Appetizers

Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes (8 large cakes)

2 lbs crab meat
1-1/4 c fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1 T Dijon Mustard
1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 tsp s & p
1-1/2 tsp flour
1-1/2 tsp veg oil
1-1/2 browned butter, optional garnish (see note)

Remove any shell from crab meat. Place crab meat in bowl. Add bread crumbs and mix thoroughly with hands. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, mustard & worcestershire sauce, then add to crab mixture. Add s & p to taste. For into 8 round cakes and place in refrigerator until ready to use. Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly flour both sides of crab cakes and place in hot, oiled saute pan. Cook over high heat until browned on one side, about 5-6 min. Turn the cakes over and place them in oven until cooked thoroughly, about 7-9 min. Remove from oven. Place cakes on a plate and top with lightly browned butter and lemon juice, if desired. Serve immediately.
Note: To brown butter, cook in saute pan over med heat until it turns delicate brown.


Tomato & Olive Tart (12 servings)

With mortar & pestle or with the side of chef's knife crush:
1 T fennel seeds

Process fennel in food processor for 3 seconds with:
2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt

Cut into 1/2" pieces:
3/4 lb (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

With machine off, scatter butter over dry ingredients. Pulse in 1to 2 second bursts until most of butter is size of peas.
With machine turned off, drizzle 1 T at a time evenly over top:
3 T ice water

Then pulse until no dry patches remain and dough begins to clump into small balls.
Press dough into flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate 40 minutes.
On lighly floured surface, with lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into 14" circle. Fit douh into 12" tart pan with removable bottom, pressing dough into uniform layer evenly over bottom & up sides of pan. Trim edge even with top of tart pan. Prick only bottom of tart all over with a fork.
Position rack in lower third of oven. Heat oven to 400°.
Line crust with aluminum foil. Fill the foil-lined crust with dried beans, rice or pie weights.
Bake crust for 15 minutes. Carefully lift out foil with beans inside.
Brush botoom of crust with:
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Return crust to oven, and bake til crust is golden brown all over, 10 min. Cool on wire rack.
Combine in small bowl:
10 pitted, chopped kalamata olives
2 T chopped shallots
1 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T olive oil

Sprinkle over bottom of cooled crust:
1-1/2 c shredded Italian Fontina cheese

In concentric circles over cheese arrange:
3 lg ripe tomatoes (about 1-1/2 lbs), cut into 1/8" thick slices, well drained on paper toweling

Sprinkle over tomatoes:
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Spoon olive mixture over tomatoes.

Bake tart in oven 20 to 25 min, until cheese is melted & tomatoes are golden & bubbly. Place tart on wrie rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temp.
Garnish with :
Fresh thyme sprigs