East & West Crab Cakes

For an early Father's Day celebratory dinner, I made Mussels with White Wine and between my dad and my husband, they ate four pounds of mussels! Suffice to say, they love them some mussels! For my mom and me (the non-mussel lovers in the family), I prepared crab cakes and made two sauces to accompany them. One sauce was a basic East coast remoulade and the other sauce was based on a West coast citrus butter sauce, both of which were from my Neiman Marcus cookbook. Both sauces were delicious, but I think I preferred the light, buttery taste from the West coast sauce. I love sauces and condiments, so I had fun trying both!

East & West Coast Crab Cakes

adapted from the Neiman Marcus Cookbook by Kevin Garvin

for the crab cakes

1 lb jumbo lump crab meat

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c mayo

1 1/2 t Dijon mustard

1/3 c panko bread crumbs

1/4 c green onions, minced

2 T parsley, minced

1 T Old Bay seasoning

1 t worcestershire sauce

dash of Tabasco sauce

for the remoulade

1 red bell pepper, roasted, seeded and chopped

1 c mayo

1 T parsley, roughly chopped

1 T fresh tarragon

1 T capers, drained

2 T cornichons (or sour dill pickle), roughly chopped

1 small shallot, roughly chopped

for the citrus-butter sauce

1/2 c white wine

2 shallots, sliced

1 fresh thyme sprig

1/4 c heavy cream

1/2 orange, juiced

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 c chilled butter, diced

1 t salt (or salt to taste)

dash of Tabasco

To prepare the remoulade, place bell pepper, mayo, parsley, tarragon, capers, cornichons and shallots in a food processor. Pulse several times until sauce is well combined. Transfer to an airtight container and store in refrigerator until ready to eat. (Make it early in the day, or even the night before, so the flavors have plenty of time to marry.)

To prepare the crab cakes, place egg, mayo, mustard, panko, green onions, parsley, Old Bay, worcestershire and Tabasco in a large bowl. Mix well. Add crab and gently mix together, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab meat. Mold into 8 to 12 patties and place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 7-10 minutes, flip and continue baking another 7-10 minutes.

While the crab cakes are baking, prepare the citrus-butter sauce. Pour the wine into a small saucepan and add shallots and thyme. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer until liquid is reduced by two-thirds. Add the cream and simmer 5 more minutes. Add orange, lime and lemon juices. Turn down heat to low and add butter, a little at a time, whisking constantly, until all the butter is incorporated. Do not let sauce boil or the sauce will become oily. Season with salt and Tabasco. Strain the sauce and keep warm until ready to serve.