My next door neighbor, Jen Quintern, is the most amazing chef. She’s the type that never cuts corners, cleans as she goes, and produces something that makes your mouth water for more every single time. Watching her create in the kitchen, she reminds me of the scene in The Godfather when the mafia guys are behind bars slicing garlic with a razor. Every meal that we’ve shared has been a lesson in how to do fine dining on a budget. Frugal, but never, ever lacking in flavor. We can drink the perfect dirty martini, (prepared by Dave with three almond stuffed olives), and laugh about her vacuum obsession. The woman is always vacuuming! Tonight she is teaching me how to make her famous crab cakes. Oh my Lord!

Ingredients:

Crab cakes:
1-1/4 lbs of cooked snow crab shelled
3 cans of Bumblebee lump crabmeat drained
2 Tbsp finely diced green onion
2 Tbsp fresh, finely diced flat Italian parsley
1/3 cup minced fresh red bell pepper
1 egg beaten
25 Ritz crackers pulverized
1 generous Tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp Worcestershire
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp  & a pinch Old Bay seasoning
The juice of half a lemon
2 cups of unseasoned Panko
1 Tbsp of Wegmans basting oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Remoulade:
1-1/4 Tbsp mayonnaise
1-1/4 Tbsp catsup
1 heaping Tbsp fresh horseradish
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Place all the crab, red bell pepper, green onion, and parsley in a medium bowl. Fold the ingredients together gently, so not to break up the good chunks of snow crab. In a small bowl, place beaten egg, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, garlic salt, Dijon mustard, Old Bay, and lemon. Beat all ingredients together, Add the binding egg mixture and Ritz crackers to the bowl. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make small handful sized crab cake patties.  Place Panko in a shallow bowl. Gently coat both sides of the cake in Panko. Place the cakes on the lined cookie sheet. (Should make around 12-15.) Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, in a large pan, swirl your basting oil and put the burner on medium heat. Add butter. When butter is melted, add the crab cakes in batches. You should lightly fry for five to seven minutes per side.  Add all the remoulade ingredients into a small bowl and stir well. Add a squeeze of lemon to the cake, dip the cake in remoulade, and welcome to heaven!