Crab Cakes

Did I ever tell you about the time I made crab cakes? Oh, they were delicious. I want to make them again. I really do. Well, really I want to eat them again. I just don’t want to make them. Or buy the stuff to make them. Or clean up the mess.

It was summertime. You know…the living was easy…fish were jumping…and the cotton was high…No. I was just wanting to cook something that seemed summery, and crab cakes fit the bill. I found a really great recipe.

So first I went grocery shopping. I won’t even tell you how much a can of crab meat costs. Two of them. If I were to do this over again, I would take this happy little recipe with me to Galveston where we could take the grandsons, a net, some chicken legs, and string to catch some fresh crab. Technically, a can of crab meat is considerably cheaper than a beach house rental, but the crab would sure be fresh. And think of the fun!

Seriously, this is all you need:

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Well, and a pier where the crab hang out. And it needs to be night time. Just sit in the dark, drop a chicken leg tied to the string into the water, and wait for a tug. Scoop him up, throw him in an ice chest, and repeat until you have enough crabs to produce a couple of pounds. Boil them in a big pot of water, crack them open, and pick out a mound of meat. Try not to eat it all before you get back to the crab cakes recipe. 🦀

Or go to Tom Thumb. Buy it already done for you. You’re going to need two pounds.

• 2 egg whites
• 2/3 c. Hellman’s mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley
• 1/2 c. diced green onion
• 1 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 lbs. lump crab meat
• 2 c. bread crumbs

Drain and rinse the crab meat. Feel around for any pieces of shells and remove those. Don’t play around in there too much. You will want some nice pieces of crab, but if they are too large, your crab cakes will fall apart.

Combine everything except the crab meat and bread crumbs, then gently fold in the crab meat and just 1/2 c. of bread crumbs.  Form the mixture into about 8 large patties and roll them in the remaining bread crumbs. Press the crumbs in with your clean hands. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper; put your crab cakes in one layer on here and put them in the fridge to chill for about an hour. Note: You can do everything up to this point ahead of time and then cook them tonight. The chilling time will keep them from falling apart when you cook them.

When you are ready to cook, move your oven rack about four inches below the broiler and turn the broiler on low. Lift the waxed paper from the cookie sheet and spray the pan with Pam. Arrange the crab cakes on the prepared pan. Don’t use the waxed paper! Broil for about four minutes on each side just until golden brown.  They’re ready! Do a happy dance! You are going to want to serve these hot with to-die-for homemade tartar sauce…and a tall, cool cocktail.

Homemade Tartar Sauce

Do not skip this part of the recipe. It is simply delicious. Do not be tempted to open a jar of pre-made. Seriously, I felt just like Ina. And it is so easy!

• 1 1/2 c. Hellman’s mayonnaise
• 3 tsp. finely chopped green onions
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
• 3 tsp. sweet pickle relish
• 2 1/4 Tbsp. cider vinegar

Whisk this all together in a small, pretty bowl. Cover it and chill until crab cakes come out of the oven. Ahhh. The taste of summer.

I shredded some cold iceberg lettuce and put a pile on each plate. Then I nestled in two crab cakes and added a dollop of that delicious tartar sauce on the side. Every bite is scrumptious. I promise.

Corona Virus: Plan B

So Disney shut down the parks. We never got on the plane. No hand sanitizer. No masks. No worries.

Instead?

Found this postcard in a bait shop. I couldn’t resist the artwork. And all that blue…

Yep, we drove south. To the beach.

In the sanitary privacy of our own car, we headed to South Texas. No crowds. Everyone way more than six feet away. Just the family, some shrimp, and the ocean breeze. Sand between our toes and a little sun.

Guess what they had at the grocery store? Fully stocked shelves. Meat, bread, bottled water, and paper products. No panicked shoppers.

We bought shrimp from the boat, 9-12 per pound for $7.50 a pound. Joe chopped off their heads while he told us he thought the Corona virus was a bunch of baloney. We wanted to tell him that the Corona virus was why we were buying fifteen pounds of his gorgeous shrimp. We just smiled.

Joe and his wife lived here…with some wild turkeys and a slew of cats. He graduated from the 6th grade. Did I mention how big those shrimp were?!?

Picket fence and all. Impatiens and ferns, hibiscus and roses.

We didn’t see Mickey or Minnie. We didn’t walk anywhere but from our deck to the beach. We went 48 hours before we even turned on the tv.

We played and ate and laughed. We sat by the water and dug our toes in wet sand. We looked for heart-shaped shells.

We baked chocolate chip cookies, flew a kite, watched the babies toddle, and decorated some dinosaurs. I believe the tweens next door call this chillin’. Our grandparents would call it making a silk purse from a sow’s ear. We did what people used to do. We had a visit. We stayed safe.

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In the morning we go home. We will see the news and deal with closed schools and restaurants with to-go service only. We will continue to self-quarantine and wash our hands. I will put on make up and blow dry my hair. We will keep a normal amount of toilet paper in our bathroom.

But this was one great way to spend Week 1 of Corona Virus 2020.

Oh. This was the view of the house next door. It’s my new sign.

Life is still good.