Crabtivating cakes

I launched Connie is Cooking on January 1st and have posted every day since. It was a challenge to myself – and a way to give me something to focus on, other than the Pandemic, during a difficult time in all of our lives.

Today is day 98 – and perusing my cookbook collection – I’m betting I still have at least two months more of recipes to prepare and share before I am done. I’ve discovered numerous recipes that I probably would have never tried if I hadn’t set out to highlight a recipe from each and every book I own.

Today’s recipe is yes, from my collection, but it’s from a recently added cookbook, generously sent to me by Lisa Spector Miller who insisted I needed Downtown Savannah Style Cookbook (1996) by the Junior League of Savannah, Inc. in my cookbook library. And on her recommendation, or maybe it was her mom’s? – I was more than happy and excited to make the crab cake recipe in this beautiful volume oozing with Southern charm! These are the real deal, chock full of crab meat and absent the fillers you often taste when you buy them in a store or order them in a restaurant.

Crab Cakes Savannah

1 pound lump crab meat, flaked

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon Dijonnaise

Several drops of Worcestershire sauce

Old Bay seasoning to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)

Black pepper to taste

Cayenne to taste

8 to 10 saltine crackers, crushed

8 to 10 saltine crackers, finely crushed ( Use a mini food processor)

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the crab meat, egg, mayonnaise, lemon juice, yellow mustard, Dijonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, black pepper and cayenne in a bowl and mix gently. Stir in the crushed crackers. Shape into eight 1/2-inch thick patties. Coat with the finely crushed crackers. Arrange in a dish. Chill or freeze the crab cakes until firm. Heat the butter and oil in a skillet until hot. Sauté the crab cakes in the butter mixture until brown on all sides – about 12 to 14 minutes – cover briefly to ensure the inside is as hot as the outside); drain.

Tip: I did freeze them and I recommend it!