she cooks…he cleans

Adapted from:  The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate

Oh, who can resist crab cakes?  I’ve been having a craving for them lately, but most of the crab cakes in restaurants or prepared at the supermarket have some sort of breading in them to hold them together.  I found this recipe at The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate and had to give it a try.  I made a few changes in the recipe since I had cilantro and limes on hand.  Also, being on a curry kick, I added a little spicy curry powder to the mustard sauce to give it an extra punch. They turned out fabulous – the very essence of crab! Since these crab cakes are baked, the jumbo lump crab meat is held together only by an egg. There was no problem with them falling apart….except in our mouths!

Crab Cake Ingredients:

• 16 oz container of wild-caught, jumbo lump crab meat
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• 1 t Old Bay seasoning
• squeeze of lime juice
• a couple dashes of Florida Seasoned Pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Hot Curry Powder (or to taste)
• dash of cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine all the crab cake ingredients gently, as to not break up the lumps of crab meat too much.

Form the crab mixture into cakes, about the size of the palm of your hand.  Mound the crab mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle the tops of the crab cakes with Old Bay seasoning.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and golden brown.

While baking, combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Serve crab cakes with a dollop of sauce on top and limes slices to the side for spritzing!

(Click on the photos to see them full-size!)

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It’s Mardi Gras ya’ll! So have a little crab, a little sound of NOLA…what could be finer?

First up, the king of New Orleans music, Allen Toussaint. Legendary producer, writer, keyboardist, an all around giant. This is one of his greatest works, Southern Nights, and it’s funky and soulful, featuring the Neville Brothers as the band, and Allen’s bubbling piano atop it all. Wonderful stuff!

Ok, had a few crab cakes, ready to dance? Then its Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias on I’m Back . . . at Carnival Time. Carnival? Mardi Gras? Either one is a party! Iko Iko, ya hear?