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I think I used up all my good ju-ju making those Valentine Cards the other day. I was deep in the throes of the calm before the storm. I’d beaten back the cold just enough that I was starting to feel better, but I shoulda known, that old nastiness was going to rally one more time. I got too ambitious and now, I’m back to my mouth breathing, chapped nose, dry coughing self. I shoulda known better, but really, I have never been one to take a break even when it’s been foisted upon me.
Craig and the kids still managed to reap the benefits of the break in my sick day. Dinner was homemade crab cakes (a.k.a crabby patties). Too bad my taste-buds have mutinied. They looked really good and I doubt the leftovers will make it much past this afternoon. I’m pretty sure I saw Craig heating up a few to have at breakfast!
This is a goof-proof recipe that I filched off of the container of crab meat. Four simple steps and you are on your way to a meal that puts warm summer breezes, sun-kissed sand dunes and the melodic lowing of a ship’s horn all within reach.
Epicure Crab Cakes
Ingredients
1 lb. Epicure crabmeat
1/2 cup crushed saltines (which I didn’t have so I used bread crumbs instead)
SN: I prefer my crabcakes with just crabmeat and seasonsing, but I’m not skilled enough in the ways of the kitchen to come up with some other kind of binding agent to hold the whole thing together. I tried to use a little bit of the bread crumbs at a time to see if less could do just as well as the whole amount. In the end, I used the entire recommended amount.
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. seafood seasoning (hello, Old Bay!)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
Directions
1. Remove all shells from crabmeat
2. Mix ingredients in bowl
3. Mix in crabmeat
SN: So in my haste to get dinner on the table, I just read the first and second steps. After I had picked through the crabmeat, I added the other ingredients right on top of it, instead of mixing it separately and then adding the meat to the mix. I don’t think that really affects the quality of the cake, but for you purists out there, note to self: read the directions in their entirety before beginning. That’s Cooking 101.
4. Shape into cakes and fry or broil
I ended up with eight nicely sized crab-cakes, which I put on a foil lined pan. Then, for added flair, I dusted them with parsley flakes and some paprika for color. They were under the broiler for about seven minutes. I didn’t flip them simply because I was afraid they’d fall apart during the flip, but they were cooked through all the same.
Dinner was mighty quiet last night, save for my coughing, since everyone was grubbing down on the crabby patties. These cakes are good enough to stand alone, but there are those of us who enjoy a good dipping sauce to go with. You can’t go wrong with a basic cocktail sauce or a lemon and garlic aioli, both of which are easily found courtesy of Google.
And you know what else is nice? With Valentines’ Day right around the corner, you can easily whip these up for your special someone, garnish them with chives or microgreens and serve them with a chilled white for a lovely dinner.
Happy Friday, y’all!