I was making dinner for someone I had been seeing. No matter how much I cook, whenever I cook for someone who has never tasted my food I am very nervous. I thought I would make ratatouille. This is something I have made in the past with great success so I thought it would be no problem. Oh no, I definitely over salted the entire dish and it was a disaster.
After this embarassing and disappointing experience, I learned that when you have over salted something just place a peeled potato in the dish and it will absorb the salt.
Oh well- next time!
Posted on: May 30th, 2006
Posted by Patty in Tips, Terms & Tools.
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A friend became engaged and, in the excitement, I ran up to her and said, “oh congratulations!” I was quickly corrected by my mother that to woman you say:
“Best Wishes” and for man “Congratulations”.
A week later when another friend got engaged I knew what to say!
Posted on: May 15th, 2006
Posted by Patty in Etiquette.
7 Comments »

Over the past year, I have discovered a new taste for crab cakes. I probably only recently developed an affinity for them because half the time I have them I am very disappointed. I was home visiting my parents and decided I wanted to make them. My mother and I each made our own batch and were able to come to an agreement of which ingredients we liked and disliked in our recipes.
½ Pound Fresh Crab Meat
1 Cup Diced Red Onion
¾ Cup Diced Red Pepper
¾ Cup Diced Celery
1 Tablespoon of Capers
½ Lemon Sliced
2 Teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning
1 Teaspoon of dry mustard
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise
¾ Cup Bread Crumbs
¼ Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a saucepan melt one tablespoon of butter in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion, pepper, celery, lemon slices, capers, old bay season, and cook all these ingredients together for about 10 minutes. (Once cooked remove the lemon slices)
In a separate bowl beat the egg, dry mustard and mayonnaise together and then add the Crab Meat and bread crumbs.
Now mix together the crab and the vegetables let this stand for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Using a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scoop, make scoops full and place on a plate until ready to cook.
In a skillet heat the remaining olive oil and butter before frying the crab cakes. Each cake needs about 2-3 minutes on each side or until a golden brown color.
This will make approximately 32 mini crab cakes.
I found that these crab cakes are also great served cold. These would be great to serve on a salad or a sandwich.
Posted on: May 12th, 2006
Posted by Patty in Recipes.
1 Comment »