Joe’s is like coming home from a long trip away, the people care that you’ve come back and they treat and feed you well.

I was sent home, taking a trip down memory lane.  The scents and sounds of New Orleans.  That last Po Boy our last night in the French Quarter. I left Joe’s inspired to re-create that last taste of NOLA and I’m going to share with you my recipe for a traditional style Shrimp Po Boy Sandwich that turned out to be just as good as the one I had back then.

Shrimp Po Boy
This recipe is ridiculously easy
Dredge: You will need 3 bowls. 1 for Seasoned Flour, 1 for Egg wash, 1 for Seasoned Corn Flour/Flour
Bowl #1 – 1 cup All Purpose Flour + 2 Tablespoons Corn Flour (not meal!) + 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
Bowl #2 – 1 Egg + 3 Tablespoons Milk + 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning
Bowl #3 – 1/2 cup Corn Flour (not meal!) + 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour + 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

Shrimp:
2 lbs small to medium sized Shrimp (30/40 Count)
4-6 cups Frying Oil, I used Canola for this recipe
2 quart Pan for Frying

Sandwich:
French Rolls or a Baguette, sliced into approximately 6″ sections
Butter
2-3 Tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 Head Iceberg Lettuce, shredded
Mayonnaise
Pickle Spears

Heat your oil until it comes up to about 350°
Dredge your shrimp in Bowl #1 and coat thoroughly, then dip into the liquid Egg Wash in Bowl #2, then quickly do your final Dredge in the Corn Flour and Flour mixture in Bowl #3.
Carefully, drop your coated shrimp into the frying oil and cook just until they turn golden brown.  Place shrimp on a plate set up with a paper towel to await sandwich assembly. Helpful tip: Do not overcrowd the pan, there should be space enough between the shrimp that they are not stacked or touching each other.  overcrowding the pan will drop the temperature and result in soggy fried shrimp.

Cut open your bread, leave it attached on the long side (like a hot dog bun).  Generously spread butter on the inside, lay them open and give them a quick toast under the broiler, just until they are golden brown.

Now you are ready for assembly!  Slather some Mayonnaise on each side of the toasted bread, then pile on a generous helping of lettuce, followed by your tomato slices and finish it off with a giant heap of fried shrimp, slide a pickle spear alongside it.  Serve it while it’s still warm and enjoy a little taste of New Orleans how I remember it!

Makes 2-4 sandwiches… depending how much shrimp you want to pile on and how many end up being taste tests ;)

Creole Seasoning

• 2 Tablespoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cayenne
• 1 Tablespoon Paprika
• 1 Tablespoon White Pepper, ground
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano, ground

Mix it all together.  Store or use immediately.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation from Chow Foods for this article.  I just happen to be a fan of what they are doing over at Endolyne Joe’s.
Images by Kelly Cline ©2010 All Rights Reserved

Round these parts we call these guys Steamer Clams, elsewhere folks call them Cherrystones and Little Necks, but here in my neck of the woods we call them good ole Steamer Clams. And no matter what you call them, they make me go “nom nom nommy nom”.

My very first taste of these guys was when I was a kid and our family would go camping at Penrose Point State Park.  We would forage the rocks at low tide looking for these little things.  As a child I had no idea that I was hunting for my dinner while I turned over rocks and dug my little fingers into the substrate.  It was not until my Dad brought out a big pot, filled it with water, set it to boil and then dumped out day’s work into the pot to cook that it finally started sinking in.  He called me over so I could watch the magic happen, the shells popping open one by one… it was like watching popcorn pop, Sea Popcorn!

My Dad would have Mom melt up the butter.  Then he’d reach in the pot with his bare hands and gingerly snatch a treasure bearing shell from the pot.  He scooped out the insides with a regular old fork, dipped it in the liquid gold and then turned to me with that alien looking thing dangling off the end of the fork, glistening with butter.  His eyes as wide and mischievous  as his grin “Go on, take a bite.” And with much trepidation, I closed my eyes, opened my mouth and prepared to taste something horrible.  I chewed,opened my eyes and looked at him in amazement.  This explosion of buttery, sweet and briney all hit my palette at once.  I was in love and have been ever since.

Every time I make steamed clams, I think of my Dad and thank him for making me take a bite.  Miss you, Dad.

Steamed Clams

• 3-4 lbs Live Steamer Clams
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Shallot, finely chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 2 Cups Dry White Wine
• 8-10 oz. of low sodium Chicken Stock
• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cut into pats
• 3 Tablespoons Basil Paste – or Pesto

You can scrub the outside of your clams if you like, I rinse and pull any seaweed, but don’t bother scrubbing because it adds to the flavor of the broth.  Take your clams and put them in a big bowl or non-reactive metal pan.  Put a little sea salt in the pan and put it under the water faucet in your sink and let cold water slowly run into the pan, this will help your clams to expel the sand they are holding and give them some oxygenated water to breathe while you prepare the rest.

A really large skillet works best, place your garlic, shallots and oil into the skillet or pan over a Medium-High heat.  Sweat the aromatics and add the wine 1 cup at a time, let the wine reduce down to half before adding the second cup, then let the second cup of wine reduce down to half.  When adding your chicken stock only add the first half of it, let it reduce down to half then add the second half, no need for this part to reduce.  Give it a good whisking, and while whisking constantly add the butter.  Once the butter is melted add the Basil Paste, give it a quick whisk to distribute.
Take your clams out of their cold sea salt water bath.  Just use your hands it’s the easiest way.  Make sure to give them one last quick rinse under the running water to get any additional sand or debris off of them.  Place them carefully and as evenly as possible into your bubbling sauce and cover tightly, if you don’t have a lid use some foil.  Let them steam for 10-13 minutes.

Important: Do not eat any clams with closed shells.  Do not try to force them open to get at them.   Toss any unopened clams as they are not good to eat.

To serve, place in a big serving bowl and be sure to have an empty bowl or “graveyard” to catch all the empty shells.  Have slices of baguette on the side to soak up all that gorgeous broth & enjoy!