Crab and Cheese Garlic Toast

Quick and easy Crab and Cheese Garlic Toast!

1 – 8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 – 8oz package of Crab Meat
1 C Shredded Colby Jack Cheese, plus a little more for topping the toast
2 tbsp Old Bay seasoning, or to taste
6 slices Garlic Texas Toast 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

Using a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, Colby Jack cheese, and Old Bay until combined.

Mix the crab meat with the cream cheese mixture.

Place toast on the cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and top the toast with the crab mixture and top with a little more cheese.

Return to the oven and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and taken on a little color and the bread has toasted.

 

Crab Pie and Best Friends

Photo from my friend Brian at Hot Sauce Daily

Here's another one of the recipes from my book, "Mama's Cookbook". As I wrote the other day, Mama loved seafood, but didn't have it very often growing up because of the cost. Unless you lived on the coast and caught your own, seafood was impractical and definitely a luxury item that struggling families could not afford. Mama made friends with a new girl in school. She was Catholic and Mama didn't know about their rites and rituals. The first Friday that she spent the night at her friend's house, they had shrimp for supper. She was in love with seafood! She loved her new best friend, and Fridays were a treasured meal with her!  I was named after her best friend, Lynda! So, the few recipes of Mama's that include seafood, I certainly do treasure! I hope you enjoy this one! Notice the note at the bottom. If you are not familiar with my cookbook, Mama jotted notes down for me on recipes before giving them to me. They are a treasure trove of memories!

Crab Pie

1 Pie Pastry, uncooked

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 cup Crab Meat

3 Eggs, beaten

1 cup Heavy Cream

½ t salt

¼ t Pepper

½ t Lemon Zest*

Arrange cheese evenly over bottom of pastry. Top with crab meat. Combine eggs, cream, salt, lemon peel and pour evenly over crab meat. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

Notes: “Your Daddy likes this…Cool or the cheese will burn you!”

*When I make it now, I add some Old Bay Seasoning, green onion and a mixture of cheeses that I have on hand. I use Swiss and Cheddar or Colby Jack. It just depends on my mood. 

Crab Cakes

1 lb crab meat
1 large egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1-1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (about 3 slices of white bread)
Oil for frying


Drain crab meat. Put the crab in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Pour the mixture over the crab and mix gently until combined. Gently break up the lumps with your fingers but do not overmix.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the mixture and mix gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.

Shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes about 1 inch thick. In a cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cakes to the pan. Cook until dark golden brown on the underside, about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes and continue cooking until the other side is well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges, Mustard Sauce and Cocktail Sauce.

Seafood Caesar Salad

1/2 cup Cardini's Classic Caesar Dressing, divided

1 tbsp lemon juice 

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb. shrimp, peeled, de-veined and cooked
1 lb crab

6 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 cup seasoned croutons

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Heat the shrimp and crab in a sauté pan over medium heat. Off the heat, add the lemon and 1/4 dressing.

Toss lettuce, croutons and remaining dressing in large serving bowl. Top with shrimp and crab mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately. 

Crab Scampi

Why crab scampi and not shrimp scampi? Mainly because it's what I had on hand. Keep in mind that crab is much sweeter than shrimp. You may want to add more lemon and pepper to balance out the sweetness of the crab. Either way, here you go...

1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds crab meat
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Bring a large pot of salted water (with a drizzle of olive oil added) to a boil over high heat. Add the angel hair pasta, and cook until done; drain. Reserve the pasta water. 

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Once the mixture begins to bubble, stir in the crab. Cook and stir until heated through. Add in cooked pasta and toss. Add enough pasta water to create a sauce as thick or thin as you want. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and add a salad and some garlic bread to serve.

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

I love mushrooms and these taste like the ones at Red Lobster! Pretty simple, but delicious flavor!

1 pound fresh mushrooms, approximately 35−40

2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound crab claw meat

1 cup oyster crackers crushed

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute celery, onion, and pepper in butter for 2 minutes, transfer to a plate and cool.

While vegetables cool, clean mushrooms and remove stems. Set caps to the side and finely chop half of the stems. Reserve the other half for another use.

Combine the sauteed vegetables, chopped mushroom stems, and all

other ingredients and mix well. If too dry, add a little broth or water.

Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet. Spoon 1 teaspoon of stuffing into each mushroom. Top with a little extra cheese, if desired. Bake in oven for 12−15 minutes until cheese is lightly browned.

North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi b (Google Affiliate Ad)

Caesar Crab Pinwheels

At Christmas, I made some Bacon Parmesan Pinwheels. They turned out really well! The hubby remarked that they would be even better with Caesar dressing on them. He even got a small bowl of dressing for dipping them. Well this past week, I had the dough leftover and the dressing, but no bacon. However, I did have some crab meat that I was planning on using to make some Cheddar Crab Biscuits. (I'll have those on here soon... as soon as I get more crab!)

1 can refrigerated dough (pizza or crescent)
1/4 cup Caesar Dressing *
1 cup Crab Meat
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough. If using crescent rolls, pinch the seams back together, making one sheet of dough. Spread dressing over the dough. Sprinkle evenly with crab and cheeses. Starting at one end, roll the dough using even pressure to roll the dough without pushing the filling out. Roll the dough into a log shape. Once rolled to the end, cut the log into approximately 1 1/2 inch pieces. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet. (I sprinkled mozzarella cheese on the top of each roll.) Bake about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

* The amount of dressing, crab and cheese may vary according to what dough you use. You control the amount of toppings you choose... however, too much will make it hard to roll.

Seafood Lasagna

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb shrimp

1/2 lb crab

1/2 lb scallops

2 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 T butter

2 cups béchamel *

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine

1cup Swiss and Mozzarella cheese mix , shredded

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 lasagna sheets, cooked 'al dente'

salt and white pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

IN a saucepan, melt 1 T of the butter, sauté the garlic until transparent - do not brown or burn. Add the shrimp, scallops and crab. Toss over high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add onions, stir and continue cooking till shrimp lose their transparency.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the béchamel.*

When béchamel is ready, stir in the cream, wine, and salt and pepper to taste, blend thoroughly and remove the sauce from the heat. Spread about a third of the sauce over the bottom of an 8 x 10 or round pie pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the cheese mixture over the sauce. Scatter about half the shellfish evenly over the cheese. Cover with half the lasagna sheets. Repeat the layers finishing with the last sheets of lasagna. Cover with the remaining sauce and Parmesan.

The layers, from the bottom:
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Cheese
Seafood
Lasagna
Sauce
Parmesan

BAKE for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is golden brown (keep and eye on it, you don't want the top to burn).Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

*Bechamel Sauce

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, heated**
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

** Use 1 cup milk for the sauce in the seafood lasagna because heavy cream and wine will thin the sauce. This will result in the sauce being thicker than usual, but that's ok!

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.

Makes about 1 cup.

PS. I ALWAYS use more cheese than a recipe calls for. It's always your call to use more or less...

Crab Rangoon Dip

Have you ever eaten Crab Rangoon at a Chinese Restaurant and wondered what's inside those wonderful little golden brown packages? Well, that's what this dip tastes like... This filling for Crab Rangoon! In the picture, it's in the metal round chafer dish and it is oh so yummy!

2 cups Crab meat
1 8oz cream cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 T Mayo
2 1/2 T Sour Cream
2 T green onion, chopped
1/2 t basil
dill (just a sprinkle... optional)


In a crock pot, mix ingredients well. Heat until warm. Serve in a chafer or your crock pot to keep warm.
Serve with crackers, toast points or chips!

Crab Crisps

Another very simple, tasty treat :-)

6 1/2 oz. Crab meat
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 T onion soup mix
1/4 t black pepper
Toast points or Melba rounds
Red Bell Pepper and Green Onion, diced

Combine first five ingredients. Mix well. Spread on toast or rounds. Broil about 6 inches from broiler for 2 or 3 minutes. Garnish with pepper and onion... Enjoy!

Crab Pie

Here's another one of the recipe from my book, "Mama's Cookbook". As I wrote the other day, Mama loved seafood, but didn't have it very often growing up because of the cost. Unless you lived on the coast and caught your own, seafood was impractical and definitely a luxury item that struggling families could not afford. Mama made friends with a Catholic girl in school. The first Friday that she slept the night at her friends house, they had shrimp for supper. She was in love! I was named after her best friend Lynda! So the few recipes of Mama's that include seafood, I certainly do treasure! I hope you enjoy this one! Notice the note at the bottom. If you are not familiar with my cookbook, Mama jotted notes down for me on recipes before giving them to me. They are a treasure trove of memories!

Crab Pie

1 Pie Pastry, uncooked

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

1 cup Crab Meat

3 Eggs, beaten

1 cup Cream

½ t salt

¼ t Pepper

½ t Lemon Zest

Arrange cheese evenly over bottom of pastry. Top with crab meat. Combine eggs, cream, salt, lemon peel and pour evenly over crab meat. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

Notes: “Your Daddy likes this…Cool or the cheese will burn you!”

When I make it now, I add some Old Bay Seasoning and a mixture of cheeses that I have on hand. I use Swiss and Cheddar or Colby Jack. It just depends on my mood.

Hot Crab Melt

Every time I post a recipe with Crab in it, I think about my Uncle Perry and our summer trips to Mitchum Creek!

Taken from my post on July 8th, 2010... "Soft Shelled Crabs from Mitchum Creek"

Uncle Perry... The Old Man of the Sea

"I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. ( Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Hot Crab Melt

6 oz Crab Meat
¼ cup Tartar Sauce
2 T Celery, finely chopped
2 T Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 t Lemon Juice
2 English Muffins, Split and Toasted
4 slices American Cheese

Combine all ingredients except muffins and cheese. Mix well. Place spread on muffin halves. Bake at 350 for five minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer.

Notes: “Great with shrimp too!” (Mama's favorite :-)

Crab and Sausage Jambalaya

If you know me, you know that I hold off on the bell pepper. That's just me. Bell pepper doesn't agree with me, so I work around it. I had someone comment not too long ago about one ingredient that she didn't like. So, she didn't try the recipe. You don't have to sacrifice the entire recipe because of one ingredient that you don't like. Work around it and substitute something else that you do like.
As I always say, Play with your food! It's fun!!!

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 ounces andouille sausage or kielbasa, quartered lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 1/4 cups jasmine rice (9 ounces)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 1/2 cups water

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound lump crabmeat

3 scallions, finely chopped

Hot sauce, for serving

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil. Add the andouille and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic to the casserole. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the Old Bay, rice and andouille and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, water, tomatoes and bay leaf, season lightly with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in the crab and scallions. Cover and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the crab is hot; discard the bay leaf. Serve in bowls. Offer hot sauce at the table.

Ravioli

Quick and Easy Egg Pasta Dough
(Makes about 1 pound)

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 to 3 tablespoon lukewarm water

Put the flour, eggs, salt and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse several times to blend the ingredients.
Add the water,1 tablespoon at a time, just until dough starts to come together. Gather the dough into a ball and place on a floured surface. Knead lightly, just until the dough is smooth. Divide in half and keep one-half covered while you work with the other.


Three Cheese Filling
Makes 1 1/4 cups filling (enough for about 80 to 90 ravioli)

1 cup, ricotta cheese - drained
1/4 cup, grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup, shredded mozzarella cheese
16 ounces, pasta dough
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water, for sealing ravioli

With an electric mixer, beat the ricotta cheese until it is smooth. Blend in the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Cover and refrigerate filling for 30 minutes before using.


Spinach Ravioli Filling

1 (8 ounce.) container ricotta cheese
4 ounce mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg
1 cup chopped fresh spinach or frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Fill rounds of ravioli dough. Serve with your favorite sauce.


Crabmeat Ravioli Filling

1/2 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 (6 ounce) can lump crabmeat
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2-3 tablespoons cream cheese
Salt and pepper

Sauté shallot and garlic in butter and olive oil. 1-2 minutes. Add crabmeat and basil. Stir to combine. Remove from heat. Stir in goat cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Fill ravioli.


Potato, Leek, and Bacon Ravioli

12 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3 small potatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 ounces bacon, coarsely chopped
2 medium leeks, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook in boiling water until cooked through. Drain and mash the potatoes with a fork. Heat the oil and bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the bacon has rendered its fat but is not crisp. Add the leeks and cook another 3 minutes until the leeks are wilted. Add the bacon and leek mixture to the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and stir to combine all the ingredients.

Baked Flounder Stuffed With Crabmeat

Tired of turkey and dressing or ham and potato salad? Here's a change up from the same ole, same ole holiday fare...

8 flounder fillets
1/2 pound fresh crabmeat, picked through for shells
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup oil
1 cup fine break crumbs
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
8 pats butter
8 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Simmer peppers, onions, celery and garlic in oil until soft. Remove from heat. Add bread crumbs, eggs, pepper and parsley. Add crabmeat and toss with fork.

Place 3 tablespoons of stuffing into the middle of each fillet. Top each with a pat of butter and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Close ends of fillet over middle and insert toothpick. Place in greased baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Frogmore or Beaufort Stew?

I was asked this week if I had any Gullah Recipes. If you don't know what Gullah is, it's an African-American culture that took root soon after the days of slavery. The Gullah settled mainly in the islands along the shores of South Carolina and Georgia, among them: Edisto Island, Coosaw Island, Daufuskie Island, and St. Helena Island. This gave them privacy to preserve their culture and customs; like basket weaving, cultivating rice, trapping and trading especially shrimp.

When I worked for a trucking company in the '90s, I had a driver that was from the islands around Edisto. His 'handle' on the radio was 'Geechee'.
This is a word to describe the Gullah dialect, also a word to descibe perfectly how he talked.

On the island of St. Helena, where my Mama began a yearly pilgrimage many years ago, you can find the  Gullah settlement of Frogmore. It is a simple crossroads with a two-story white country store on one side and a post office on the other. This is the birthplace of Frogmore stew, a boil of assorted seafood, pork sausage, and corn on the cob. My family in Rimini, SC, has always called this a Beaufort Stew. There is the Louisiana Crawfish Boil and the Lowcountry Boil. The names go on forever, and the fight for the origin of each name does also. I believe that when you get to the 'outer banks' or islands of any southern state, if you look hard and deep enough, you will find the deep hidden cultures of time gone past.

Here is my families way of doing this classic Gullah inspired dish!

•2 crab boil seasoning bags (or more to taste)
•several lemons, halved (optional)
•redskin potatoes (depending on size, 3 or more per person)
•spicy smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch slices (¼ pound per person)
•fresh corn, broken into halves (1 ½ ears per person)
•sweet onions, whole (depending on size, 1 or more per person)
•shrimp (½ pound per person)
•crawfish (½ pound per person) If Elliott's Landing has any left, they go fast!
 
This is usually done outside over an intense heat such as a propane burner. That's the only way to cook this much food all together! Fill a large steamer pot halfway with water. Add crab-boil seasoning. Add halved lemons may. When the seasoned water comes to a boil, add redskin potatoes and boil for 20 minutes; then add 2" slices of spicy smoked sausage and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the corn and boil another 5 minutes. Then add the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. (Don't wait for it to boil again or you will overcook the shrimp.) Drain, and pile on a table.

Serve with lots of paper towels and icy beverages, plus melted butter for the corn, cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and sour cream for the potatoes. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure to have a bottle of killer hot sauce for the cousin who's gonna say, "Aw that ain't nothin'!" Then pour it to 'em!!!

Soft Shell Crabs from Mitchum Creek

I always loved going to Uncle Perry's in the summertime. He lived in Topping, Virginia on Mitchum Creek. We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. (Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn’t quit. She’d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry’s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama’s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti’s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away. I noticed Uncle Perry push back his chair to stand. He leaned forward several times pushing his hands against the seat of the chair. But, he did not stand. After a moment, he smiled and looked over at me. He leaned over to me and said, “It’s awfully embarrassing after eating that much, trying and trying to get up, and you can't. And then you find out that your thumb’s in your hip pocket!”

Soft Shell Crabs

4 soft-shell crabs

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups oil for frying, or as needed

Directions

If you buy the crabs frozen or pre-packaged, they will be cleaned. But if you get them fresh you may have to clean them.

To clean each crab: Lift one pointed side of top shell and remove the gills by pulling them out. Put top shell back down and repeat on other side. On the bottom side remove tail flap by twisting and pulling off. Using a pair of scissors, remove the face by cutting behind the eyes. Rinse the crabs thoroughly with cold water. Dry on paper towels.

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees. In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork. In a separate bowl, stir salt and pepper into the flour. Lightly salt the crab, then dip in the flour, dip in the egg, then in the flour again. Carefully place crabs into the deep-fryer. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn over, and cook until golden on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve as soon as they are cool enough to eat. You can eat the whole crab.

Seafood Salad Sammies

This is a very easy, but good base recipe for seafood salad. You can serve it in lettuce cups for a crisp, low-carb wrap, or on a sub roll with shredded cabbage and a little hot sauce for a Po Boy sandwich. However, try this recipe 'as is' first. The simplicity of a buttered, toasted hot dog bun is really a surprising treat!

1 (8oz) pkg imitation chunk Crab Classic or Crab & Shrimp Classic
2 Tbsp Mayo
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Hot Dog Buns
Butter

In a medium bowl, break up the crab meat. Add mayo, sour cream, lemon and seasoning. Mix and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Butter the inside of the hot dog buns and toast to your liking. Fill buns with salad and serve.

Note: I make this for a crowd at Wednesday Night Suppers, so I don't use a lot of onion or celery. Feel free to add your favorites, such as 2 tsp of diced red onion, 2 tsp of diced celery or 2 tsp of chopped parsley...