This is one dinner with SOUL! I love making soul food once in awhile, and this dinner was a true test of the term “non-perishable food item”. After doing inventory of my pantry, in the back I found two cans of crabmeat that were at least 3–5 years old. Scary stuff, but still worth a shot, I thought.

I prefer kale to collard and mustard greens, but they’re all quite good. I just used a recipe in my trusty How to Cook Everything book and it was a huge success.

The crabcake recipe was improvised with stuff I had around the house and it was absolutely incredible; extremely flavorful and even better the next day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans crabmeat (lump is best, but I just used regular crabmeat)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise (I used half regular and half chipotle mayo)
• Creole seasoning (I like Zatarain’s)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 small onion, diced fine
  1/2 bell pepper, diced fine

Butter & EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Whisk together the eggs, mayo, and seasoning. Then add in breadcrumbs and let them soak for a bit. Next, drain the crabmeat and add the meat. Mix it all together and toss in the fridge or freezer.

Sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Mix into the crabmeat mixture, then toss back in the freezer for at least 10 minutes, the fridge for half an hour. This will make the cakes more solid and easier to form.

Add butter (about 2 tickmarks worth… can’t remember how much each tickmark is) to pan and melt. Form the first patty, about 3-3.5″ across, and place in the pan. Fry over medium heat about 4 minutes each side, adding more butter as it gets soaked up. Keeping the heat at medium should let the cakes cook through without charring the crust.