My day at the Smithsonian...

A few weeks ago I had the honor and privilege of teaching a cooking demonstration at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. On Fridays through December, the Smithsonian will conduct a program called Food Fridays, focusing both on food and history at the museum’s new demonstration kitchen on the Coulter Performance Plaza. A different chef is featured each Friday, and I was lucky enough to be the first chef from Sur La Table to participate. The museum cafe even featured dishes inspired by my recipes, and the recipes are posted on the Smithsonian website. 

http://americanhistory.si.edu/topics/food/pages/food-fridays

Each month will have a different theme, and July was Summertime Cooking in America. We kicked around a few different ideas and ended up settling on the seafood traditions along the mid Atlantic and New England coast. You may remember from an earlier blog post that one of the dishes was New England Clam Chowder (it turned out really yummy), and I also made a Maine Lobster Roll and a Maryland Crab Cake.  

It was a lot of fun putting together the recipes, but I also had to research history on each of the dishes--after all, it was a presentation for the Museum of American History--to incorporate in the presentation. For example, I learned that Old Bay Seasoning is made in Baltimore, it's primary spice in the blend is celery salt, and the name comes from a steamship line that ran through the Chesapeake Bay. 

I was partnered with a member of the Smithsonian staff, Jessica. She also had researched history and fun facts about the dishes, regions and seafood. She had also arranged for artifacts from the museum's collection to be brought out during the presentation.

As much fun as all of this was, this wasn't the end, or even the beginning,of my adventure at the Smithsonian that day. I got a call late that Thursday evening, asking if I could be a the museum early on Friday because SLT wanted to take my picture in Julia Child's kitchen. No, I didn't get to actually go into her kitchen (wouldn't THAT have been amazing), but I did get to go through the exhibit before the museum opened to the general public.

But, it turns out that it was more than just a quick photo op. SLT had a film crew there. They filmed me walking through the exhibit, and not just with a hand-held camera, they actually had a small steadicam. They wanted to film "Angie's day at the Smithsonian". As you might imagine, they had cameras set up during my on-stage demonstration, but it didn't end there. Once we finished the last demo, they took me out to the main lobby of the museum. It was about 2:30pm, on a Friday, in July--you can imagine how many tourists were in the lobby. Hundreds. Now imagine me walking through the lobby with a guy operating a steadicam circling and zooming around me as I went. Twice. Then imagine the same scenario, but this time I'm walking up the outside staircase into the main entrance of the museum. Again, twice. I had the hardest time keeping a straight face, it was just too funny and surreal. I can just imagine what all the tourists were thinking! I don't really know what the plan is for the footage they shot, I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as I do.

So, back to the food. The clam chowder recipe can be found in an earlier blog post, and you can download all of them from the Smithsonian's website. Here are the lobster roll and crab cake recipes. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Maine Lobster Roll

The classic Maine lobster roll recipe traditionally uses chilled lobster meat with only enough mayonnaise added to moisten the meat and add a small amount of flavoring. In this recipe, the addition of ingredients like celery and lemon juice bring a nice texture as well as flavor to the classic. When preparing lobster roll recipes, use live Maine or other live, cold-water lobster. If needed, frozen lobster tails can be substituted. Typically, a Maine lobster roll calls for frankfurter buns. However, any split top roll, medium size hamburger roll, or bread of your choice, may be used.

Makes 4

3,  1 ¼  to 1 ½ pound lobsters
½ cup mayonnaise
¹/₃ cup finely diced celery
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, white and pale green parts only
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Several dashes of Tabasco Sauce

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

4 top-split hot dog rolls
Butter for grilling hot dog rolls

Steam or boil the lobster ahead of time and remove the meat from the shell (claws, knuckles and tail). Cut the meat into bite size pieces and chill.

Once the lobster is chilled, combine it with the celery, green onions and parsley. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the lobster and gently fold to mix.

Lightly butter the outside of the hot dog buns and grill them in a skillet until golden brown. Place lobster salad meat inside the grilled hot dog bun. Serve.

Maryland Crab Cakes with Old Bay Tartar Sauce

An easy and authentic version of this Maryland classic. The key to Maryland crab cakes is not to over mix and shred the crab.

Makes 6 crab cakes

For the crab cakes:

1 pound lump crab meat

8 saltine crackers

1 egg, beaten

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Carefully check the crab meat for any shell fragments or cartilage. Put the meat in a bowl and set it aside.

Crush the saltine crackers to a very fine texture and mix with all the other ingredients in a large bowl. Gently fold in the crab, being careful to only mix enough to combine the ingredients. You don't want to break up the crab into fine shreds. Shape into 6 crab cakes, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium to medium high heat. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and serve with the Old Bay tartar sauce.

For the tartar sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 shallot, finely diced

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon capers, drained and finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, plus more to taste

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately or refrigerate.