It was a blast to pull out our imitation crab meat and prepare eight crab cakes for lunch today. I knew my husband would not enjoy them (and hence his identical-eating-habit daughter), but my two-year-old son loved them. Yeah! Little Sierra did enjoy scraping the ingredients into the bowl and using the chopper. She pretty much made them herself. Pretty good for four-years-old! Mom was proud.
Funny part came about as Sierra was struggling to finish her last 12 bites. Yes, that would be after bite number one. Dad asked if we were having crab cakes because we had all been crabby. Sierra responded, "So if we're happy, do we get cake?" She must have figured out that would get to be too much cake because she expressed, "Cake is just for birthdays." Either way, probably not too healthy. But, if you have the inclination to get crabby...here's the recipe I found:
Things You'll Need to make Crab Cakes--
2 c. fine fresh bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper - to taste
1/3 c. cornmeal
2 lbs. crabmeat
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt - to taste
6 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter - melted
1/2 c. vegetable oil (for frying)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
STEP 1: Whisk together melted butter, lightly beaten eggs, sour cream, minced Italian parsley, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
STEP 2: Add crab meat and bread crumbs very gently.
STEP 3: Form 1/2-cup measures of the mixture into 12 cakes, each 3/4 inch thick, and transfer them to a baking sheet sprinkled with half of the corn meal.
STEP 4: Sprinkle the crab cakes with the remaining corn meal and chill, covered in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.
STEP 5: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
STEP 6: Heat the oil over moderately high heat in a large, heavy skillet until hot but not smoking.
STEP 7: Sauté the cakes, in batches, until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Don't crowd the pan.
STEP 8: Transfer the cakes to paper towels.
