Crab Cakes

We had to postpone our Valentine's Day dinner because we had to attend a 40th birthday bash last weekend, plus I had a lot of work to catch up on. When I asked Randy what he wanted for Valentine's Day dinner, he answered crab cakes. I made these last year for V-Day, back before I was blogging, and I wanted to make something different.

I tried to persuade Randy to change his mind, but he wasn't budging. I gave in and was really happy that I did, because these turned out to be the best crab cakes I have ever made. They were nicely seared on the outside and tender on the inside. The red pepper added a nice crunch. I like to taste the crab in them, so I didn't break up the crab too much, leaving nice big hunks of crab throughout. I served these with steamed clams, white rice, and a salad.

Crab Cakes
Ingredients:
1 pound crab meat
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
10 whole wheat Ritz crackers, finely crushed
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
(plus more to sprinkle on formed crab cakes)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 - 4 tablespoons butter (Do not use oil.)

Directions:
Crush crackers in a baggie and set aside. Mix together red bell pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, Old Bay seasoning, and pepper. Add crackers and fold in crab carefully as not to break up the crab too much.

Form into patties. (I got seven.) Dip each side lightly in bread crumbs and sprinkle each side with Old Bay seasoning. Place in refrigerator for about one hour.

Remove from refrigerator and melt 2 - 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sear for about 4 minutes on each side. Use care when flipping. Keep warm in a 200-degree oven if necessary.