Crabby Thursdays

Our intrepid Howard Thompson is now doing Feel Good Friday not just on Friday, but sometimes also on Monday, it’s THAT popular. So I figure I can do my Friday recipe on a Thursday, as I am taking tomorrow off. As many of you already know, today is my birthday, so I am going to take a long weekend to celebrate. (And thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to wish me a happy birthday! You're the best.)

This recipe comes, not from me or my mother, this time, but from my very, very dear friend Lorraine. She and I became good buddies at Stanford University and have remained friends since. Picture, if you will, a beautiful, buxom redhead with freckles and a great smile. Who speaks Chinese! She had come to Stanford from Mt. Holyoke to get a Masters in Asian Studies, and I had come from Bryn Mawr to do pretty much the same. We ended up taking a seminar together, and soon found ourselves passing notes, like a couple of knuckleheads in grade school, and giggling. Not very scholarly, I know. But we both got our Masters!

If you think my journey from Asian studies to becoming a newscaster in New York was circuitous, listen to Lorraine’s. As I said, she got her degree in Asian Studies, then worked in the Career Planning Office at Caltech for a year or so, then opened an anti-smoking clinic in Oregon, before becoming the Dean of Freshmen at Wesleyan University!

It was while she was there that she wrote a fan letter to the creator of the then-number- one soap, All My Children. Her letter was so terrific and funny (Lorraine is a truly gifted writer, and hilarious, to boot), that she was asked to come to New York to be a writer on the soap. She soon became the head writer, and was there during AMC’s glory days. Don’t I have fascinating friends? And naturally, she’s also a great cook. This is a family recipe.

1 pkg Jumbo lump crabmeat (comes at the seafood counter, chilled, packed in a jar)

Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or use regular bread crumbs

Celery

Onion, medium

Cilantro

Water chestnuts

One egg, beaten

Oil

Salt, pepper

Chop fine, the onion, 2 celery stalks (cut off the ends) and ½ container of water chestnuts (dried off)(If you want meatier cakes, use less celery and water chestnuts)

Mix in a bowl, add crabmeat, add beaten egg, a TBS of oil (any kind you like)

Add about ½ cup of panko to bind the cakes together.

Add salt and pepper

Form the cakes into balls and flatten them with your hand. Then dip both sides into a plate of panko so breadcrumbs form a crust.

Fry over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes per side, till slightly crispy. Pat on paper towels to get rid of oil.

Serve at once!

Thanks, Lorraine!