Crab Cakes and Salad

After making some of Jan's Crab Dip (see recipe below), we had some extra lump crab meat in the fridge. What does one do with crab? So, we looked up some recipes online and decided to try a food network recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/crab-cakes-recipe/index.html).

Crab Cakes
These crab cakes had a lot of flavor from the veggie mixture described in the recipe. The sauteed vegetables and seasonings were delicious (can be used with other seafood dishes, mixed with shrimp and diced tomatoes over rice) but when we make them again, we'll make some changes:

-There was too much filler compared to the amount of crab, so try to 1/2 the veggie amounts
-The crab cakes didn't hold together well so we had to add extra breadcrumbs which made the crab cakes a little bland...we'll work on the best way to fix that (any suggestions?)
-There was WAY too much salt! I recommend holding back with the salt and then cook a mini crab cake to test the seasoning (same strategy works well for burgers and meatballs).
-We fried 1/2 the batch and broiled 1/2 the batch, and the broiled batch were actually much much better. We sprayed both sides with cooking spray, and this batch was crunchier and held together better (and had the added benefit of being healthier!)

Crab Cake Sauce
-The proportions of this sauce is entirely to your taste depending on how much you like mayo and mustard. We tend to go heavier on the mustard than the mayo, but to each their own!
-We mixed some mayo, brown mustard, and a small amount of sour cream with the zest and juice of one lemon, a small amount of Old Bay seasoning, pepper, and Cholula hot sauce for some heat.

Delicious Salad
This is a variation on salad that we make all the time. Pick any green that looks good that day, an extra veggie like tomatoes or cucumbers, a nut for some crunch, a crumbled cheese if we have some, and sometimes dried cranberries. For the dressing we like to switch up the type of vinegar to make things interesting (red wine, balsamic, champagne, white wine, apple cider, etc) or even just some lemon juice with some good extra virgin olive oil. Then we pair the extra ingredients (like mustard) and spices with the meal we are having that day.
Tonight's salad:
-Baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, chopped almonds, gorgonzola, and crispy prosciutto
-Dressing: Champagne vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano
*To make crispy prosciutto (which is good as a crispy topper for anything) - Put a few slices on a sprayed cookie sheet in a 450 oven for around 6 minutes. Watch them! Don't let them get totally crispy in the oven, they finish cooking when you take them out and can easily burn. After they cool for a few minutes, break them up and top something or snack away.

Jan's Crab Dip
-1 package of cream cheese (we use 1/3 less fat because who can tell the difference?)
-Crab meat (this depends on how much crab you like - we used about 1/2 of a large can from Trader Joe's, but there are small cans next to the tuna)
-Serve it with plenty of cocktail sauce in the middle and triscuits on the side.
-And for a slight break from tradition, I added a little Old Bay seasoning, a few drops of worcestershire sauce, and a few drops of hot sauce