When I was young, Friday night often was started with salmon patties, a fairly simple dinner that my mother used to make involving a can of cleaned red salmon, an egg, a handful of soda crackers, a bit of tartar sauce and some french fries. We didn't know that this was an exercise in thrift, turning one can of salmon into dinner for a family. For us it was just Friday night.
So, this quick Saturday lunch with my mother is made in that general spirit. Clean, simple fun with food. I also made one of mother's favorite dishes to go alongside, a simple cucumber salad ala Jacques Pepin, julienned cukes with a simple olive oil and basalmic vinegar dressing with cracked pepper and salt.
The crab cakes are of the Maryland style, using my free sample of Old Bay Seasoning (that's like being sponsored), soda crackers and an egg, along with mustard, mayonaise, dry mustard, and worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and fresh parsely, and 1/2 pound of crab meat. 1/2 t. of each of the Old Bay and dry mustard. 1/2 T of Lee and Perrins. 1/4 cup mayo, and 1 T. Dijon mustard. Juice from 1/2 lemon.
A simple tartar sauce using a t. of relish and 2 t. mayo, plus a skosh of lemon juice and black pepper, finishes it off nicely, and adding a pan seared slice of whole wheat french bread under the crap cake rounds out the meal.
