Might I suggest for you to please turn up the volume on your device, tune in by clicking on the link Pachelbel Canon in D  and let’s get started on the premier edition of Cooking Tunes!  As a bit of background, this piece of music recalls a bittersweet memory during the brief time my daughter and son and I lived with my Mom, Judy.  Before we sat down to a dinner that Mom and I had prepared, I would first put on a vinyl record.  Oftentimes, Pachelbel.  It set the most pleasant tone for our evening.  Inspired by Mom’s superlative cooking skills, today I will share with you a recipe for crab cakes.

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A Maryland Eastern shore specialty

Crab Cakes

1 egg

½ c. mayonnaise

½ c. unseasoned bread crumbs

1 tsp old bay

1 tsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp Worcestershire

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 lb. jumbo crab meat picked clean of shells and debris

Combine all the ingredients except for the crab meat.  Gently fold in the crab and *gently* mix until crab fairly well covered, trying to keep crab lumps intact.  Form into crab cakes of the size you choose, place on a plate, wash hands with soap and water and place plate in refrigerator for about 1 hour let set up.

In a large sauté pan, add 1 Tbsp butter, and flame on medium high heat.  Let butter melt to a sizzle, place a number of cakes in pan but recall -do not crowd the pan – and start to sauté. 

Turn heat down to medium if there’s smoke, but no fire, and cook for about 2 minutes on first side, turn over, look at brownness to determine if heat is at right temperature, adjust accordingly, then sauté on this side until brown, about 2 minutes or so, depending on size of crab cake. You may pat down the cake a bit to spread it out to cook more of the surface area. Remove from pan to a platter, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon and enjoy!

Finally, dear students, I invite you to send me your questions to modartsmary@aol.com.  I will select 1 (one) question per blog post to respond to in full in the following posting of Cooking Tunes.
Happy cooking!