We added several details to make this dinner for our friends extra special. For starters, we busted out our china. Fancy dishes make any meal feel celebratory! When Currey and I got married, one of my mom’s best friends told me to pick a china pattern that I loved and to use it often. She said that it was unlikely I’d still love it in 20 years so I should use it frequently while I was still in love with the pattern. Since I was the ripe old age of 21 when I registered, I picked pink china. I still love it. I’m a southern girl at heart and I adore all things monogrammed so our china has a “B” in the middle of all the plates.
One of my all time favorite foods is crab cakes. For Christmas, my mom got me a subscription to Southern Living and the first issue had a recipe for mini crab cakes. I thought these would be the perfect addition to our menu. I typically buy crabmeat from Trader Joe’s. They have canned meat in the refrigerated section and we always love the quality. I was concerned that the dijoin mustard in these would over power the dish but that was not the case. In my opinion, these are some of the best crab cakes we’ve made to date! Topped with the pineapple cucumber salsa put this dish over the top. These could both be prepped ahead of time and then cooked once your guests arrive so they can be enjoyed while hot.
Crab Cakes
1 pound fresh crabmeat, drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3 tablespoons minced green onions
3 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
4 tablespoons butter
1. Pick crabmeat, removing any pieces of shell.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise, egg, mustard and zest in a large bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat, breadcrumbs, green onion and red bell pepper.
3. Shape mixture into 2 inch cakes. (I had 12 crab cakes.) If the mixture isn’t sticking together well add breadcrumbs 1 Tbsp at a time until cakes stck together. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
4. When ready to serve, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add half of your crab cakes; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat with remaining butter and crab cakes. Serve with Pineapple-Cucumber Salsa and lime wedges.
Pineapple Cucumber Salsa
2 cups diced pineapple (fresh would be great but I used canned)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine pineapple, cucumber, green onions, jalapeño pepper, basil, lime juice, and salt. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours.
Adapted from Southern Living December 2012
I also made bacon wrapped shrimp. I was looking at several recipes online and just took my favorite parts from several to create this dish.
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
1 1/2 lbs shrimp
1 package bacon, slices cut into thirds
1 jalapeno, sliced thin
4 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 tsp garlic salt
I bought peeled and deveined shrimp because it was only $1 more a pound. I felt that not having to peel or devain them was well worth $1. I started with 1 1/2 lb shrimp. Take 1/3 piece of bacon and wrap it around the piece of shrimp and a slice of jalapeño. Place wrapped shrimp in a 9×13 lined with foil. Once all the shrimp are wrapped, coat with 4 Tbsp melted butter and then sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake at 400 for 8-9 minutes.
I realize that not everyone likes the heat of jalapenos so I did some bacon wrapped shrimp with barbecue sauce as well. The process is the same except instead of brushing with butter and garlic salt, brush with barbeque sauce. These were equally delicious!