$15,000 Crab Cakes with Creole Mustard Sauce

[Sponsored.] Lisa Schroeder, a member of SAVEUR's chef advisory board, the Tastemakers, offers up this recipe from her days at the Culinary Institute of America. These crisp-brown cakes are well worth their price tag. Top with a tangy creole mustard sauce for an elegant appetizer.

SERVES 4-5

INGREDIENTS

For the Creole Mustard Sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ up Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. plus two tsp. stone ground mustard

¼ tbsp. sugar

1½ tsp. cider vinegar

For the Crab Cakes:

½ tbsp. vegetable oil

½ lb. cod fillets

¼ tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper and salt

2 tsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. finely chopped celery

¼ lb. bacon, cut into fine dice (about 6 slices)

¼ lb. Ritz crackers (35 crackers, 1 sleeve)

1 lb. Dungeness or blue crab meat

2 green onions, finely chopped

¾ cup mayonnaise

½ tbsp. Dijon mustard

½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. Tabasco® sauce

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 ½ cups panko

½ cup vegetable oil or more if needed (oil should come up to 1/3 the height of the crab cakes in the pan)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the Creole mustard sauce, whisk together all ingredients, and chill.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking pan. Place cod on pan and season with salt and black pepper. Bake until cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Flake the fish into a large bowl and remove any bones. Set aside.

3. Place a small sauté pan over medium-high heat for several minutes, add the butter and celery, sauté until soft. Transfer to a plate and let cool, and then place in the bowl with the cod. Return the sauté pan to medium-high heat, add bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain; set aside.

4. Grind crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor, add to cod. Gently mix half of the crab, green onions, cooked bacon, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco into cod. Fold in remaining crab. To make the cakes, shape ¼ cup of crab mixture into a ball and flatten into a patty. Coat both sides of each patty in flour, then dip in a bowl of beat eggs and cover with panko.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is sizzling hot, add the crab cakes in a single layer and fry on each side until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan, and blot dry on the paper towels, then transfer to the rack to cool. Serve with Creole Mustard Sauce drizzled on top.