Destination # 13 - Maryland

Maryland is one of those states out yonder somewhere that I have been to on random occasions once or twice (or thrice) perhaps. My last visit to Maryland was only just recently in 2010 when Drake and I took the Metro out to the first stop across the Maryland/D.C. border so that we could boast having found a Geocache in the great state of Maryland. We found 4, in fact, in a short 30 minute jaunt and thus considered it a trip well worth taking. Back when I was 18 or 19 I took a vacation to D.C. and Maryland with my boyfriend (yes; it's true, I once had one) and I remember finding Annapolis to be surprisingly charming and beautiful. I recall the "downtown" corridor to be an aesthetic brick paved street lined with double-story brick houses only the bottom story was always a merchant business of some sort with a residential household on top of it. If I were to live in a house stacked on top of a merchant, I would most certainly insist that it was a pizza joint or a bakery. I'm just sayin'. What I recall of the U.S. Navel Academy, located in Annapolis, was that I had never seen an expanse of lawn so neatly manicured nor so many men dressed in the exact same uniform, all with the exact same crew cut, the same gait, glance, demeanor, drawl, cup size, etc. It was like walking onto a movie set of Pleasantville with the same actor replicated 1,500 times playing the role of the Tin Soldier.

For Maryland our food choice was as no-brainer. Crab Cakes. Duh! We made these tonight served up with some sweet corn and some Bubbly because Bubbly is elegant and so are crab cakes (and so are my pink champagne flutes that we bought to benefit breast cancer but look shockingly like giant pink butt-plugs and thus we refer to them as such).

I should explain that the recipe here is Drakey's own creation and not to an exact science. She uses the "ORSO" unit of measurement so feel free to use your own judgement if you want more or less of any particular ingredient; or so. The cakes turned out AH-MAZING!!!

Maryland Crab Cakes - recipe courtesy of Drakey Reilly Kendermore

1 lb loose crab meat
1/2 cup mayo
1 1/8 cup ORSO crushed Club crackers
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup ORSO finely chopped celery stalk
1/4 cup ORSO finely chopped red bell pepper
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 dash and a slight pause of lemon juice

Slightly mix all the ingredients together (EXCEPT FOR THE CRAB) until everything is in a rough paste. Gently fold crab in so that it is not overworked.

Heat olive oil in large saute pan until hot on medium-high heat and then turn down to medium. Form 4 patties and place them into the frying pan, cooking each side until it is golden brown; about 4-5 minutes ORSO on each side. Drain the patties on a paper towel and repeat with the remaining 4 patties.