Creamed Crab and Cornbread

~serves 4 with extra cornbread

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 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!