These were not the kind of crab cakes Grandma made. They had peppers, and potato and cut-up bits of tomato in them.
They were served with basil leaves and zucchini blossoms and a latticework made of potatoes.
These were creative crab cakes made by chefs who had been golfing. They were very good.
I tasted these crab cakes at the Central Maryland Chefs & Cooks Association gathering last week at the Turf Valley Hotel and Country Club in Howard County.
After the chefs had whacked golf balls over the Turf Valley course, some of them went back to the hotel and hurried to the kitchen to whip up entries in an informal crab cake-making contest. I was one of three judges who ate the crab cakes and rated the seven entries on flavor, texture and presentation.
For most Marylanders, crab cake-making is a tribal ritual. The recipe is passed from cook to cook, usually with the admonition "Don't forget the secret ingredient."
These vary from family to family.
Any attempt to deviate from an ancient recipe is met with great indignation. Authoritative sources like the beliefs of long-dead ancestors or the recipe on the back of the Old Bay can, are cited. Rebellions are quashed before they get past the kitchen door.
However, these chefs did not treat the crab cake recipe as an untouchable.
Maybe it was because they were cooking on what should have been an afternoon off. Maybe it was because they were among friends. Anyway, they took a few risks and tried some new twists on the venerable old crab cake.
The winner turned out to be the crab cake seasoned with roasted peppers made by Sean Sims, executive chef of the host Turf Valley hotel. It had a delicate, sweet flavor. And it had a strange-looking companion. Sitting on the plate next to the crab cake was a cucumber that had been carved into the shape of a crab.
The second place crab cake was made by Jerry Edwards of Chef's Expressions catering. His had a straight-forward crab taste, and an arty looking companion, a latticework made of potato.
The crab cake made by Curtis Eargle, executive chef of the Maryland Club, won third place. It had pieces of tomato inside the crab cake and was served with crisp leaves of fried basil. It was quite a cake.
Unlike some food contests I had judged, there were no clinkers among these entries. I would have gladly carried home any of the runners-up.
