HOME COOKS: Cooking with Crab

This week’s home cooks are using crab, either fresh or canned, as their main ingredient. Colleen Barrett of Crestview offers her Crab Pie and Rosanne Marshall, whose son lives in Destin, calls herself a “vagabond grandma” and enjoys sharing her Skinny Crab Spread.

Cindy Edgell of New Hampshire said of her Crab Cakes, “I usually just eye it out and taste along the way.” She loves to visit her best friend, Amy Hartmann, here in Destin.

Crab Pie

2- 9” deep pie crusts, baked 3 minutes and cooled

1 lb. lump crab meat, any you prefer

4 eggs

2 Tbsp. flour

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup whole milk

8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese

8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp. finely chopped green pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350; par bake your crust for 3 minutes. (We did spray the pie pans with Pam spray to keep the crust from sticking.)

Combine eggs, flour, mayonnaise and milk; mix well. Add remainder of the ingredients, except crab meat, and mix well.

Fold in crab meat and try not to separate the lumps of crab meat too much. Pour into 2 separate pie crusts, sprinkle with additional Old Bay Seasoning.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Check at about 40 minutes to avoid burning, since ovens vary.

Skinny Crab Spread

1/2 cup non fat sour cream

8 oz. fat free cream cheese

1 1/2 tsp, horseradish

1 tsp. Worcestershire

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. Tabasco

4 oz fat free cheddar cheese

8 oz. cooked flaked crab

Mix all. Chill and serve with Rice Cakes. Good for salad on bed of lettuce, in Pita or on any crackers.

Crab Cakes

3 pkgs. Ritz Crackers

1 egg

1 cup minced sautéed celery

1/4 cup minced onion

1 lb. crab meat

1 Tbsp. nutmeg

1 lemon

Mix mashed up crackers and egg.

Sauté celery and onion. Add crab and nutmeg.

Line pan with olive oil. Form meatball size cakes.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Spritz with lemon.

Serve with Honey Dijon dipping sauce.