I just finished one of the best dishes I've ever had. Kinda a tough thing to say when we probably try 5-10 new recipes a week. Here's the deal. Connie called it exactly. This was the seafood dish that normally comes with a lot of bread crumbs or stuffing or other flavor killers. This allowed the seafood to shine - we're not talking just glow, we're talking SHINE. The recipe came from Bon Appetit's Favorite Restaurant Recipes. Now, the cookbook was published circa 1982 so it's a bit dated. But, folks, this was a VERY inexpensive cookbook. How? Connie and I spent most of Friday in Corydon, IN. Yes, we actually took a couple of days of vacation. But, more on that later. When we got done seeing the historical sites, we wandered down a side street checking out the antique stores - and one used book store. At the first antique mall, I found a book called the Heritage of Southern Cooking by Camille Glenn. Turns out she was the food writer in Louisville for many years. The book was $10. I didn't want to spend that much on a used cookbook. But, I did find this Bon Appetit book for $4. So, I took it up front. Turns out the fellow had his books on sale for half off. Ok, now I'll buy the other one. While I was back in the back retrieving it, I saw the Commander's Palace cookbook for $6. Such a bargain. Three cookbooks for $10. The one from the Commander's Palace is autographed too - by one of my favorite guys - Chef Emeril. How fun is that??? On to the used book store. Someone smokes in there so I didn't want to stay long. Good thing because 99% of their stock is trashy used paperbacks - which cost half their cover price. The hardbacks, on the other hand, are a dollar. Yup, a dollar. Found one that's also autographed - Wine Bar Food by the Mantuano's. The other is the Hay Day Market cookbook. Altogether, five really fun cookbooks and not much money :-) I read cookbooks the entire two hour drive back to Indy. Of all the recipes I read, this was the one that stood out. Rightfully so. We gave it a five. It's easy to make and very flavorful. It's also fancy enough that you can make it for company.
These crab cakes benedict were served as the entree for our Mardi Gras party as part of Foodbuzz' 24x24. They're ever so much better than the plain pipe rack eggs benedict! And, I especially love the combination of the remoulade sauce and the hollandaise sauce. I really need to find a couple of other uses for it so I've got an excuse to make more!
Crab Cakes Benedict
So, how to put them together... Toast English muffin halves, top each with a warm crab cake,
then a poached egg,
then some remoulade/hollandaise sauce.
If it's just us, I poach my eggs in a water bath in a skillet. It's somehow more elegant. But, for a crowd, I'm not going to try that! So, I used my trusty egg cooker.
I kept the first batch warm and just kept poaching. The yolks were a little more cooked than I'd have liked but they were fine for the party.
I've blogged about these crab cakes before but long before the camera became a part of my blogging. Not only that but these were the entree for the Mardi Gras party. So, I'd feel a bit strange just sending you to an old blog. Ergo, a repeat.
One of our guests was born and raised in Havre de Grace, Maryland. He proclaimed these the best crab cakes he'd ever eaten. Wow! Now, that's a compliment. As much as I really don't like repeating dishes too often, I still think I could eat these once a week. They're that good.
Harry Caray's Crab Cakes
1/4 c finely diced red onion
2 T thinly sliced scallions
3/4 c panko
1/2 c heavy cream
1 T dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t Tabasco
1 t Old Bay seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs crab meat
1/2 c flour
olive oil or a mixture of butter and olive oil
Mix the ingredients through the crab meat in a large mixing bowl. I start with the onions and scallions.
Use a light hand as they're much better if they're not dense.
Interestingly enough, all the recipes seem to call for lump crab meat. I've found the claw meat more flavorful in these. Also, the original recipe calls for chopped red bell pepper. I think that detracts from the flavor, so I leave it out. I use a 1/3 c measure to scoop out the right amount for each crab cake.
Get the olive oil to the shimmering point and VERY carefully toss in a couple of droplets of water to make sure it's hot enough. I say VERY because you don't want to get burned by the popping! Form a crab cake and lightly dust it with flour. Don't crowd the crab cakes in the pan or you'll have a tough time flipping them.
This is too crowded - I messed one up when flipping and sadly had to use it as my test crab cake. Ah, come on, you believe that, don't you?
Once the first side is nicely browned, flip the crab cakes and continue to brown them. You may have to add more olive oil. The original recipe called for browning these for a couple of minutes then baking them. Because I've switched to olive oil, they're not browning as quickly. And, I don't like the idea of getting yet another pan dirty. So, I just do them totally in the skillet.
It looks like Stacy and I failed miserably in the photo department for the two sauces that were combined. Maybe I should make some more just to take photos? No, there's already too much from the CSA basket to justify making sauce... Darn. I'd love to hear your ideas for using this combined sauce.
Harry Caray's Remoulade Sauce
1 c Hellman's Olive Oil mayonnaise
2 T capers (chopped if they're larger)
2 T very finely diced red onion
2 T Dijon mustard
1/4 t Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 t paprika
1 t Worcestershire
1/4 t Tabasco
1/2 t lemon juice
Mix and serve. For the crab cakes benedict, I mixed the remoulade above with a double batch of Mom's Blender Hollandaise. This is the easiest hollandaise sauce to make. It doesn't separate. You can make it ahead and warm it up before serving. It just plain works.
Mom's Blender Hollandaise
3 egg yolks
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t salt
1/2 c hot melted butter
In a blender, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt. Then, with the lid partially removed, pour the butter in in a steady stream. To warm up before serving, place in a bowl in a pan of warm water or use a double boiler.
