Mini Crab Cakes w/ Cilantro Lime Sauce + HUGE Giveaway

Do you love going to a good party? Well, I have a treat for you today. I’m hosting a Springtime Progressive Dinner Party with some of my favorite blog friends tonight! From the table scape to appetizers, sides, the main course, and of course drinks and desserts–we all have it covered. And of course we can’t have a dinner party without giving one lucky guest the most amazing giveaway ($650 total value).

I always love bringing an appetizer to a dinner party, so that is what I’m bringing to the party tonight. In an effort to constantly continue to challenge myself  I decided to break out of my comfort zone and make one of my favorite appetizers… Mini Crab Cakes. For some odd reason, they have always intimidated me and I just made them for the first time over Easter. I know–its crazy talk. But I’m so weird like that.

These Mini Crab Cakes are super easy to make. The best part is that you can put the filling together ahead of time and fry them just before your guest arrive, transfer them to a warm oven on 200 degrees Fahrenheit and then serve them once your guest are at your dinner party. I looked at over a dozen recipes and none seemed to really hit me. It wasn’t until Ina’s recipe. It is chocked full of veggies and y’all know me. I love me some veggies!

This recipe also called for cooking the veggies in tasty butter and olive oil. Whenever I’m cooking I love to use Land O Lakes® Butter Half Sticks. The butter stays fresher longer, and like most recipes I find myself only needing 2 tablespoons to a half stick of butter. A few months ago if you would have looked in my butter compartment in my refrigerator you would have seen a handful of half used butter sticks. Now, because of the half sticks you will see one half stick open at a time! Love the connivence and the idea that my food is staying fresher longer!

Back to the Mini Crab Cakes… Your guest are going to not only be impressed you cooked up a fancy appetizer, but they will be in love once you tell them how easy it really is to make crab cakes. Oh and the cilantro lime sauce that accompanies these crab cakes can be made either the day before or right before your guest arrive. The sauce is cool and refreshening!

Crab Cake Recipe Adapted from Ina Garden

Cilantro Lime Sauce – Katie Original Recipe

Mini Crab Cakes w/ Cilantro Lime Sauce + HUGE Giveaway

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 48 mini crab cakes

Author: Katie's Cucina

Ingredients

For the Crab Cakes

• 2 tbsp Land O Lakes® Salted Butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup red onion diced
• 4 stalks celery diced small
• 1 cup red and yellow bell pepper minced
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley minced
• 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8 oz. lump crabmeat drained and picked to remove shells
• 1/2 cup Italian Style bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 extra-large eggs lightly beaten

For frying

• 4 tbsp Land O Lakes® Salted Butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil

For the Cilantro Lime Sauce:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 lime juiced and zested
• 1/4 cup cilantro minced
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• dash of black pepper

Instructions

For the Crab Cakes:

• In a large sauté pan, place the 2 tablespoons Land O Lakes® Salted Butter, 2 tablespoons oil, onion, celery, red/yellow bell peppers, parsley, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay seasoning, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft, (about 15-20 minutes). Cool the vegetables to room temperature.
• In a large bowl, break the lump crabmeat into small pieces (double check to ensure there are no crab shells). Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs to the bowl. Add the cooked mixture of vegetables and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Shape into bite-sized crab cakes (about 1 tablespoon each).

For Frying:

• Heat the Land O Lakes® Salted Butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the mini crab cakes to the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels. To keep them warm place them on a foiled line baking sheet in the oven on 250 degree.

For the Cilantro Lime Sauce:

• In a large bowl, add mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, garlic powder, and dash of pepper. Mix well until incorporated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve the mini crab cakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g

Tried this recipe?Mention @KatieJasiewicz or tag #katiescucina!

Now take a look at all the amazing recipes brought to our Springtime Progressive Dinner Party from my fellow blogging friends!

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And now for the largest giveaway to ever hit Katie’s Cucina! One lucky winner is going to win $650 worth of product so they can host their very own dinner party. Here is what is up for grabs:

• Land O Lakes® Butter
  • One half stick butter dish
  • One product Coupon
  • One serving bowl
  • One set measuring spoons
  • Four dinner plates
• Le Creuset 5 Piece Cast Iron Set
• $150 worth of Dreamfarm kitchen tools!

One winner will be drawn at random using random.org. Must complete the mandatory question to be eligible. Please wait for rafflecopter widget to load–if it does not load please click on the link below. Giveaway ends on April 15, 2013 at 11:59pm.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation or product for participating in the Springtime Progressive Dinner Party. I love these brands and wanted to reward my readers with an amazing giveaway! Land O Lakes®, Le Creuset, and Dreamfarm all provided the prizes for the giveaway. As always all opinions are my own.