Blog Party!

Here is my first ever addition to blog party, hosted by The Happy Scorceress. I read about it on a great blog I frequent called I like to cook (I have an affinity towards Canadian bloggers- I admit it!!). One of these days when I figure out how to modify my template, I'm going to give you a list of my favs, I promise! Anyway, the theme for the blog party is MAN FOOD! The obvious choice is a pork product, but seeing as my man doesn't eat pork, I decided to go with crab, because at his favorite restaurant, Captain Kidd's, he always orders a huge steamed crab and busts it open on the paper-covered picnic table with a rented mallet, spraying everyone with crab juice. Also, I love how manly men will put on a bib to chow down on a big crab or lobster.
I did something I don't normally do as well- I actually used a recipe. Well, sort of. I mean, I followed the recipe mostly, but what do want from me? I'm creative. I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's Hor D'Oeuvres Handbook (which I've had for 7 years and never used, BTW). I made "Classic Crab Cakes" and I'm sorry to say that Martha let me down. Her recipe tasted fine, but the consistency was off. I had to add an extra egg and 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs to get it to hold together nicely. I thought Martha's recipes would be triple tested!
For the cocktail, I had to go with beer. It matches a the crispy crab cakes, the heaviness of the aioli, and also TONIGHT IS EDMONTON'S LAST CHANCE! and Hockey + Beer = happy men!



Ingredients
12 ounces crab meat
2 slices white bread, in small pieces
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tb dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 medium jalapeno pepper, diced
2 tb parsley
2 eggs
1/4 red onion, diced
2 tb mayo
zest of 2 limes
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
3 tb canola oil

Method:
1. Preheat he oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Set a baking sheet inside.
2. Combine crab meat, bread and breadcrumbs in a large bowl.
3. In another small bowl, combine mustard, worstershire, jalapeno, parsley, eggs, onion, mayo, lime zest, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Stir into the crab mixture.
4. Form the crab mix into tablespoon-sized balls and flatten slightly. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Fry each crab cake in oil on both sides and then transfer to baking sheet and cook for an additional 7 minutes.
5. Serve with aioli (below).

Aioli

2 tb mayo
juice of 1 lime
1 minced garlic clove
hot sauce to taste

1. Mix all ingredients together. Serve cold.