food comas

Last year, Natalya and I attended the Meatball Master Class at the De Gustibus Cooking School which was taught by Daniel Holzman of the The Meatball Shop.  The first item served were mini crabmeat and potato chip “meatballs” with old bay and pea and cabbage slaw.  I loved the addition of crushed kettle cooked potato chips as it added a delicious crunch to the crabcakes.  However, even though I bought unsalted potato chips, I still found the original recipe to be too salty.  Next time, I would suggest cutting the amount of Old Bay Seasoning in half as that stuff is super potent.

Serve these scrumptious crabcakes with a refreshing Spring Pea and Cabbage Slaw with Old Bay and a delicate dessert wine which will also balance the salty, spicy Old Bay.  A light, fizzy Lambrusco would be a great pairing!

Mini Maryland Crabcake Balls (recipe by Daniel Holzman of The Meatball Shop)

Yields: about 32 3/4″ meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb jumbo lump crab meat, picked for shells
• 1 1/2 C crushed plain kettle cooked potato chips
• 1/2 C mayonnaise
• 2 T old bay seasoning (I would cut this in half and use only 1 T… way too salty otherwise!)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C breadcrumbs (not panko)
• 1/2 t salt
• juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 T)
• Optional: minced scallions

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Evenly coat a large baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly to incorporate.

Roll the mixture into round 3/4 inch meatballs making sure to pack the meat firmly.  Place the balls onto the oiled baking dish such that all the meatballs are lined up evenly in rows in a grid.

Roast until firm and cooked through (about 10 minutes).  Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tray.

Serve with a refreshing Spring Pea and Cabbage Slaw with Old Bay.