Crab Cakes with creamy garlic pasta

I love crab cakes but have always been too intimidated to make them. I mean it's only served in quality restaurants so clearly it's not something I can replicate, right? So wrong! Crab cakes are so easy to make but really adds the gourmet element to your everyday dinners.

I also made some creamy (low fat) garlic pasta with artichoke and capers to accompany the dish. Ohh la la!

Crake cakes ~ makes 4 cakes, serves 2, cook time 8 minutes
You'll need:
4 oz lump crabmeat
1 & 1/2 cups of bread crumbs (I used Italian)
1 tablespoon of mayo
1 tablespoon of spicy brown mustard (you can also use dijon)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of parsley (dried or fresh)
2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil

Mix all ingredients except the olive oil together. Divide the mixture into 4. Shape into patties. (at this point I put my patties back in the fridge to stay chilled while I began cooking the pasta)  Heat olive oil on medium heat, cook about 4 minutes each side. They should be golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Creamy garlic pasta ~ serves 2, 8 - 10 minutes depending on the pasta
You'll need:
6 - 8 cloves of garlic
4 - 6 canned artichoke hearts
1 tablespoon capers
2 cups chicken stock (I used water with chicken bouillon)
8 oz of wheat angel hair pasta
3/4 cup fat free half & half (you can also use heavy cream)
1 tablespoons olive oil

Mince garlic and roughly chop artichoke hearts. Saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant about 1 minute.  Add artichokes and capers for 1 minute.  Pour in chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to box directions.  (While the pasta is cooking is when I start browning the crab cakes so they will both be done roughly about the same time) With about a minute left on the cooking time, the stock should be very close to being reduced, add half & half, let it cook the remaining minute. Serve immediately, you do not want this pasta to congeal.  Certainly you can top this pasta off with some parmesan if you like for serving.

It's so good! Enjoy!