Coconut Shrimp

Almost as good as you’ll find in a restaurant

Dipping Sauce:
½ c. orange marmalade
4 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Peanut oil for frying
½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. water
2 c. shredded sweetened coconut
½ c. bread crumbs
1 lbs. medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1. For dipping sauce: Add all dipping sauce ingredients to a pot on a low temperature. Heat for 10 minutes, making sure you stir ingredients every few minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat 2 inch of the peanut oil to 325°.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the water and whisk until smooth. Let the batter stand for 15 minutes.
4. In a wide, shallow bowl, toss the coconut and bread crumbs together.
5. Put the shrimp into the batter. Remove the shrimp, 1 at a time, and dredge in the coconut mixture, pressing to help the coconut adhere. Fry the shrimp in batches in the hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Serve the shrimp with the dipping sauce.

Lemon Salmon Burgers

16 ounces flaked, fully cooked salmon
2 eggs
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 pinch read pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 pinch dried basil

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the salmon, eggs, parsley, onion, breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. basil, and red pepper flakes. Form into 6 FIRMLY packed patties, about 1/2 inch thick.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the patties, and cook for 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice and a pinch of basil. Use as a sauce for your patties.

Crab Cakes with Lime Sauce

The Italian dressing made them a bit salty to me, so I would decrease that by half. Also, I had to add more crushed crackers since they were way to wet to hold together with just half the crushed crackers. The lime sauce was really very good.

Crab Cakes with Lime Sauce

1 medium lime
1 c. mayonnaise
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 cans (6 oz each) crabmeat, drained, flaked
24 finely crushed Ritz crackers, divided
2 Tbsp. chopped green onion
¼ c. sour cream

Grate the peel and squeeze the juice from the lime. Mix half of the lime juice, ½ c. of the mayo, salad dressing mix and mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Add crabmeat, ½ c. of the cracker crumbs and onion; mix lightly.
Shape into 16 (1/2 inch thick) patties; coat with remaining cracker crumbs.
Cook patties, in batches, in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 2 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides and heated through. Meanwhile, mix remaining ½ c. mayo, remaining lime juice, lime peel and sour cream until well blended.
Serve with crab cakes.

Yield: 16 servings