Home Made Love: Crazy Crabby Crab Cakes

By MARI CHILES and LILA CHILES

Mommy usually makes these on special occasions, which makes them, well, special (and expensive). She lets us crack the eggs and stir in the seasonings, and even pat them into these cute little cakes. If we're having a small party with a handful of people, you can bet the crab cakes will be on the table, with a nice salad and some parmesan cous cous. Once she even made them for a Super Bowl party, but instead of serving them plain, she put them on toasted bread with slices of Gouda or swiss cheese melted on top and a little mayonnaise seasoned with Old Bay, fresh dill, spicy mustard, and pepper. It was so crablicious!

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
½ onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cans lump crabmeat
1 egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp Grey Poupon mustard
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
a few dashes of Cayenne pepper
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Breadcrumbs to bread crab cakes
butter

Directions:
1. In a small sauté pan, sauté garlic, red pepper, and onion in olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes; set aside to cool.
2. Shred the crabmeat with fingers to reduce lumps.
3. Put all the ingredients, save for the breadcrumbs, in a large mixing bowl; gently fold them together so that all seasoning is incorporated.
4. Scoop fist-sized amounts of the mixture into your hand and form into flat crab cakes (about 8)
5. Gently coat with breadcrumbs; if you have time, cool them in the refrigerator for one to three hours to let them set.
6. Melt some butter in a large sauté pan; once the butter is bubbling, add crab cakes; cook on both sides until golden brown.

Makes 8-10 crab cakes.

From the new MyBrownBaby series, “Home Made Love: From The Chiles Girls’ Kitchen To Yours,” the cookbook in which Mari and Lila share special memories behind the beloved dishes they create in our house.