This is a really easy recipe to make using leftovers. Since the chicken was already cooked, all we needed to do to prepare this recipe was to chop up the seasoned chicken thighs into small pieces. We find cutting up chicken is easier when it’s cold, and so we chopped up the chicken right out of the refrigerator, then put it in a bowl to be reheated in the microwave. Since the Buffalo Chicken Thighs are very flavorful, this recipe doesn’t require any sauce.

Serve the chopped Buffalo Chicken Thighs on submarine rolls that have been toasted lightly in the broiler, and then spread with mayonnaise. Top with the chopped chicken, and lettuce and tomato.

This is a tasty sandwich, which could actually be prepared directly from the Buffalo Chicken Thighs as the main dish instead of as a way to use up the leftovers.

The French Dip Sandwich was created in the 1920’s in Los Angeles, California when a roll was accidently dropped in to the Au Jus gravy. The customer said it didn’t matter, and took the sandwich anyway. The next day they came back and asked for the same sandwich and thus was born an American classic sandwich.

Don’t let the French name lead you on to the idea that this is a gourmet meal. It’s really just a roast beef sandwich served with a side bowl of Au Jus to dip the sandwich in. But it’s still a great sandwich and is loaded with flavor. Usually the French Dip Sandwich is served with a side of French Fries or French Fried Onion Rings.

This is a recipe for French Dip Sandwiches that we’ve been making for ages. As we said in the lead paragraph, it’s really a great recipe for a busy week night. That’s because it’s easy to make, and tastes great.

Recipe for French Dip Sandwiches

• 3 cups prepared McCormick Au Jus Gravy Mix, make according to directions on package
• 1/4 pound sliced roast beef lunch meat per sandwich
• Submarine sandwich rolls

1. Make Au Jus gravy mix according to package directions.
2. Add sliced beef to Au Jus gravy to heat the beef.
3. Remove beef, and make sandwiches.
4. Ladle 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Au Jus gravy into bowls to dip sandwiches in.

All you need to do is open up a can of salmon, mix in the Old Bay Salmon Classic and some mayonaisse, form the cakes, and then fry until crisp. It makes a simply delicious salmon cake in a jiffy. With Old Bay Salmon Classic, you can go from thinking about what to make for lunch, to eating a delicious salmon cake in just 10 minutes.

• 1/3 cup Old Bay Salmon Classic
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 14 oz can salmon (deboned)

1. Heat a 1 tbsp canola oil in a skillet.
2. While oil is heating mix the salmon with the Old Bay Salmon Classic mix.
3. Mix the mayonnaise into the salmon mixture.
   Make 4 large salmon patties.
4. Test heat of oil by placing a drop of water in the oil. If the water sizzles
   in the oil the oil is ready.
5. Place the salmon cakes in the skillet.
6. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown on both sides.
7. Can be served on a bun as a sandwich or by themselves.
8. Serve with tarter sauce, and your favorite vegetable such as lima beans.

The Salmon Cakes can be broiled as well.

To make this recipe, first prepare the cheese sauce (recipe below). Then broil a Rib Eye steak seasoned only with salt and pepper until the desired doneness is reached. Remove the steak from the broiler, top with the cheese sauce, and serve. Yum!

Cheese Sauce

• 1 large sweet onion, sliced thinly
• 2 tbsps butter
• 2 tsps sugar
• 1 1/2 tsps flour
• 1/2 cup beef bouillon
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Slice onion in half and the slice thinly
2. Melt butter in large skillet
3. Add sugar to melted butter
4. Add onion to melted butter and sugar
5. Cook onion until limp and lightly browned
6. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes
7. Add beef broth and milk
8. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until thickened
9. Add grated cheeses
10. Cook until cheeses are melted
11. Serve over cooked steaks

Any left over cheese sauce can be frozen and thawed when needed.

recipe

crab cake

Old Bay Seasoning

Every region of the country or world for that matter, has it’s foods and tastes that are unique to the area. New Orleans is known for Cajun foods, Philadelphia for pretzels and cheesesteak sandwiches. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, one of the regional specialties are Cheasapeake Bay blue crabs. The Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia region is dotted with crab houses. These are restaurants that serve a variety of local seafoods, but specialize on steamed blue crabs.

The blue crabs are steamed and seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning and salt sprinkled over the crabs. Lots and lots of Old Bay is used. Then they are served piping hot with corn on the cob, french fries or hush puppies. Some folks like to have a dish of melted butter, mayonnaise, or vinegar on hand to dip the crab meat in before eating. Eating crabs in shell is a messy, hours long event, usually served with ice cold draft beer. There’s usually lots of newspaper on the table to soak up the juices, and even more paper towels around to wipe ones hands.

The interesting thing about the the seasoned crabs is that seasoning doesn’t make it through the shell of the crab. Instead, the seasoning transfers to your hands while you are opening the crabs, and transfers to the meat as you pick the meat from the shell. You have to be careful as you open the crabs not to get cut on the shells, otherwise the seasoning will get into the cut and hurt like the dickens. Usually, one does get a few scrapes, and all in all it’s just part of the crab eating experience.

Maryland Crab Cakes
Some folks are more squeamish, or don’t like the messiness of eating steamed crabs in shell. For these folks, they like it when someone else has done all of the work for them and picked the meat. We’re not meaning here that a friend will pick the meat for you. Instead we’re talking about professional crab meat pickers that will pick the cooked crabs, which are then generally sold in 1 pount plastic tubs at different prices depending on where in the crab the meat came from. Lump back fin crab meat usually has the highest cost is the most prized meat. Claw meat usually has the lowest prices, with machine picked claw meat being the lowest quality and having the lowest prices.

So for those that like the social scene of the crab feast, like the taste of crabs, but don’t want to break the crabs apart and pick out the meat there is nothing like a well made Maryland Crab Cake. These are cakes of crab meat about 3 – 3 1/2 inches in diameter that are either broiled or fried in canola oil. Since blue crabs already have some fat in them, we recommend broiling them to reduce the fat in your diet. However the fried crab cakes are delicious and have a different texture.

The easiest, and guaranteed way to great crab cakes is to use Old Bay Crab Cake Classic mix. You simply measure the Crab Cake Classic seasoning mix, blend with real^* mayonnaise, mix well, form into crab cakes, and cook. There many other ways to make crab cakes, including a few others that are listed on the Crab Cake Classic information page. The essential ingredients for a good Delmarva Crab Cake are:

• Old Bay Seasoning
• Egg
• Bread crumbs
• Milk and/or real mayonnaise
• Worchestershire Sauce
• and, of course, crab meat

The Old Bay Seasoning adds the essential Delmarva crab cake taste, while the other ingredients will be the binder that will hold the cakes together after cooking. You don’t want crab cakes with too much bread or bread crumbs. That is, you want a crab cake with just enough bread to bind the meat together and not a cake filled with bread — you want a crab cake. While you might be able to find some quality crab cakes in the frozen food section of your grocery store, the only real way to get a quality Maryland Crab Cake is to make it yourself.

We have a bunch of links to other Crab Cake Recipes.

^*You have to use real mayonnaise with eggs in order for the crab cakes made with Old Bay Crab Cake Classic to bind together. The crab cakes will fall apart if you use eggless mayonnaise.