Cornbread Crab Cakes

This is another Southern Living crab cake recipe.  It's a little more involved and time-consuming if you make your own cornbread (which I recommend), but the difference is worth it.  They were delicious, but it does make 12 crab cakes, so unless you are cooking for a crowd I would recommend cutting the recipe in half.  

Crab Cakes

2/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used fat-free)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp hot sauce (add a few extra dashes if you like hot)
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp lemon zest
2 cups cornbread crumbs
1 lb fresh lump crabmeat, shredded or broken into small pieces
Saute bell pepper, green onion, and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cool.  Combine bell pepper mixture, mayonnaise, parsley, eggs, hot sauce, Old Bay, and lemon zest in large bowl.  Fold in cornbread crumbs and shredded crabmeat.  Shape mixture into cake (about 2.5 inches each), place on lightly greased baking sheet.  Chill for 45 minutes.  Lightly coat cakes with cooking spray.  Cook crab cakes in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until lightly browned on each side (about 5-7 minutes per side).  Serve immediately.

It was also recommended to serve these with a jalapeno-cilantro sour cream.  I did not think it was necessary, the crab cakes were delicious on their own.  But if you want to try it, here's the recipe:

Jalapeno-Cilantro Sour Cream

1 8oz container sour cream
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Mix together and chill until use (up to 3 days).