THE ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY DINNER

DINNER AT HOME

My Wife's Birthday Dinner was worthy of an award.  An incredible array of appetizers plus entrees that included Sous Vide Tomahawk Ribeye, Alaskan King Crab Legs, Cornish Game Hens, Crab Cakes and of course my world famous Drew Burger Sliders.  Enjoyed with family, friends and a bit of bubbly and vino.  Does not get much better than this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIRLEY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APPETIZERS

CHEESE AND SALUMI PLATTER

FRESH AHI POKE AND TAKO POKE

SMOKED SALMON WITH MARSCAPONE

SHRIMP COCKTAIL

AHI SASHIMI

TARTUFO CHEESE WITH RASPBERRY JAM ON GARLIC TOAST

CHEESE AND BACON STUFFED MUSHROOMS

MINI CRAB CAKES

DREW BURGER SLIDERS

TUSCAN CHICKEN

ALASKAN KING CRAB

TOMAHAWK RIBEYE

PANCIT

MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEESE AND BUTTER

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE

ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY APPETIZERS

ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY DINNER

 

CRAB CAKES AND STEAK

DINNER AT HOME

My Wife makes some pretty great Crab Cakes using a recipe from Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's Restaurants fame.  She finishes the cakes with a Yogurt Chili Oil Sauce that we copied from the Chef at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki.  The Chef was nice enough to hand write the recipe down for us.  These are fantastic Crab Cakes and the sauce takes them to another level.  We paired the Crab Cakes with a nice Ribeye with Asparagus.  What a great dinner!

Click link below for Roy's Crab Cake recipe;

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120379838432613392/1904319357741060066

HOMEMADE CRAB CAKES

RIBEYE WITH ASPARAGUS

 

SANTOS FAMILY FAVORITES DINNER PARTY

DINNER AT HOME

We had a business rep I work with and his Wife join us for a dinner on our lanai.  Thought we would pull together some Santos family favorites to enjoy with them.  Turns out they have the same tastes because they loved and ate everything.  We stayed pretty much low carb with this dinner too.  Not shown were Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese, Caesar salad with Avocado and fresh Berries with Cream for dessert.  Great evening eating and talking about life.  Blessed for nights like this.

AHI SASHIMI WITH AVOCADO

KIM CHE TAKO POKE, SPICY POKE AND FRESH AHI POKE

CHEESE AND SALUMI

TARTUFO CHEESE WITH RASPBERRY JAM

CUCUMBER, GUACAMOLE, SHRIMP, PICO DE GALLO AND CAVIAR

CRAB CAKES WITH YOGURT CHILI SAUCE

ASPARAGUS WITH HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

KING CRAB

RIBEYE STEAK

OUR FAVORITE FOODS ON THE LANAI

 

ROY'S CRAB CAKES - COOKED AT HOME

ROY'S CRAB CAKES

COOKED AT HOME

We have always loved Chef Roy Yamaguchi's Crab Cakes when dining at his restaurants.  Several years ago we found the recipe printed in a Honolulu Supermarket flyer and have been making them for friends and family for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Now you can simply Google and download the recipe along with a Lobster Cream Sauce.  We use Lump Crab Meat that is available at Costco.  I use a different sauce recipe but always stick to the Roy's Crab Cake recipe.  It is a winner.  

ROY'S  CRAB CAKES COOKED AT HOME

CHEF ROY YAMAGUCHI CRAB CAKES ARE DELICIOUS!

THE PERFECT APPETIZER

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Crab Cakes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced onion

3 tablespoons minced red bell pepper

3 tablespoons minced green bell pepper

3 tablespoons minced celery

3 tablespoons minced carrots

2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

6 tablespoons heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

1 1/2 pounds fresh lump crabmeat, preferably Kona crab, picked over for shell

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

2 large eggs

1 cup peanut oil

1/2 each red and green bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and finely diced

4 strips lemon zest

4 small basil sprigs

Lobster Cream Sauce

2 lobster shells and heads, chopped into quarters

1/4cup olive oil

1/2 cup yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic

2 sprigs basil

1 bay leaf

1 Roma tomato, chopped

1/4cup dry white wine

2 cups water

2 cups heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the sauce, place the lobster shells and heads in a roasting pan and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until orange and slightly browned. Remove and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, basil, ay leaf, tomato, and roasted lobster heads. Add the white wine, stir to deglaze the pan, and cook for 1 minute. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and decrease the heat to low. Cook at a low simmer for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook to reduce the liquid by three-quarters. Add the cream and cook 10 minutes longer, until slightly thick. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the liquid into a clean saucepan, pressing down on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Set over medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and let cool. Cover and refrigerate.
While the sauce is cooking, prepare the crab cakes. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for about 1 minute, or until golden brown. Add the red and green bell pepper, celery, carrot and basil and sauté 1 minute longer. Add the cream and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a nonreactive bowl. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Add the crabmeat to the chilled mixture and stir thoroughly. Form in to 8 balls and squeeze gently to remove any excess liquid; then form the balls into patties. Place the lour and Panko on separate plates and beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Lightly coat the crab cakes in the flour, then in the egg, and finally, in the Panko. Heat the peanut oil in a heavy sauté pan or skillet over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees. Add the crab cakes and sauté for about 1 ½ minutes on each side, or until evenly browned.
Warm the sauce over low heat and ladle onto serving plates. Serve 2 crab cakes per person. Garnish with the red and green bell pepper and lemon zest. Top with a basil sprig.

5 FIFTY 5 - MARRIOTT HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS, LA

5 FIFTY 5

MARRIOTT HOTEL

NEW ORLEANS, LA 

After a disappointing lunch at Emeril's Nola I decided to have a lighter yet "Cajun" dinner back at my hotel.  5 Fifty 5 is the address of the Marriott on Canal Street.  The restaurant sits just off the busy lobby and is a bit of an oasis within the crazy world of New Orleans.  Seems like whenever you go into the lobby here there are drunks holding their 32 oz plastic cups of booze.  You run into them in the elevators, lobby and out in front of the hotel.  It is a non stop show of grown ups acting like kids.  The food at 5 Fifty 5 is good.  The Crab Cakes ($12) were filled with lump crab meat and really too much for one person to eat.  I also enjoyed the Seafood Gumbo ($7).  Large pieces of shrimp and sausage served with some really good rice in a rich and flavorful soup.  They say it is "award winning".  Don't know if I would give this Gumbo any awards but it was good.  Was surprised how much I liked the Fennel Salad that was served with my Crab Cakes.  Light and refreshing.

LOUISIANA CRAB CAKES WITH PRESERVED
LEMON VINAIGRETTE

555 SEAFOOD GUMBO .  AWARD WINNING?

FENNEL SALAD ON THE SIDE WAS REALLY GOOD STUFF

LOBSTER - SANTA MONICA PIER

LOBSTER

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

After enjoying the Pier scene in Santa Monica, we ventured up to Ocean Avenue and found Lobster.  This award winning seafood restaurant was voted one of the best Seafood Restaurants in Los Angeles.  We were just looking for some fresh oysters but ended up having a delicious lunch with an incredible view of the Pacific.  We did not have reservations, but the man at the reception desk said they would have a table ready in a few minutes.  We were taken upstairs to a beautiful restaurant with a commanding view of the Santa Monica Pier and the crisp, clear blue Pacific Ocean.  Does not get much better than this.  We started with the Oyster Sampler ($19.50).  There were around eight fresh shucked oysters on a platter of crushed ice.  These were delicious but did not hold a candle to the fresh Cherry Stone Clams ($3.50 each).  Huge pieces of fresh clams that everyone said were actually two clams per shell.  They were sweet and delicious.  Actually the best fresh clams I have ever tasted.  I tried a bowl of Clam Chowder ($10.00).  It was thick and full of clams and a lot of potatoes.  Not the best chowder I have every had but really good.  Also tried a Lobster Roll ($24.00).  Loved the bread and thought this was just o.k. for the money.  My girls absolutely loved the thin and crunch french fries served with the Lobster Roll.  Dad enjoyed the Jumbo Crab Cakes ($26.00).  These were huge crab cakes that were stuffed full of lump crab meat and topped with a nice salad.  Shirley tried the Fresh Filet of Sole ($26.00).  The fish was cooked perfectly.  Meaty and delicious.  Served with mashed potatoes and some artichokes.  Heide tried Crab Louis Salad ($18.00).  Large pieces of lump crab meat and a nice fresh salad.  Keli went for the Pasta with Shrimp ($10.00).  She loved it as usual.  The wines by the glass here were quite expensive.  The Cake Bread Chardonnay was $20 per glass!  This is an expensive lunch but a great location with good food and service.

LOBSTER 

SANTA MONICA PIER

LOBSTER RESTAURANT OVERLOOKING THE PIER

CHERRY STONE FRESH CLAMS 

HUGE FRESH CLAMS - BEST EVER!

CLAM CHOWDER

LOBSTER ROLL WITH FRENCH FRIES AND CUCUMBERS

FRESH OYSTERS

OYSTER MONSTER!

CRAB CAKES

CRAB CAKES ARE BIG - THIS IS AN ENTREE PORTION

CRAB LOUIS SALAD

FILET OF SOLE

KIDS PASTA WITH SHRIMP