birthday meal

I got to cook my birthday meal. Hubby offered to take me out for a birthday treat, but if you've ever taken a 3 year old and a 5 year old out to dinner, you know it's no treat.  Seafood is my favorite so that's what we had. 

I've been missing our favorite FL restaurant. They had the best she crab soup.  Here's something close:

She Crab Soup

4 oz butter

4 T four

32 oz half and half

8 oz milk

1 pound lump crab meat

2 oz she crab roe

1 t Worcestershire sauce

dash hot pepper sauce

1/4 t mace

1 1/2 t salt

4 oz dry sherry

In a heavy saucepan, cook butter and flour over med heat for 5 minutes.  Add half and half and milk.  Turn heat to low and cook until mixture simmers and thickens.  Add crab meat and roe, Worcestershire, hot pepper, mace, salt.  Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.  Pour 1/2 ounce sherry into each bowl.  Ladle in soup.   (I didn't have any mace... don't even know what it is.  Also, hubby and I did a little experiment with the sherry and it did make a tasty difference)

We also had cheddar garlic biscuits

1 c flour

2 t bkg powder

1/4 t cream of tarter

1/4 t salt

1/4 t sugar

1/4 butter (cold)

1/3 c milk

cheddar cheese

1 1/2 t garlic powder

Mix dry ingredients and stir well.  Add cut up butter.  I use two table knives and cut the butter into the flour. I think there is also a pastry tool to do this, but I don't have one.  When the butter is in pea sized pieces, add milk.  Knead gently and roll and cut out.  If adding the garlic and cheese do so while kneading.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 450 degrees. 

I also made popcorn shrimp for hubby and fish for the kids and crab cakes for me.  We had lemon squares for dessert, although we didn't have room for them.  They got eaten anyway.  I spent almost 2 hours in the kitchen work on all of this- no one disturbed me.  It was a happy day.