Happy Mother’s day to me and to all the awesome mothers out
there!
My blog has been long overdue, but I am back with fresh
cooking ideas and lots of new thoughts… so here we go, spring in the air and a
perfect Mother’s day weather to kick off the season.
There are few food indulgences that I cannot quite partake
in… lobster, crab, oysters… luxury and delicious but I choose to forgo. Not that I have a full blown sea food allergy,
but I am uncomfortable enough to just say ‘no’.
And believe me, I miss it… the fresh taste of giant oysters at the
London market, the gorgeous mounds of oysters and craw fish in New Orleans, the
succulent lobster rolls at shacks along the Jersey shore… I love them all. I just have to limit myself to one of each a
year. One perfect Lobster roll during my
kid’s annual regatta is worth the few hours of misery afterwards. Same
goes for the perfect crab cake. If done
right, they are the most delicious thing on earth, but most of the time, they
are the mediocre over-fried lumps that are not worth blowing a once a year allowance
on.
I have been craving crab cakes and since it Mother’s day and
I am allowed some small indulgences today, I am going to make some for
myself. The idea is that you should be
pampered to hell on Mother’s day doesn’t sit well with me. As long as I am doing what I want, I don’t really
care if I am the one cooking dinner, besides the annual “bacon and eggs in bed cooked
by kids thing “is not good for my tush anyway.
So after a perfect hike in the park, I am off to fry up some crab cakes
and enjoy my Mother’s day….
Crab Cakes with Chipotle Mayo sauce
For the crab cakes
1 lb of picked lump crab meat
1 ear of corn charred on the grill - kernels cut off
½ hot pepper diced
finely
2 tbs of sweet red or orange peppers diced finely
2 tbs of parsley chopped
1 scallion diced finely
1 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs of mayo
2 egg
¾ cup of panko bread crumbs
1 cup of plain bread crumbs
2 tsp of Louisiana spicy sea food seasoning ( any sea food seasoning
mix heavy on cayenne will do)
½ tsp dried ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Chipotle mayo sauce
1 cup mayo
1 tbs capers
1 tbs lemon juice
1 chipotle in adobo
1/2 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish or wasabi
Make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in the food
processor, pulse until smooth. Set
aside.
To make the crab cakes, toss crab meat (pick though it to
make sure there are no shells) with the panko bread crumbs and all the dried
seasoning including salt and pepper.
Add the corn, peppers and parsley. Whisk may, one egg and lemon juice together
and combine with crab and vegetable mixture.
Do not overwork. The key to a
perfect crab cake, it should not be dense, the batter should be on the dry side
very flaky. Refrigerate the mixture for
1 hour.
Heat vegetable oil in the skillet. Beat one egg with a teaspoon of water and
spread the plain bread crumbs in a plate.
Form the crab cakes by hand, briefly dip them in the egg wash and
breadcrumbs. Fry until just golden and
heated through, about a minute on each side.
You can keep the warm in a 250F oven. Serve with the chipotle may sauce
and warm corn salad.
Enjoy, and don’t forget or remember your mother today!
