Crab Cakes!

We are just back from the Vermont Vacation, and I am now going through my usual post-vacation syndrome, which consists of thinking wistfully of the great vacation meals we had and trying to replicate them at home. I guess it is my way of stretching the vacation out as far as possible, and my Southern husband is always delighted, since I am one of those people who ends up liking what the other person ordered even better than what I ordered. And so a lot of what I end up making is whatever he ordered, starting with crab cakes.

He ordered them at one of our favorite lunch spots in Manchester, Vt, The Little Rooster. If you are ever in Manchester, this is a great spot -- just get there early for lunch, and by early I mean if you are there at 12:01 pm you will have to wait for a table. Which is worth waiting for, but still. I had the Ethan Allen Sandwich, which is on my "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" menu for later this week. But he had these lovely-looking crab cakes, which reminded me of the crab cake recipe I found in Real Simple magazine a while ago. I have a love/hate relationship with crab-cake-cooking, because most of the recipes I have tried involve frying them, which goes just fine until we get to the flipping them over part. When they invariably fall apart. They still TASTE fine in the end, but the falling apart makes me nuts.

This recipe, on the other hand, calls for shaping them into cakes, spreading just a little butter on top and broiling them for a few minutes, just until they are heated through and a little brown and crispy. No flipping required. And even better, instead of the usual bread crumbs most crab cake recipes call for, this one uses crushed potato chips. I use the Cape Cod brand -- the kettle cooked ones -- they have a little more crunchiness. A little Dijon mustard, a little tarter sauce, some lemon and you are all set. Crab cakes in 15 minutes or less...no kidding.

I surrounded them with a little fresh corn and some chopped parsley, but in the past I have been known to surround them with the remaining Cape Cod potato chips. But since we are just back from eating everything in the state of Vermont, I went with the corn, and hid the chips in the back of the snack cupboard, far far away.

Here's the link to these great crab cakes, guaranteed to look as good as they taste. Make sure you serve with lemon wedges and tell everyone to give a good squeeze of lemon over the top before you dig in.


Real Simple Crab Cakes