As you might imagine, when I was a kid we ate a fair amount of crab! This is one of my favorite recipes that my Mom made on a regular basis. She always added half a bag or so of frozen green peas to the creamed crab so feel free to make it completely authentic. I don't like peas. Heh.
Mom's Cornbread
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
1/2 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1 c milk
1 egg, stirred a bit
1/3 c melted bacon fat
1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then pour into a 12x12x2 baking dish or a regular round cake pan. (spray with nonstick if you have it!) Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Meanwhile... cut the top off of a bulb of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Tuck it in the oven next to the cornbread to roast.
Creamed Crab
1-2 crabs worth of crabmeat (about a pound)
3 T butter
3 T flour
3 cups warm milk
1/3 onion, chopped
1/2 roasted garlic bulb, chopped
fresh cracked black pepper
salt to taste
seafood seasoning
1/3 bag frozen peas (Optional!!)
In a pan, sauté the onions in a splash of olive oil on medium heat. Give them a bit of time - I like to get them browned a bit on the edges. Set the onions aside and melt the butter in the pan on medium heat. Whisk in the flour to create a roux, then whisk in the milk to create the white sauce. Turn your burner up to medium high and keep stirring the milk mixture until it heats to almost a boil and gets nicely creamy thick. (If it's too thick, add just a bit more milk.) Season the cream sauce with salt, cracked pepper and seafood seasoning. Get your roasted garlic from the oven and remove 4-5 cloves from the bulb and give them a quick chop. Slide the garlic and the crab meat into the white sauce and stir to combine. If you need to heat it further, keep it to a minimum.... you don't want to necessarily cook your crabmeat much more. Once the cornbread is done, cut a generous wedge, place on a plate and spoon the creamed crab mixture over the top and enjoy! |