recipe mainstays, easy maryland style crab cakes and caprese salad

recipe for crab cake and caprese salad of heirloom tomato, peaches and nectarines

Here’s a simple pair of recipes that packs a lot of bang for the buck, Maryland style crab cakes and a caprese salad that amounts to nothing more than good shopping (and slicing): farmer’s market heirloom tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, mozzarella and fresh basil. (Also pictured, I did a quick sauté of summer squash with olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic crushed and a little white wine.)

Caprese Salad,

• fruit: Find a good assortment of colors, roughly equal parts juicy heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit (I like a mix of peaches and nectarines), all the better if the fruits are roughly the same size

• a bunch of basil

• a ball of mozzarella

Slice and plate in layers, putting a basil leaf between each slice.

Drizzle with olive oil and follow with a scattering of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Take a photo of your work!

Maryland Style Crab Cakes

• 16 ounces crabmeat (Costco has a great packaged option in the refrigerated case with a long shelf life, so you can have some on hand in a pinch!)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons mustard
• 3 teaspoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

-In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the crab meat.
(I mix the liquid ones first, the dry ingredients second, and combine.)

-After mixing ingredients, add crab meat and fold together with a spatula, trying not to break up the crab meat chunks very much.

-Form into desired size cakes, I get 6-8 from this recipe.

Cooking:

You can make these up to two hours before your guests arrive, refrigerated, and pop in the oven right before you plan to eat. I find the best result is to bake them in a muffin tin, but you also can bake them in a pyrex dish (they’ll be less golden on the outside), or pan fry (they’ll be greasy).

Muffin Tin: Preheat oven to 450°F. Generously coat a  nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray (spray enhances flavor). Bake until crispy and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Pan Fry: pan fry on each side over medium heat until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes each side) Serve with desired sauce, I mix together a little mayo, ketchup, old bay, and vinegar, but that’s just a personal thing.

Serve with lemon wedges, sprinkling of paprika, and an assortment of sauces…get creative!