In spite of my love affair with "appetite teasers," I realized that they are saved for restaurant dining and parties. Unfortunately, I rarely serve them at home for our regular dinners -- meaning dinner on any given night.
As portions in restaurants have grown, appetizers are often big enough to be considered a main course. And, therein lies a grand idea. Let your appetizer become your main dish. Now, instead of waiting to share a few bites of golden crab cakes in my restaurant future, I can easily cook up perfect patties at home that satisfy a dinner-size appetite.
Thanks to modern transportation and refrigeration, crab can be procured year-round, but crab season opens here Dec. 1.
Tony and Kira DeRito, owners of The Olympia Seafood Company, have their lines on fresh fish all the time. Kira is part of a family who all fish for a living, so she grew up with hands-on experience.
"I've eaten a lot of crab in my lifetime," she said smiling, and she provides us with one of her own crab cake recipes today. They don't cook them at their business, but they can provide the main ingredient.
Her husband, Tony, added, "We enjoy selling fresh fish to everybody."
Their selection of fish varies with the season and availability. They have exotic or warm-water fish such as yellowfin tuna, ono and albacore tuna, as well as local sole, halibut and salmon. Of course, they have crab.
With the approaching holidays, you might have an occasion for an appetizer. Small crab cakes will go like hot cakes! For dinner, simply make them a little larger (or a lot larger) and enjoy every bite. The size is up to you.
Bon Appetit!
CRAB CAKES
1/2 cup chopped onion (or shallots)
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
11/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 pound Dungeness crab meat
1/2 cup plus extra bread crumbs
butter
salt and pepper to taste
Saute the onions in the sherry for 2 minutes or until they turn translucent. Add the white wine Worcestershire sauce.
In a bowl, combine crab meat, egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Add onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
If mixture is too loose, add additional bread crumbs, a tablespoon at a time, or try refrigerating the mixture ahead of time.
Form mixture into patties, and coat with additional bread crumbs to aid handling.
Fry the patties in butter on medium to medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
You can also use panko (Asian style) breading to replace the final bread-crumb coating for an even crispier crab cake.
For an unusual treat, try using unsweetened fine coconut and serve with fruit salsa.
Hint: Mix mayonnaise with garlic and a splash of lemon juice for a quick sauce.
Hint: If the crab pieces are large, your cakes will be lumpy (which is OK if you like it that way). Otherwise, pull them apart a little.
Hint: The freshest fish is best. Don't overcook it. There's no need to kill it twice. Fish is fast to cook and fits into a healthful eating plan.
Mary Ellen Psaltis lives locally and eats globally. You can reach her at TheRecipeWriter@ hotmail.com.
411 Columbia St. N.W., Olympia (between the Wine Loft and Budd Bay Cafe), 360-570-8816