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INGREDIENTS for CRAB CAKES
1 egg, beaten
1 LB fresh Dungeness crab
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup mayonaisse
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 TBSP dijon mustard
juice from one lemon
1/4 cup green bell peppers, minced
1/4 cup red bell peppers, minced
1 TBSP green onions
2 TBSP parsley, finely chopped
1 TBSP butter
1/4 TSP cayenne pepper

INGREDIENTS for SALAD
4 cups watercress, rinsed
4 oranges, peeled and separated
juice from one lemon
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, cleaned and sliced thinly
Salt and Pepper to taste
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To prepare the crab cakes, heat butter in a sauté pan over medium low heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together shallots, grated cheese, lemon juice, mayo, egg, mustard, bread crumbs, bell pepper, salt and cayenne.  After mixing, add in crab meat, then divide into 8-10 balls.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To prepare salad, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl, toss watercress, orange segments, fennel and onion together.

Remove crab balls from refrigerator and flatten into one inch thick cakes.  Heat 2-3 TBSP oil or butter in a skillet and cook for 4 minutes on each side over medium heat.  Distribute salad mix on chilled plates, top with dressing and crab cakes then serve.

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Wine pairings for this dish are pretty easy.  It’s a flexible dish suitable for many Chardonnay’s or rich whites.  The crab cakes are pretty hearty, so make sure to serve with a white wine that can hang.  I’ve tried oaked Chardonnay’s and unoaked Chardonnays.  The both worked.  Pinot Grigio, Semillion, Viognier and other whites also work.  If I had to pick one wine as the most ideal pairing, it would be the Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay from Livermore.

I’m more of an unoaked Chardonnay kinda guy, but once in a while, you just want that buttery butter ball that even Mrs. Butterworth thinks is buttery.  The Riva Ranch Chardonnay isn’t obnoxious — still refined and a great expression of the vineyard.  Many people don’t realize the Wente’s were one of the first wine family’s in California going back to the 1850’s.  They’ve quietly gone about producing consistent well-priced estate wines.

The Riva Ranch has a creamy “dusty” texture with mineral highlights that can best be described as a combination of wet rocks and smoke.

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INGREDIENTS

3 tuna steaks cut in into 1-1/4 inch thick (about a pound each)
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP capers, drained
1 lemon, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 TBSP parsley, finely chopped
4 TBSP butter
Seas Salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat grill (or broiler) to medium high. Brush both sides of tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter is light brown.
Cut lemon slices into quarters. Add them, along with their juice, along with capers to saucepan. Reduce heat and cook stirring frequently.
Grill, or broil tuna turning once until charred outside and slightly pink inside (about 3-4 minutes per side).
Transfer tuna to large platter and cut into thick strips. Pour lemon and caper sauce over fish and serve garnished with parsley.

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Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound white asparagus, blanched
1 pound fresh crab meat, cooked
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons
1 TSP Old Bay seasoning
½ cup finely chopped fresh mild herbs (parsley, thyme)
¼ cup sour cream
1 head of radicchio or red endive, cut in half lengthwise
Salt and Pepper
2 TBSP chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Preheat grill to high. In small bowl mix together 2/3 cup olive oil, juice from lemons and herbs. Marinate white asparagus in ¾ of the mixture for 35-40 mins. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over top. Keep the remaining ¼ off to the side.
Brush radicchio on both sides with 2 TBSP. olive oil, and grill on each side for 4-5 minutes. Set aside. In a new small mixing bowl toss crab meat, sour cream, Old Bay seasoning with remaining ¼ olive oil and herb mixture.
To serve, fan out red endives on a small plate followed by white asparagus on top. Then spoon crab mixture on top of white asparagus.

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