Cheddar Crab & Shrimp Casserole

Today is National Crab Meat Day!   So you guessed it today's Gone Fishin Friday featured recipe will contain crab meat. 

Cheddar Crab & Shrimp Casserole

Ingredients:

• 4 oz grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1/4 lb butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 lb lump crab meat
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp each of red, white &  black pepper
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 oz chopped boiled shrimp
• 2 tsp dried thyme

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat.
2. Add flour until thickened. Cook this roux over low heat, stirring often for 10 minutes.
3. Be sure not to brown your roux, it should be a white roux.
4. Add cheese, whipping cream, milk, parsley and seasonings.
5. Cook until cheese is melted and sauce thickens.
6. Fold in lump crab meat, and shrimp and cook another 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to (spray with Pam) casserole dish.
8. Brown in oven and serve.

Bon Appetit!

A great addition to this meal for the cheddar cheese lovers is this, recipe: Cheddar Bay Biscuits 

If you don't feel like cooking and can take a trip to Schuylkill County, PA....

A great place about 12 miles north of me that has great seafood dishes: The Oak Hill Inn    

From Allentown & Lehigh Valley:

78/22 West ; Merge onto Rt. 61 North (By Cabela’s) for 12 miles; we will be located on your left.  We ate there last Good Friday with my cousin Paula. I had the Crab Imperial and it was wonderful!

Reservations are highly recommended:  570-366-3881 or oakhillinn@gmail.com

Coquilles St. Jacques

 The first time that I had the absolute pleasure of indulging my tastes buds with this delectable French dish was at the former Harmony Manor in Harmony, New Jersey.  My dear friend the late Charlotte Barnhill treated me to lunch there many years ago.  

The waiter recommended it and we both enjoyed this rich and delightful dish of scallops in a new and wonderful way! 

The Legend Of Coquilles St. Jacques

 Saint James was the brother of John, and one of the 12 Apostles.

The scallop shell was the symbol of the crusaders of the Order of Saint James. (Santiago in Spanish and St. Jacques in French).

Supposedly his intervention saved the life of a drowning knight. The knight emerged from the sea covered with scallops shells.   

Scallops were named Coquilles St. Jacques in St. James honor, as was the dish.  Coquilles St. Jacques means 'shells of St. James'.

 Coquilles St. Jacques

1 1/2 Cups Dry white wine
1 *Bouquet garni
2 Pounds Scallops -- washed and drained
Salt

1/2 Pound Fresh mushrooms 

 6 Shallots or -- finely chopped
1 Small Onion -- finely chopped
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Parsley -- finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Lemon juice
1/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Egg yolks
1/4 Cup Heavy cream
Bread crumbs
Butter 
 
Directions:
Bring to a boil 1 1/2 cups dry white wine with a bouquet garni.* Bouquet Garni - In a piece of cheesecloth, tie the following: 3 to 4 sprigs of parsley, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 celery stalk with leaves, 1/2 t dry thyme. Leave the string long enough to hang the garni in the pot and tie the string to the pot handle for easy removal. Add 2 pounds scallops and salt to taste and simmer the scallops for 3 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain them, reserving the broth, and cut them into fine pieces.

Clean and chop 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms. Put them in a saucepan with the shallots or onion, 2 Tablespoons each of butter and water, 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes. Strain it and add to the wine broth.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan, add 1/4 cup flour, and stir the roux until it is well blended. Add gradually the combined hot broths from the scallops and the mushrooms and cook the sauce, stirring constantly, until it is thickened and smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in egg yolks beaten with the heavy cream and a little of the hot sauce. Correct the seasoning and stir in the scallops, shallots, and mushrooms. Fill scallop shells or ramekins with the mixture, piling them high in the center, sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with butter. Brown the filling in a hot oven (400F) or under the broiler