Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [39]
Note: Yakitori sauce is usually made with tamari, a thick, dark Japanese soy sauce that proves hard to find in the United States. Here, we’ve crafted a mélange to replicate tamari; should you get a bottle, omit the soy sauce, molasses, and Worcestershire sauce and use 1/3 cup.
Variations: Substitute chicken tenders or sea scallops for the shrimp.
Use the yakitori sauce as a marinade and/or barbecue mop for boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless pork loin chops on the grill.
Crab Sage Puffs
Serve these light, airy bundles with Blue Cheese Dressing, purchased ranch dressing, or mango chutney. Makes about 18 puffs
½ cup water
1½ tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for greasing the baking sheet
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
2 teaspoons minced sage leaves
A couple of dashes hot red pepper sauce to taste
6 ounces lump crabmeat
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. Generously grease a large baking sheet with some olive oil dabbed on a paper towel.
In a small saucepan, bring the water, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking all the while, until the bottom and sides of the pan are coated with a white film. Scoop the mixture into a large bowl; cool for 3 minutes.
With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg into the flour mixture until smooth. Beat in the egg white until smooth, then beat in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, sage, and hot red pepper sauce until well combined, about 1 minute. Remove the beaters and stir in the crabmeat.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the mounds about 1 inch apart. Set the sheet aside for 10 minutes to air-dry the mounds.
Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes or until room temperature.
Shrimp Sage Puffs: Substitute 6 ounces medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked, for the crabmeat. For the easiest substitution, just buy cooked cocktail shrimp at your supermarket. Mince the cooked shrimp very finely before adding them to the batter.
Herb Puffs: Omit the crabmeat and increase the sage to 1½ tablespoons—or substitute any minced herb you prefer.
Potato Cups
Transform small, red-skinned potatoes into cups to hold herbed crème fraîche and a dollop of caviar, whether salmon, osetra, or beluga. Admittedly, this appetizer is only as good as the caviar you use—so consider it a treat and go for broke. You’ll need a very sharp knife to slice the cooked potatoes without tearing the skin. Makes 24 potato cups
Twenty-four 1½-inch-diameter round red-skinned potatoes
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
2 tablespoons minced dill fronds
¼ cup salmon, osetra, or beluga caviar
Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Place the potatoes in a vegetable steamer, set it over the boiling water, and cover. Reduce the heat to medium and steam the potatoes until just tender when pierced with a fork, with a little give, about 15 minutes. Pour the potatoes into a colander set in the sink and refresh under cool, running water until room temperature.
Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each potato (so it will stand up), then use a small melon-baller or a grapefruit spoon to scoop out a rounded hole on the side of the potato opposite the cut bottom. Set aside for 10 minutes, just to make sure the centers are at room temperature.
Mix the crème fraîche or sour cream with the dill in a small bowl. Spoon 2 teaspoons into each potato. Top each with about ¼ teaspoon caviar and serve.