Ultimate Crab Cakes

We will have to make these again, if for not other reason than to get a better picture of the finished product!

It’s been a while since I posted.  We are still eating, but I am trying to lose a few (how very generous of me to say a few) so we have been trying new recipes.  Experimenting to determine just how much less fat we can use and something still resemble what we would like to eat.  In addition, we took a little trip to visit some family.  I really do love that when we let them know we were going to head that way, they let me know what they wanted me to cook while we were there.  Most of what people wanted has already been seen here, but there was this one item that I have not yet posted here.  I forgot to make a plate for a picture at the end, but that won’t change how wonderful these taste. 

The vibrant colors can be seen even after the Crab Cakes are prepared.

Now, I have to preface the posting of this recipe with fact that it is not mine.  Mark and I were searching for the perfect crab cake recipe and we finally narrowed it down to three recipes that had potential.  Through Mark’s trial and error we combined those three recipes, tweaked the measurements for what we thought was the best flavor and gave it our own little twist. 

Place the formed cakes back in the bowl until you are ready to begin cooking them.

You want the crab cakes to be the same size and to have a uniform thickness, about 5/8 of an inch.  This will help you make sure they are evenly cooked and make it easier to avoid over cooking.

 The most important part of any crab cake recipe is the crab meat.  Crab meat is expensive so this is not an everyday meal for most of us.  It is a special occasion meal, so get quality crab meat, you won’t be sorry.  We have found that we prefer the lump crab meat for this recipe. We will use claw meat is a chowder, but the cakes work best with the mild sweetness of lump crab meat.

 If the oil is not hot enough, the crab cake will absorb the oil, so don't over use the oil and make sure it is good and hot. 

 

Cook until the crab cakes are a golden brown, and then enjoy.

Ultimate New England Crab Cakes

1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
crushed crackers (saltines, usually one sleeve is plenty)
3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (I like to use a variety of colors)

1/4 cup celery diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp old bay
Dash to ½ tsp cayenne pepper (you can make the crab cakes as spicy as you would like, but we prefer to keep this dish mild and let the flavor of the crab be the star)
1/2 cup  oil

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and peanut oil. Shape into patties. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately with a sauce for dipping if you would like, but no sauce is really necessary. 

Shrimp Creole!

Ahhh, New Orleans.  The home of my youth and the city that would begin my love affair with food! Seriously, when I first moved to New Orleans (and stayed for a while) I was about twelve and was just about as finicky an eater as you ever saw.

I remember a time when my grandparents visited and took us out to eat at one of the local seafood restaurants.  I loved seafood...Indiana seafood.  I ordered a shrimp platter and very excitedly awaited its arrival.  I loved shrimp!  Well the server brought our food and plopped a plate of shrimp in front of me, in the shell with tails and heads intact!  I could not believe this.  Shrimp had heads!?  Never had I seen such a thing!  And on that day I swore never to eat shrimp again.  Luckily, that was just a teenage girl overreacting. I mean if I wouldn't eat shrimp because they had heads, I never would have eaten crawfish either.  What a loss that would have been!

Anyway, this is one of the family's favorite recipes.  When my son is home we always ask him, what would like to eat while you are here.  Three dishes always make the list, Shrimp Creole, Krapow (a wonderful Thai dish) and Chicken Marsala.  While I can make the Chicken Marsala, it is my husband, Mark who has perfected the recipe, so we will have to talk to him before I can post it here.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.  It is our own little taste of Nawlins!

2 large cans (around 30oz) plum tomatoes; chop the tomatoes and reserve the juice.

1 cup each chopped celery, onion and bell pepper

8-10 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 ½ cups chicken stock

½ stick butter

1 ½ tbsp Creole seasoning (we like a little more, but start with this amount and add to taste)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb shrimp

1 tsp Worcestershire

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup fresh Basil chopped

1 tbls fresh Oregano chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped

Heat oil in a large skillet and add the onions, celery and bell pepper.  Sauté until vegetables are just becoming translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté one more minute.  Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme creole seasoning, salt, Worcestershire and cayenne and continue cooking for a couple more minutes.  Add the reserve juice and chicken stock half a cup of each at a time until the sauce is the consistency you desire.  Add the butter (cut into 1 tbsp chunks) and blend it thoroughly with the rest of the sauce.  Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes then add your shrimp.  Allow to simmer until the shrimp are done.  Serve over rice with crusty French bread.