Sherried Mushroom Crabcakes

How many of you have wandered into the kitchen knowing you've got a certain ingredient to use up but you just can't wrap your mind around one of the recipes you've used before or the plethora of choices you've got?  I do it all the time.  That's one of the reasons I try so hard to actually have a menu planned.  That and the fact that sometimes recipes require advance preparation. 


Take this evening for example.  I'm going to be thawing a Boston Butt (No, not Connie, pork.  but, he is from Boston) for cooking over the holiday weekend.  I've also got to get spice rubbed pork chops thawed and rubbed so they're ready to go on the grill tomorrow night when I get back from my Columbus office.  And, I want to get the lamb chops for Friday thawing in the fridge so they're ready for Friday evening. 


A few days ago my dilemma was crabmeat.  I'd made Steak Oscar for the crew when we went to Columbus to visit.  I had half a can of crabmeat left.  And, there was another 1/3 of a can in the freezer that needed to be used before it succumbed to freezer burn. 


My first thought was my friend Lauren's wonderful casserole.  Mushrooms, sherry, a bit of cream.  Topped with buttered bread crumbs.  Then, I thought about crab cakes.  Those sounded great too.  But, neither sounded perfect.  I hunted through my file of crab recipes to try.  Nothing struck me.  I was striking out and was going to just go ahead and make Friday Night Sandwiches.  Then, inspiration hit.  What if I made crabcakes out of Lauren's casserole???  A quick peek in the fridge and I found boursin cheese that could be used as the base of a sauce.  What's the worst that could happen?  We'd have to toss the crabcakes and open a can of soup. 


What did we think?  We loved these.  In fact, Connie said he liked these BETTER than my normal crabcakes.  Since I wasn't expecting such stellar results, I made them via the dump it in until it looks right method.  The recipe that follows is based on estimates. 


Sherried Mushroom Crabcakes
makes 6-8 crabcakes

Ingredients:

for the crabcakes:

1 pound crabmeat
2 large eggs
1/2 c cream
1 1/2 c panko
old bay seasoning
2 T shallots, minced
8 oz cremini, chopped and sauteed
1/4 c dry sherry
flour
olive oil or butter

for the sauce:

1/4 c lowfat sour cream
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c boursin cheese
1 t Old Bay seasoning
1 T white wine
1 small shallot, minced

Directions:

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside while making the crabcakes.  Making the sauce first will allow the ingredients to get happy together.  Mix the crabmeat mixture gently.  Form into cakes and dust with flour.  Saute in olive oil or butter until browned.  Flip and sautee on second side.  Serve with the sauce.