Very Crabby Salad

Many, many years ago while accompanying The Nudge on a business meeting in Baltimore, we extended our stay to scope out the inner harbor and the brand new stadium they built (I said it was many x2). We managed to hit a few restaurants recommended by Gourmet and then hit the local crab shacks. The crab was sweet and spicy and right out of the steamer. I could have eaten a dozen more but my lips were numb from the spices....Yummy!!

Back then you could actually buy a bushel of crabs from the NJ shore for $5.00, but not today, go to a crab shack in Wildwood and they import their's from Baltimore, imagine that.

We done fished them out and what is left comes out of polluted swamps.

I decided that since Baltimore is the home of crab cakes I would make it my mission to find the BEST CRAB CAKES between Baltimore and Annapolis.

The winner was a little dinky place called John Stevens LTD. right in the inner harbor. Only way to get there is to take the ferry and if you didn't know it was there you would have walked right past it. It is still there and as great as when we where there. If you go, you have to also get their mussels. OMG and that's all I will say.

They made theirs the way you always hear the aficionados tell you they like them made. Just a little filler to keep them moist and together. I actually like it when it is a pile of seasoned crab with a lite hand on buttered panko for crunch and baked in the oven till heated through. Plenty of spice from the Old Bay and Tobasco or Hot Sauce (my new love being Frank's Original).

Simple, tasty and really good.

So, in honor of those crab cakes I made these.



Very Crabby Salad
Adapted from a Memory
Makes 4 - 1/3 cup cakes
* 1 pound lump crab meat, picked over
* 1 teaspoon Old Bay
* 1 scallion, diced
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Frank's Hot Sauce
* 1 tablespoon minced roasted red pepper
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tablespoon Dijonaise
* 1/4 cup panko
* 1 tablespoon butter (I use Bummel & Brown's Yogurt Spread)
* salt & pepper to taste

The amount of spice and heat may seem like too much, but trust me, these were delicious and perfectly seasoned.

Blend all the ingredients, let them sit to marry the flavors and using a 1/3 cup measuring cup as a mold, make 4 mounds of crab mixture. Top with a nob of butter (or spread) and bake a 375F oven for 20 minutes.

If I was going to serve them on a bun I would saute them, but I felt I wanted to go in a healthier, lighter direction and serve them on a basic garden salad (cucumber, red onion, romaine and tomatoes) with Litehouse bleu cheese dressing (which I thin out with a few glubs of white wine).


I am currently eating half of what I normally eat so I had one cake with my salad and The Nudge had two.
I love that the dressing only has 150 calories in 2 tablespoons and it is thick and creamy with lots of blue cheese flavor and bits.
The outside had a nice crust and they were moist on the inside. The Nudge was surprised they were healthy for him because they were so flavorful.