Crab Cakes and Creamy Coleslaw

I entered "Crab Cake Recipe" into my search engine and I got 1,390,000 hits, so I really don't expect anyone to think that my recipe is anything special, but it is popular at my house. I actually intended my first recipe post to be "Chayote Spaghetti with Cilantro", but after spending the better part of the day searching various grocery stores for Chayote Squash, I resigned myself to saving that one for another day (stay tuned).

Instead, I found myself in the usual scramble to figure out something for dinner without having taken anything out of the freezer this morning before I left for work. Solution? An old favorite, Crab Cakes and Creamy Coleslaw. For a nice quick dipping sauce to serve with the crab cakes I mixed a couple tablespoons of miracle whip into a half cup of bottled seafood sauce. I also used dehydrated potato flakes to make the mashed potatoes, but I omitted the butter from the instructions on the box.

Crab Cakes
450g (1 pound) imitation crab meat
1 cup mashed potato
2 tsp dried summer savoury
1/4 cup egg beater (or 1 large egg)
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko
cooking spray

1. Coarsely chop imitation crab meat.

2. In large bowl mix crab with potato, savoury, onion, cilantro and egg. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Using 1/3 cup per patty, shape into 8 patties about 3" in diameter and coat lightly in panko.

4. Place on parchment lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Spray a little bit more cooking spray on the tops of the crab cakes.

5. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

I like to serve my crab cakes with coleslaw. My favorite recipe is a creamy coleslaw that still has a vinegary tang to it. My daughter's favorite coleslaw; however, is bright green and comes from KFC. I have actually considered using green food colouring, but somehow I don't think she'll be fooled. I like to cut up my cabbage to make skinny strips, but if pressed for time I just throw it in the food processor. I often get my husband, Mario, to make the first cut down through the big cabbage with the heavy duty chef's knife, because... well... better his fingers than mine.

Creamy Coleslaw
1/2 head of large cabbage, chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced small
1 large carrot, grated
1 tsp celery seed

For Dressing:
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

1. For dressing, combine flour, mustard, and sugar in a saucepan. Add egg yolks, cayenne pepper, melted butter, milk and vinegar. Turn stove to medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Let cool

2. Mix cabbage carrots, onion, celery seed and dressing. Depending on how big your cabbage was, your coleslaw may not seem wet enough, add a little more milk.