Living in an ordinary house with today’s average number of rooms, I spend the greater part of the day in my kitchen.
My kitchen has a view over my long dining room table to my garden outside, which is filled with a fountain for the birds feeding nearby on their feeders and often, other wildlife pass through.
Nothing makes me happier than being in that kitchen where I can be found daily chopping, grinding, baking or cooking new recipes and familiar ones, both for family and friends.
These past few days have been no exception. My counters have been filled with vegetables—onions, bell peppers of two different shades, eggs, a can of Old Bay seasoning and, on Good Friday, two live Dungeness Crab in an ice chest that neighbor Mike brought to me from the Yacht Harbor in Santa Cruz.
Sadly, Mike told me, we only have two weeks left of “crab season.” Immediately I began planning on how many crabs next week I would have Mike bring me before no more are available until next December.
Now “killing” a crab is not something I enjoy doing, and all the while I am bringing the water to a boil, I ask the Almighty to forgive me while thinking how delicious those crab cakes will taste on Easter Sunday.
Metacarcinus Magister (crab), here in the Pacific Northwest named Dungeness Crab, are found in our cold ocean waters from Alaska and as far south as Mexico. Here, in Monterey Bay, whales have been a problem during this year’s crab season, for the whales get caught in the ropes that the crab pots are attached to, and because of our warm ocean waters this year, these pesky whales have refused to migrate to their breeding grounds in Mexico.
I am not the only person frustrated by this problem. Our local fishermen were not allowed to “set” their traps and their incomes have suffered, while restaurants have not had fresh crab on their menus for their customers. I look at this situation much like farmers who suffer loss of their crops due to extreme weather conditions.
Always, during the winter and spring holidays, the same question arises… Will there be crab for our holiday table?
This last week I was grateful to have the opportunity to cook and clean two beautiful two-pound Dungeness Crab for our traditional crab cakes. These cakes were to be a surprise appetizer, and while I was sipping my tall glass of Storrs Chardonnay in the kitchen that I so love, I was remembering my sweet hubby, Norm, and how much he loved crab cakes.
Good Friday morning I spent time finely dicing the scallions, bell peppers, garlic clove and celery. I beat the two eggs, added the Bay Seasoning, and added the Panko breadcrumbs to the mixture along with Best Foods mayonnaise. A few dashes of Tabasco sauce and I tossed in the crabmeat. Once blended, I put the mixture into the refrigerator for three hours, making sure the Panko had absorbed the beaten eggs, which allowed the cakes to stick together when formed.
I laid out a cake pan with additional Panko in it about an inch deep and then I readied a cookie sheet lined with Parchment paper and set it aside.
When the crab mixture was very cold, I pressed the mixture into a 1/4 cup measuring cup, turned it out into my hand and made sure it was holding together, and laid the cake into the pan with the Panko. Then I sprinkled some of the Panko on top of the cake and pressed it onto its surface. I transferred the cake to the Parchment-lined cookie sheet. Once all the cakes were finished, I put them into the freezer, covered with Saran Wrap.
When ready to cook the crab cakes, I have a cookie sheet lined with Parchment ready for the fried crab cakes and I preheat my oven to 350deg. I pour vegetable oil into a frying pan, about 1 inch deep, and heat until 350deg., or until oil is shimmering.
I added the frozen crab cakes directly to the hot pan and fried until nicely browned, only a minute or two. I used two spatulas to turn the crab cakes, and once they were browned on both sides, I put the cookie sheet into the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking them.
This method of cooking will crisp and hold the Panko crust together around the cakes while turning to brown them.
Keep the crab cakes warm in the oven until ready to serve with the delicious sauce below.
I do need to add, dear Readers, much to my chagrin and bedlam in my kitchen on Easter morning, I forgot the crab cakes in my freezer, and my friend Rosie, at the “meal’s end” asked me, “What happened to the crab cakes, Colly?”
Dungeness Crab Cakes
(Method above)
4 cups of crab meat. Reserve.
1/4 cup finely diced onions (I prefer Scallions)
1/3 cup each green and red bell peppers
1/4 cup diced celery
2 well-beaten eggs
1 tsp. juice
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 cup Panko
1 additional cup of Panko set aside.
Mix ingredients well and then add crab meat.
Cover with Saran Wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Tartar Sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp dill relish
1 Tbsp. dried dill
3 Tbsp. diced onions (I prefer Scallions)
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Colly Gruczelak, a Ben Lomond resident, loves people and loves to cook. Contact her at [email protected].
