Down by the Bay

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There are few pleasures in life better than a hot summer day by the shore surrounded by friends and people who don’t just love to eat, but revel in it.

Our Tonija hails from a family of real foodies and cooks. Her mom and stepfather own this amazing place in St. Michael’s, off the Chesapeake Harbor near Annapolis, Maryland. Her stepfather, Peter (a real idol of mine) has one room dedicated to cookbooks. Hundreds of them. Their kitchen has ridiculously awesome gas ranges with copper pots and iron skillets hanging from the low-beam ceiling. Tonija’s mom, one of the most graceful and gracious women I have ever met (in addition to being gorgeous and scary smart), will just feed you and feed you and feed you. I never leave hungry (or without a plate) from their home.

Tonija generously invited colleagues and friends for a crabfest down at St. Michae’s for a real Maryland crabfest. Her mom and Peter cooked up a storm, and we spent an entire day feasting on fresh Maryland crabs with melted butter and paprika and countless “sides” which were full meals into themselves. My boyfriend and I had just started dating then and even though he hates traffic, he took the long drive with me, not even minding the incessant summer bumper-to-bumper on Bay Bridge. He wasn’t disappointed.

Even though I think I out-ate everyone (no surprise to most who know me), we had pounds of crab left over, so Tonija’s mom and Peter packed us each huge Ziploc bags with ice with crabs to take home. Now I am someone who loves LOVES to get into my food. With food like crab, there is no place for particulars of “oh-I-only-eat-daintily-with-my-fork.” You just need to get in there and dig and suck all the lovely juices.

So I proceeded to take spend the rest of the evening on my kitchen floor cracking each crab open to dig out the meat. After suffering dozens of cuts – some deep, some shallow – on on all fingers and palms, I ended up with a pound of fresh, juicy, lump crabmeat. I found an easy recipe for crab cakes and an evening later, my boyfriend and I had another lovely reminder of the day by the shore. I hate to brag, but they were probably the best crab cakes I have ever eaten. I don’t think it had to do with me, just the fact that the crab cake were pregnant with the freshest crab meat ever and with little filling.

Crab Cakes (sorry, no photo – my fingers were so cut up and tender I could barely hold a cup at this point)

1 lb crab meat (fresh, lump if you can)
1 egg
½ cup salted crackers or wheat crackers, crushed
1/3 cup parsley, minced
2 TB organic mayonnaise
1 tsp paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Mix crabmeat with crushed crackers, egg, parsley and mayonnaise until everything is well blended but not overly mixed. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Form little palm-sized cakes. They may be really moist, but that’s OK, they will stiffen up and cook nicely without being dry. But in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to firm.
3. Sprinkle with paprika and cayenne pepper for taste.
4. Heat bottom-heavy skillet with oil.
5. Fry each crab cake for about 5 minutes each side until both sides are browned.
6. Enjoy.

The cuts on my hands were well worth it.

Tags: Annapolis, crab cakes, crabs, Maryland, recipe, Recipe Vault, shores, summer

Category: Recipe Vault, Travel & Culture, US & Canada