Author: bhills61

Highmade Crab Cakes

(makes 12 medium-sized cakes)

1 pound super lump crab meat, drained

1 egg

3 T mayo

1 T whole grain mustard

1 T Old Bay seasoning

1 slice of toasted white bread, crust removed and finely diced

½ red bell pepper, finely diced

2 stalks celery, finely diced

Zest of ½ a lemon

Pinch of salt and black pepper

Combine all ingredients, except the crab, in a bowl and mix well. Add the crab and gently break it up. Leave big pieces intact, if possible. Very gently fold ingredients together. Using an ice cream scoop, place 12 portions into a prepared muffin tin. Spray the tops of the crab with canola spray. Place in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, rotate and cook an additional 10 minutes. The cakes will be slightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Place muffin pan into the refrigerator and allow the cakes to cool completely before handling. The day before is great. Once cooled, the cakes will hold their shape much better. This recipe is so good because the binder material is minimal. The crab is the star. Cakes can be reheated in the oven or sautéed in a small amount of olive oil on the stove top. Once warmed through, serve immediately with remoulade, capers, and sliced lemon.

Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. Smaller muffin tins are good for cocktail sized portions. At High’s, we use a pasteurized crab meat that we purchase at Costco. It is sweet, wild caught, always dependable and it is shell free. Nothing more tedious than picking through crab meat. Since the crab meat has been cooked, the cooking time in the recipe is simply used to pull the ingredients together and form the cake.

This cake is ready for a close up. Note the chunks of crab!

For the open-faced sandwich: split open an English muffin and toast, layer on red leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, red onion, crab cake, remoulade, capers, chopped parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Streusel Topping

2 sticks butter, melted

½ C toasted sliced almonds

½ C toasted walnuts

½ C toasted pecans

¾ C old fashioned oats

¾ t salt

¾ t nutmeg

¾ t cinnamon

¾ C sugar

¾ C light brown sugar

1 ¼ C flour

In a mixing bowl, combine salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, both sugars and flour. Mix well. Add nuts and oats and mix again. Add melted butter to the flour nut mix and stir. Spread mix onto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator. Once the mix has hardened, break up the mix into pieces and place into a food processor. Pulse until a nice crumbly texture is achieved. The mix can store in the refrigerator for several days or you can freeze the streusel for several weeks. Pull it out and top a muffin, coffee cake, or pie. Delicious and worth the effort.

Crispy Pita Chips

1 package white pita pockets

Olive oil for brushing

Garlic powder

Kosher salt

Finely chopped parsley

The pita pockets are scored down the middle. Cut along the score and then cut each half in half again. Carefully split the quarters open and separate. Place pita triangles on a baking sheet and lightly brush with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, kosher salt, and chopped parsley over the pitas. Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes, rotate pan and cook for additional 10 minutes or until crisp. These store well in an airtight container.

Chunky Apple Raisin Muffins with Streusel Topping

(Recipe makes 24 small muffins)

3 C flour

1 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

2 t baking soda

1 C golden raisins

1 C vegetable oil

2 C sugar

2 extra-large eggs

1 t vanilla

Zest of 1 orange

2 C applesauce

1 large apple, chunky dice

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and soda in a bowl and whisk well to evenly incorporate. Add raisins to flour mix. Using your fingers, separate the raisins and evenly coat them with the flour mix.

Place eggs, vanilla, and zest into a pourable container.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar and oil. Beat on medium high speed with the paddle attachment. Slowly drizzle in the egg mix. Continue to beat until airy and well combined.

With mixer on the slowest speed, alternately add flour mix and applesauce. Do not over mix. Finish incorporating by hand.

Using an ice cream scoop, portion out batter into a muffin tin coated with non-stick baking spray. Fill them 2/3 full. Push 3 or 4 cut pieces of apple into the batter. Sprinkle streusel topping on each and place in a 400 degree oven for 13 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so until tops are just set to the touch. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

Crispy Red Tortilla Strips

6 red corn tortillas

Canola spray

Garlic salt

Chili powder

Stack corn tortillas and trim off sides in order to form a rectangular shape. Cut tortillas into thin strips. Arrange on a baking sheet and spray the strips with canola spray. Evenly sprinkle garlic salt and chili powder over the strips. Place in a 400 degree preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until crispy. Great over salads and soups.

Cilantro Oil

2 large garlic cloves

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed

¼ t salt

¼ C fresh squeezed lime juice

1 C olive oil

Place garlic, cilantro, salt and lime juice in a blender. Process ingredients until smooth. Add olive oil in a slow drizzle through the feed spout. Refrigerate. Drizzle over pasta dishes, soups, goat cheese.

Bacon, Cheddar & Scallion Scones

(makes 8 large scones)

2 C flour

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 t black pepper

1 ¼ sticks butter, chilled and diced

2 eggs

1 C crispy bacon, diced

2 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated

3 scallions, finely chopped

heavy cream

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well with your paddle attachment. Add diced pieces of very cold butter and pulse your mixer to coat butter pieces with the flour. Add one egg, pulse again. Add second egg and pulse again. Break up any large lumps of butter. Minimize your pulsing. Add bacon, cheese and scallions to the mix. Pulse machine again while drizzling in heavy cream. Add just enough cream for the dough to come together. Not dry, not wet. Gather the dough together and press it evenly into a 9” cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Invert the pan onto a cutting board and cut the circle into 8 wedges. Brush the scones with heavy cream and egg. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in a preheated 425 degree oven. Bake for 12 minutes and turn your baking sheet and bake for an additional 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Highmade Hummus

(makes 4 C of hummus)

4 C garbanzo beans, rinsed and dried

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

½ t cayenne

1 t cumin

1 t paprika

1 ½ t salt

2 T fresh parsley, finely chopped

¼ C fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 T tahini

Olive oil, amount determined by desired consistency of hummus

Rinse and dry garbanzo beans. Place them in a microwavable container and cook on high power for 45 seconds. Stir and cook another 45 seconds. (Heating the garbanzos makes a creamier texture.) While the food processor is running, drop the garlic cloves through the feed tube. Allow the garlic to fully mince. Add remaining ingredients, except the olive oil, to the processor bowl. Pulse the machine a few times stopping to scrape down sides. Turn machine back on and drizzle olive oil through the feed tube just until the mixture begins to turn. Basically you want a lot of friction initially to grind the garbanzo beans. As the mixture begins to form, slowly add more olive oil until you reach the desired consistency. Firmer, looser…your call! Remove from machine and store in the fridge. Really, I find the hummus is best right out of the processor. Make sure you allow the hummus to return to room temperature before serving. Flavors speak better when they are not so cold.

Humble beginnings…

High’s Café & Store began in a small 650 square foot building with two owners and one part-time employee…Carma… in September 2005. With a Barbie oven, one hot plate, and a few tried and true recipes, we were excited to start a casual coffee shop in Comfort, TX.

12 years later, we occupy 3200 square feet, use i PADS for order taking, have 13 employees and blog on the internet.

Additionally, cooking classes, a website, retail items, various remodels and menu additions have brought us to our present version.

From Styrofoam to porcelain and plastic to stainless, High’s has evolved naturally. We transitioned when it seemed appropriate and timely to do so. Through all of this, Denise and I have worked to maintain a sense of community, a desire for fresh flavors, and a “friendly ease” with which food and service are delivered.

So, thank you to all of our loyal and supportive fans. On behalf of the entire High’s family, it is our pleasure to serve you. Enjoy the blog. These are the recipes many have requested. Share with us your thoughts and let us know how we can make HIGHMADEFOOD.COM more useful to you.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

(makes 30 medium sized cookies)

1 1/3 C flour

½ t baking powder

1 ½ t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

½ t salt

2 C old fashioned oats

2 C quick cooking oats

¾ C coconut

½ C golden raisins

½ C dried cranberries

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 c light brown sugar

¾ C sugar

2 extra large eggs, room temperature

2 t vanilla

¼ C half & half

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Add both oats, coconut, golden raisins and dried cranberries. Break up raisins and cranberries making sure they get coated with flour mix. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugars and cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix in well. Add half and half and mix well. With the mixer on low speed, spoon flour mix into the butter mix. Finish incorporating with a large spoonula. 😉

Using a 1 1/3 ounce ice cream scoop, scoop out batter onto a cookie sheet prepared with non-stick baking spray. Chill cookie balls in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or so. Once the dough has firmed up, place cookies in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 13 minutes. Rotate pan and continue to bake for another 13 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove cookies from oven and place on a cooling rack. I like a crispy exterior with some chewiness in the middle. You can store chilled dough in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer longer. Several weeks. When you have the time, make some dough, portion it, freeze it and then bake it off when you need cookies for a special occasion.