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Most of you know that I came from a big family ~ 7 kids! No, we are not Catholic. Yes, we had the same parents. (Those are usually the two questions people ask when they hear "7 kids?".) Most of you also know that my mom was sick for years. I am the second oldest, so I did a lot of the care-taking of the younger kids. I learned to cook when I was 10. I remember the first thing I cooked with my dad was Tacos. I loved cooking. Then, there was the baking. I made all the desserts and the b-day cakes for everyone's b-day, including mine. And I loved it! Another thing I remember is my grandmother making the biggest dessert spreads ever at the holidays. She made sure that every person there (we are talking, like, 30+ people) had their favorite dessert. I remember visiting her when I was 20. We cooked & baked all week. I never felt as close to her until then. We had this bond now - baking! I learned so much from her. I think it fueled my love of baking ~ and cooking! Now, at the Holidays, I make sure to prepare everyone's favorite dessert, no matter how many attend. It just wouldn't be the Holiday's if you didn't have your favorite pie, cake, cookie or candies!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes



HOLY COW!!! Never made this before, and actually, I've never even had the coconut crusted crab cakes.  I've had coconut crusted shrimp - but I really only like the "crust" :)

Well, anyway, I'm shopping at Whole Foods (and this is how "seafood" ignorant I am...  ) when I see a sign that says "$6.99 for a pound of Crab" with a cute little drawing of a crab.  I'm excited! Never purchased crab, but in the seafood world, this seemed to be a pretty good price.  So I scurry on back to the fish counter, and there, sitting in front of me is a big, ugly, WHOLE crab!!!  Gross.  I'm not that brave.  But I'm thinking, "Surely they would have 'shelled' crab".  Aha!!!!  I see it!  Excited again!  I'm dying to try to make crab cakes because I love ordering them in a restaurant.  So I start to ask the guy for a pound (as that's what most recipes called for) when I see the price.  Nope - it's not $6.99 a pound.  It's $29.99 a pound!  CRIMINY CHRISTMAS!!  Seems like an awful lot for someone experimenting... So I quickly say, "May I have a quarter of a pound of crab meat?" (Yep, he has that look like, "Hey, Lady, are you sure you don't want a smaller amount?")  Anyway, I guess he bites his tongue, because he says "No problem." and wraps 'er up!

However, when I get home and start looking at recipes, I find this coconut one, and I think that maybe 1/4 lb is just not enough.  So I head back to the store today to get another 1/4 lb. But the guy hands me a 1/2 pound.  He was probably scooping it up thinking, "Wait.  Did she say a quarter pound?  NO!  That would be crazy..."   Anyway, I smiled and took the 1/2 lb, and skipped on home to try my skills at Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes AND Mini-Crab Cake Bites...  that recipe will be up next!!  Now... to find a good sauce to drizzle over it (though these are so tasty, they don't need a sauce").  Leave time to refrigerate the patties before cooking - it will help them hold there shape!


Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound crabmeat, drained picked clean of shells, lightly squeezed if wet (it was perfect from Whole Foods)
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo)
  • 1/8 tsp of ground ginger (fresh is probably better, but I didn't have any.  For fresh, 1 tsp peeled and grated fresh)
  • 1/4 tsp course salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus 1/2 more for dredging
  • 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, plus 1/2 more for dredging
  • 3 tbls vegetable oil (recipe called for peanut or canola)

Directions:
  1. Put crabmeat in a large bowl and add mayo, ginger, salt & pepper and gently combine using rubber spatula.
  2. Combine the 1/4 cup of coconut and 1/4 cup of panko, then gently fold into crab mixture.
  3. Divide mixture into 4 mounds and form patties (about 3 in, diameter & 3/4 inch think)
  4. Put patties on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  5. When you are ready to fry the crab cakes, combine the 1/2 cup of coconut and 1/2 cup of panko in a shallow dish.
  6. Lightly dredge the patties in the crumb mixture.
  7. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once you place the patties into the oil, reduce heat to medium and fry the cakes until golden brown and heated through, turning once to brown both sides, about 4 minutes per side!
  8.  I placed on a paper towel to absorb some of the extra oil, then transferred to a small plate.
  9. ENJOY!!
Step 3
Step 7

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