Katherine Hall Page

Recipes

Note: the selection will change periodically, so copy these down while you can!
Also see:

Two Great Summer Recipes!

Crab Cakes

What you need:

1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably Hellman's
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon mustard, Dijon
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, drained
1 cup crumbled saltines, 25-30 crackers
Vegetable oil

People have very strong feelings about crab cakes. They're like barbeque—beef or pork? Catsup based or mustard based sauce? With crab cakes, the debate starts with the crab —Maryland, Louisiana, and Maine devotees weighing in on one coast; Washington on another. Faith loves all and any crab, but is partial to Maine's Peekytoe crab, because she lives there. Then, breading, crackers, or potato as binding? Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, Tabasco or all three to complement the crustacean? Celery? Onions? The following is the recipe Faith's family prefers after many happy trials. The Fairchilds like their crab cakes crabby with as few additions as possible.

Combine the mayonnaise, egg, and mustard. Mix well, then fold in the crabmeat and saltines. Faith puts the saltines between 2 sheets of waxed paper and rolls them with a rolling pin to crumble them. Let the mixture stand for about 3 minutes before shaping it into patties. This recipe makes 12 patties. Put them on a baking sheet, cover with waxed paper or Saran and refrigerate for an hour.

Fry the cakes in vegetable oil, about 3-4 minutes on a side until they are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve. Do not fry the cakes in olive oil or any other oil with a strong taste. Faith uses canola oil.

For spicy cakes, add 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce to the first three ingredients. Faith often serves her crab cakes with a dab of mayonnaise mixed with Old Bay seasoning to taste on the side.

Rhubarb Crumble

What you need:

1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 pounds of rhubarb
3/4 to 1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons flour

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Toast the walnuts in a baking pan until lightly browned and aromatic. Let cool and coarsely chop.
Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and stir to mix. Working quickly with your hands or a pastry blender, add the butter until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Stir in the chopped walnuts and set aside.
Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut it into 1/2” slices (about 6 cups).
Put the rhubarb in a large bowl and add the sugar and flour. Toss until the rhubarb is well-coated. Spread the rhubarb evenly into a 12” baking dish. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake until the rhubarb is tender and bubbling, approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
Faith also makes this with strawberries, both fruits happily in season at the same time. You simply replace half or more of the rhubarb with halved berries.