Zucchini Crab Cakes and Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce

We have family visiting this weekend, so I am happy to be able to cook a few big meals while they are here. The zucchini crab cake recipe is from allrecipes.com, and I have made them before- I bake them, instead of frying them, and will adjust the recipe to reflect this. The beef recipe is from foodnetwork.com. We visited friends in Atlanta 2 weeks ago, and Tony made this for us.

Zucchini Crab Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

I swear sometimes I'm recipe retarded. I was just looking at the recipe, and I definitely didn't follow it, but here's what I did.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a baking pan or casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients together (the original recipe says to put the flour on the outside, but I missed this, and both times I made them, mixed it in). Shape into patties with your hands, and place on baking sheet.
3. Bake 15 mins, turn patties, and bake another 15 mins. If they do not seem browned, turn on the broiler for 3-4 mins at the end.

I also made a remoulade-ish sauce to go with these. I didn't measure the ingredients, but here's what I put in it: mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, sweet relish, ciracha hot sauce, and lime juice. It's super tasty!

And now for the super tasty beef!!!

Beef Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds skirt, flank or sirloin tip steak, cut into thin wide strips against the grain
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon toasted chopped peanuts

Directions:

Place the beef strips in a medium-sized bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce over them. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic and the salt to the bowl and stir to combine. Marinate, refrigerated, while you make the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ginger, peanut butter and coconut milk in a small bowl and whisk together. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic to the bowl and whisk to combine. Place the sauce in a serving bowl and garnish with the cilantro and chopped peanuts. Remove the beef strips from the refrigerator and use skewers to thread the meat. Have your guests grill the satays themselves over the grill, about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side for medium-rare. Serve, with the dipping sauce on the side.


Dan made a fennel salad that had mixed greens, almonds, oranges and a honey lemon vinaigrette, which was awesome!

The result: One word...YUM!! Such a good description, right?? I think next time I'll bake the zucchini cakes for a little bit longer to dry them out some. I know that I will make both of these recipes again and again.