Crab Cakes From the New Otani

Dear SOS: Right down the street from your office, in the New Otani Hotel, Commodore Perry’s restaurant serves crab cakes in a mild mustard sauce every Friday. Please see if you can weasel the recipe out of them, pretty please.

--DIANA

Dear Diana: Yes, they are fine and we hope our readers enjoy them as much as we did. Check the supermarket fish counter for the crab meat or try a gourmet food store. However, any crab meat, including canned, may be used for crab cakes.

MARYLAND CRAB CAKES WITH DIJON MUSTARD SAUCE

1 pound Maryland Bluepoint crab meat, flaked

1/4 cup chopped chives

2 hard-cooked eggs, diced

Bread crumbs

3 eggs

4 teaspoons Chinese seasoning mix

1/2 cup milk

Flour

1/4 cup butter

Dijon Mustard Sauce

Combine crab meat, chives, hard-cooked eggs, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 whole eggs and seasoning mix in bowl. Form into 12 round or oval patties.

Beat together remaining whole egg and milk. Roll patties in flour, then dip in egg mixture. Coat with additional bread crumbs and fry in hot butter, about 5 minutes, turning often to brown evenly on all sides.

Drain on paper towels. Serve at once with Dijon Mustard Sauce. Makes 6 servings of 2 crab cakes per serving.

Dijon Mustard Sauce

1 shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Saute shallot and garlic in butter until slightly browned. While pan is hot add wine. Cook until alcohol is burned off (flame appearing in pan will subside). Add cream and mustard.

Mix thoroughly and simmer over low heat until sauce is reduced to desired thickness.

Dear SOS: A few years ago you published a recipe for French toast that had a good cinnamon flavor and crispy coating from being deep-fried or almost deep-fried. It was the best I’ve ever tasted.

--SUSAN

Dear Susan: Why don’t you try Queen’s Court Crispy French Toast since we can’t decide which of the many recipes in the file is precisely the one you want. Ok?

QUEEN’S COURT CRISPY FRENCH TOAST

2 cups milk

2 eggs, well beaten

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

12 slices egg bread, 1-inch thick

2 cups sourdough bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Powdered sugar

Syrup

Blend together milk, eggs, 4 tablespoons sugar, salt and cinnamon. Dip bread into egg mixture. Add remaining sugar to crumbs. Roll dipped bread slices into sugared crumbs. Melt butter in skillet. Add bread slices and brown as desired.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with butter and/or your favorite syrup, as desired. Makes 6 servings.