These spring and summertime favorites are actually not that hard to make from scratch and you know that they’re going to be delicious if it’s Paula Deen’s recipe.  Here’s the scoop:

Ingredients

Lemon Dill Sauce:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Crab Cakes:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• Cayenne pepper
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 pound white or claw crabmeat, picked free of any bits of shell
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

To prepare the crab cakes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the pepper is limp, approximately 3 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, 1 egg, parsley, cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, to taste, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.

Form the mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with the Parmesan. Pat this topping onto both sides of the patties. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Using a skillet, combine the oil and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Saute the crab cakes in the hot oil-butter mixture for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. These crab cakes can also be baked for 7 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

To serve, spoon a dollop of the lemon dill sauce along side each crab cake.

Source: Food Network