Recipe: Romantic Dinner: Blue Crab Salad, Basil Veal and Pasta, and Honey Apple Tart

How about a complete dinner plan that is Romantic?

Company Veal Dinner

Tender veal strips with red peppers, onions and mushrooms top spinach linguine for an easy romantic or company dinner. Here the salad is suggested as a first course.

Blue Crab Salad

12 ounces blue crabmeat
10 ounces fresh asparagus
4 large lettuce leaves
thinly sliced lemon
1/2 cup lowfat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 drops liquid hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Remove any remaining shell or cartilage from crabmeat. Flake crabmeat. Cook asparagus spears. Drain and chill. Place 3 or 4 asparagus spears in each lettuce cup. Place 1/4 of crabmeat on asparagus. Cover with approximately 2 tablespoons Lemon-Caper Dressing. Garnish with lemon.

For Lemon-Caper Dressing: Combine ingredients from mayonnaise to Worcestershire sauce. Chill. Makes approximately 2/3 cups dressing.

South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Dept.

Basil Veal and Pasta

1 pound veal cutlets, from the leg
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup red bell peppers, cut into short thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups cooked spinach linguine

Pound veal leg cutlets to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 1 x 3-inch strips; set aside. Stir together basil, salt, crushed red pepper, and olive oil. Heat 1 teaspoon seasoned oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry red bell pepper strips and onion 1 minute. Add mushrooms; stir-fry 2 minutes, just until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from skillet and reserve. In remaining seasoned oil, stir-fry veal strips, half at a time, over medium-high heat, 1 to 2 minutes, just until cooked through; remove veal from skillet and reserve. Stir cornstarch into wine until smooth. Add wine to skillet; cook over high heat about 30 seconds, until thickened. Return veal and vegetables to skillet; heat through. Serve over pasta.

National Livestock and Meat Board

Honey-Apple Tart

A noted advantage of cooking with HONEY is that it is a natural preservative and foods made with it, especially baked goods, retain their freshness longer.

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/8 cup water
3 to 4 apples
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup honey
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted

Pastry (first 5 ingredients): In medium-size bowl, blend together flours and salt. Cut in the shortening until pieces are size of peas. Sprinkle with water and gently mix with fork. Roll out on surface sprinkled with whole wheat flour. Place in 9-inch tart or pie pan.

Filling: Peel apples and slice into thin slices; arrange in circle around tart or pie pan. Sprinkle with walnuts. In medium-size bowl beat remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over apples and nuts. Bake in 350 degree F. oven 35 to 40 minutes.

American Beekeeping Federation