Maryland Style Crabcakes

Even though crab meat is packaged fresh and clean of shell there are
always some shell fragments remaining. Open the crab meat, dump into
a clean dish, and with scrupulously clean hands, pick through and
clean the crabmeat of all shell fragments. Be careful of the
delicate nature of such a high quality product and try not to crumble
the large lumps of crab. Mix the crabmeat with the sweet peppers,
garlic, jalapeno, cilantro leaves, and mayonnaise. Add the seasoning
powder, 4 tablespoons of the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix well
then refrigerate the mixture for twenty minutes. A cold mix is easier
to work with and form into cakes. Cover a work surface with waxed
paper and sprinkle with half of the remaining bread crumbs. Scoop up
and divide the crabmeat into 6 equalsize portions and place each
mound on the work space. With the a portion of crab in the palm of
one hand pat the crab with the fingers of your other hand into a
diskshaped cake approximately 3/4-inch thick. It is important for the
crab cakes to be the same thickness so that they will cook uniformly.
Pat each cake with the bread crumbs, turning them so they coat evenly
on all sides. Refrigerate for at least an hour so that the firm
enough to cook and in this way prevent them from crumbling. Preheat
the oven to 375 degrees. Not more than half an hour before you plan
to serve the crab cakes add enough oil to cover the bottom of a saute
pan. Heat until just before it begins to smoke. Add the crab cakes
gently, being careful not to crowd the pan. (Cook them in two batches
if necessary.) Turn the cakes and brown the second side. When the
crab cakes are well browned to a rich golden on both sides, place on
a heat proof platter and into a 375 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes to
ensure that they are fully cooked and hot at the center. Serve with
chili mayonnaise and a mango salad.

Yield: 6 to 8 crabcakes, 4 to 6 appetizer portions or 4 main course
portions.