Our family loves seafood. We don't get fresh seafood often as we live quite far from any ocean but luckily our grocery stores and Costco stock many choices and we enjoy seafood in some way, shape or form about twice a week.
One of our favorites are crab cakes. I think if we lived more near the coast where perhaps seafood was a little more affordable, we would make these once a week. Well, not necessarily this particular recipe every single time (you guys I know I love to mix it up and play with recipes and rarely make the exact, precise thing twice...) but using this as your guide add/delete as you see fit (within reason!) and enjoy crab cakes tonight.
Crab Cakes
4 slices bread food processed into crumbs
1/3 c mayonnaise
1 egg
2 T shallots
2 T parsley (dried)
2 T lemon juice
1 t yellow mustard
1 pound crab meat (real, not imitation!)
4 oz. cream cheese
1 can baby shrimp
Saltine crackers - about a handful, smashed fine
*optional: diced green peppers, red peppers, a jalapeno pepper, a bit of diced onion instead of shallots
Mix. Use the saltine cracker crumbs as your final 'binder' if the mixture is too moist to hold a shape. You do not want to add to much so it's dry and crumbly, but you want it to be moist yet thick enough to make a walnut sized 'ball' in your hand.
Flatten a bit and place on parchment or oiled baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm. (I usually speed this up by placing it in the freezer or if I'm really in a hurry I skip this part and am just really, really careful flipping them). Cook in a pan on the stove over medium heat in a bit of oil until golden brown, flipping just once.
Serve with a delicious sauce of your choice or with lemon slices on the side to squeeze over it!
