Sick Of Stuffing? Here's Your Easy But Awesome Lowcountry Crab Cakes

Welcome back, Wonkers. Whether you celebrated with family or had a Friendsgiving, I hope your Festival of Gastronomic Excess was excessively festive, gastronomically amazing, and not marred by overbearing Trumpsters!

But now, we have the aftermath with which to deal. Just LOOK at those mountains of leftovers! Today, we're going to look at:

CREATIVE WAYS TO USE THANKSGIVING LEFTOV. . . Ouch! Who threw that? You could've taken the dressing OUT OF THE DAMN BOWL first. Nearly gave me a concussion!

What? A little louder, I can't hear you over the ringing in my ears. List ofdemands? No no no no no. This is MY kitchen, at most you make reque . . . Uh, OK ok ok ok. Put the cleaver down - I'm listening.

*takes notes* Wait, wait! Slow down . . .

All right. Let me see if I got this right: you never want to see turkey again,EVER; were quite creative in your suggestions of what you'd do to me if I even mentioned "dressing"; almost as adamant that I'm not to use sweet potatoes, pumpkins or any other squash; had truly dreadful things to say about those crispy onion things; and Idon't want to knowwhat Cranberry Sauce ever did to make you feel so strongly about it.0.oThere's more, but I see the pattern.

Soooooooooo . . . maybe something NOT traditionally associated with Turkeyday, then? Not a problem! I got this. We good.

Hungry yet?

How about something that can be, depending on presentation, delightfully decadent or comfortably casual? Exquisitely elegant on a toasted muffin with Hollandaise for brunch, yet relaxed country-cooking when served with a side of fries? This is how I makeLOWCOUNTRY STYLE CRAB CAKES, and you should give it a shot!

Prep time: 1 1/4 hours (includes resting time)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total: 1 1/2 hours

Makes 8 Crab Cakes

WHAT YOU NEED!

What You Need! Mostly.

1. 3 tablespoons butter

1. 1/2 cup minced red onions

1. 1/3 cup minced red bell pepper

1. 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

1. 3/8 tsp Thyme

1. 1/3 cup mayonaise

1. 1 lb lump or jumbo lump crabmeat (picked over for shells and drained of any liquid)

1. 3/4 cups panko (You can cut this back to 1/2 cup, if you are willing to be very gentle turning the cakes as they will be fragile)

1. 2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1. 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. 6 tablespoons olive oil

WHAT TO DO WITH WHAT YOU NEED!

Such precise knifework!

• Sautee the red Bell pepper and onion in the butter 5 minutes, or until tender. Allow to cool.

• Place onions, bell pepper, tarragon, thyme and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl and combine. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Add the panko and season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. The panko will absorb some of the moisture and the mixture will stay together.

• Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a clean counter surface.

• Place half of the crab mixture on it and roll it into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Bring the wrap up over the crab and roll the crab mixture up. Twist the ends to close. Pierce any air pockets with a toothpick or skewer. Twist the ends even tighter to compress the crab mixture. Tuck under the ends of the wrap and place the tube on a plate. Repeat with the second half of the crab cake mixture. Place the tubes in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.

• Cut the logs of crabmeat into 1 1/4-inch-thick cakes. Gently remove the plastic wrap, leaving the cakes in nice cylinders.

• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (non-stick works well here) over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking.

• Gently place 4 of the crab cakes in the pan and sear for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Gently turn the cakes over and sear the other side until golden brown.

• Place them on a baking sheet and into the oven to keep warm. Wipe the pan, add the remaining olive oil and repeat this process for the other 4 crab cakes.

And, DONE! Plate. Garnish, in this case, with coarsely chopped tarragon & finely diced Red Peppers.

Best served with copious amounts of wine and good friends. The friends are more important than the wine.

Thank each other, Wonkers, for being friends. I certainly do.

Peace out, y'all.