Spotting Lunch - Crab Melt on Wholewheat English Muffins

For as long as I can remember my mother's choice sandwich was a tuna melt. A summer or two ago I remember her bringing home half a tuna melt sandwich from The Summer Kitchen in Newtown, Pennsylvania that looked so good every time I go to that restaurant I see if it's on the menu. We'd also make tuna melts at home for a quick lunch of dinner. I like it better than the average tuna salad sandwich (although I did make a tuna salad with grilled ahi tuna - AMAZING)... When I was on TasteSpotting looking for something for lunch and found cafenilson's crab melt - I was sold! I'll probably be trying this recipe out for my mom for Mother's Day - I know she'll love it!

Photo from cafenilson

Crab Melt on Wholewheat English Muffins
via cafenilson

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crab meat (you can use the real thing or the imitation crab, either way it still tastes good)
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tbs flour
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, fat -free half and half or milk (I use whatever I have in my refrigerator)
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded and divided into two or 4 portions depending on size of muffins used (see below)
• paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 halves english muffins or 2 large ones

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium hot sauce pan. Add flour to make a roux. Add cream (or milk) and cook until thick. Add more or less cream to make a thick enough white sauce. Add crab meat pieces, stir carefully and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
2. Place muffin halves in a baking sheet. Divide the crab mixture in half (or four if using regular sized english muffins.)
3. Add crab mixture on top of muffin, enough to cover. Add the cheese on top. Cheese need not cover the muffin as it will melt and spread so watch out how much you put. Sprinkle with paprika on top.
4. Broil in the oven until cheese melts and top is crusty golden brown, usually 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Remove and serve with salad of choice.

The serving suggestion from cafenilson is that you serve the crab melts with a salad and I agree. This would be great with almost any kind of salad that you could think of. I came across a cucumber salad in Barefoot Contessa "Back to Basics" which would be a nice along side this. But a simple red onion and heirloom tomato salad would be equally as nice. Ina's tabbouleh salad (minus the pitas) would be a great choice too!

Here's to Alaska and full bellies.
- Cait

Spotting Lunch - Red Lentil Soup

Sometimes I crave a good bowl of soup. Something rather new to me (my parents weren't too adventurous with foods when I was growing up) are lentils. I had lentil soups several times thus far and greatly enjoy it. When I was looking up some soup on TasteSpotting and found rhyleysgranny's soup, I was rather excited. I saw a dish with lentils cooked on Barefoot Contessa the other day, and finding another recipe for using them is going to inspire me to try cooking with lentils.

Photo from tea and wheaten bread

Red Lentil Soup
via tea and wheaten bread

Ingredients

250 gms/8 oz smoked streaky bacon
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 medium potato chopped
2 or 3 carrots chopped
2 red/orange/yellow pepper chopped (The more wrinkly they are the sweeter they are)
225g/8oz red lentils
1 teaspoon of paprika
A good pinch of cayenne pepper
A 400g/14oz can of tomatoes
900mls/1 1/2 pints approx. chicken stock (Keep some more to the side in case you find the soup too thick)
Black pepper
A little oil

Add any veggies around that need using up.


Method

Cut up the bacon and fry gently in the oil.
Add onion and spices and cook slowly until soft.
Add the carrots potatoes peppers and tomatoes then the lentils.
Give it all a good stir.
Add the stock and simmer until the lentils are nice and soft.

Using a stick blender, purée the soup.
Add more stock if you find it too thick.

It freezes well too if you are like me and incapable of making a small pot of soup.


I love how simple this recipe is - a great thing for trying a new major ingredient! One of my favorite ingredients is crème fraîche, which would be perfect to top the soup off. I'd have a simple salad and some bread with this bowl of soup to make a nice lunch.

Here's to new ingredients and full bellies.
- Cait