Thursday, November 17, 2022

Kimmy's Kreations: Crab Cake Scampi


When I first saw the Instagram video for this recipe, I was wiping the drool from my face.  A giant crab cake?  A GIANT crab cake?  I could do that?  I could make a giant crab cake just because and eat it for dinner??  It's sad that I've gotten to this point in my life, and I'm contemplating if it's okay for me to make crab for dinner.  Hell yes.  Make the crab.  Eat the crap out of that big ol' crab cake.  YOLO.

Note: This recipe was originally meant to create two super whopping crab cakes, for two dinner servings.  I had already decided that as much as I wanted a super huge crab cake just for me, it was probably wiser to make it into four, because there's no way I'm eating ½ pound of crab at one time, but once I saw the size of the FOUR crab cakes, I honestly think you could maybe even push this out to make six cakes.  I also almost fainted when I saw the price of a pound of lump crab ($50+??), so I made mine out of 100% claw meat, and they were still scrumptious.

Crab Cake Scampi
Adapted from Kimmy's Kreations

For the crab cakes:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3½ tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces lump crap, picked for shell pieces
8 ounces special lump crap, picked for shell pieces
½ cup crushed Ritz crackers (one sleeve of 13 crackers)

Mix the first seven ingredients together; this is the crab cake seasoning. Fold the crab in gently. Fold the crackers in. Form four large crab cakes, and put them on a greased cooking sheet. Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes until golden brown.

For the scampi pasta:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided use
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic pepper  
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons heavy cream  
⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, cut in chiffonade
8 ounces cooked pasta, such as angel hair
Lemon wedges, for serving  

Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and sauté until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook very briefly, about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice and white wine and reduce by half. Add the Old Bay, garlic pepper, salt, and pepper. Then add remaining 3 tablespoons butter, heavy cream, cheese, and basil. Toss cooked noodles in the sauce. Plate with noodles on the bottom and a crab cake on top.  Squeeze lemon over the dish.

Makes 4 servings

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