We are back on South Beach diet, after our New Year's revels. So this should be the first of a series of recipes I will tentatively label "South Beach Gourmet" series.... Philippe and I love the south beach diet because it allows you to eat well while loosing weight. Although we do not eat the recipes in the book, because we love food way too much to use the prepackaged stuff recommended. I know they are for mom and pop America, but that's not really our bag... we're California meets France, and we want organic products and elegant combinations.

Crab cakes is a really easy recipe, unless you do it the way we did... we bought four live crabs, and then Philippe killed and shelled them. that's a project. But we learned 1 crab per person works out to one crab = 3 crabcakes = one person full (with a green salad).

It's Dungeness crab season right now in California, which means really good really cheap crab-- 2.99 a pound at the Mountain View Chinese grocery! Of course, one could buy just the meat-- but quality gets harder to assure then.

Philippe adapted this recipe from several, removing breadcrumbs and flour dredging-- which turned out to be quite unnecessary.

South Beach Gourmet Crab Cakes (invented by philippe!)

1 pound fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over to remove shell
4 scallions, sliced fine(about ½ cup)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herb, such as thyme, chervil, basil, or parsley
1+ cup fresh made mayonnaise
Salt and ground white pepper
1 large egg
splash soy sauce
vegetable oil
Lemon wedges or dipping sauce

1. Gently mix the crabmeat, scallions, herb, mayonnaise in a medium bowl, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Carefully fold in the egg with a rubber spatula until the mixture just clings together.

2. Divide the crab mixture into four portions and shape each into a fat, round cake, about 3 inches across and 1½ inches high. Arrange the cakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. (The crab cakes can be refrigerated up to 24 hours-- but cook to keep longer. Mayo is unstable!.)

3. Heat the oil in a large, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Gently place chilled crab cakes in the skillet; pan-fry until the outsides are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook, as they will take a burned taste and loose moistness if blackened in areas. Serve immediately with salad.