THE WEEK'S END: SOUP AND CRAB CAKES

With my can of crab meat from Fresh Direct, I was able to make some fabulous but laborious dishes last night.

Roasted Red Pepper and Crab Soup
Yields: 6 servings

• 6 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into quarters
• 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
• 1 large potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 quart half-and-half cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pound cooked crabmeat, flaked

1. Set the oven to broil, and preheat for 5 minutes.
2. Place the red bell pepper quarters skin-side up on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil until the skins have blackened, then place them in a brown paper bag, or in a covered bowl and allow them to steam for approximately 10 minutes to loosen the skins.
3. Once the skins have loosened, peel them off and discard. Coarsely chop the peeled, roasted peppers, and place into a large saucepan along with the chicken broth and chopped potato. Bring to a boil over high heat, then add the half-and-half, salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and basil. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Once the potatoes have softened, puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into another saucepan and stir in the crab. Heat over medium heat to warm through, about 5 minutes.

*Modifications made: halved the recipe (it was still plenty!), paprika instead of cayenne, some chopped onions, fresh garlic chopped, and fresh basil leaves added

MARYLAND CRAB CAKES
Yields: 6 servings

• 1 1/8 cups crushed saltine crackers
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon prepared brown mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM
• 1 pound crabmeat

1. Preheat oven on broiler setting. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together crushed saltine crackers, mayonnaise, brown mustard, onion, celery, and Old Bay seasoning. Gently stir in the crabmeat. Shape into 6 patties. Place on prepared baking sheet.
3. Broil crab cakes 8 to 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

*Modifications made: low-fat yogurt instead of mayo, own seasoning (dried basil, parsley, paprika, salt, pepper), country dijon mustard.

We accidentally overcooked the crab cakes a little while watching Rachel Getting Married but it was still good and A kept saying, "I feel so guilty for having crab cakes as a meal."

<3,
C