Very short and sweet: Barbara made her signature crab cakes tonight — baked instead of fried.  Outstanding!  Paired with a 2013 Villa Creek white wine: 80% Grenache Blanc and 20% Rousanne — Rhône Valley by way of Paso Robles.  Perfect match and a great meal, when accompanied by steamed broccoli and carrots sautéed in olive oil and apple cider.

Update – 12/14/15

By popular demand, this post has been updated to include the recipe (below).  As the consumer and critic (Barbara is the chef here), I believe the keys to success with this dish are the following:

• superior premium jumbo lump crab meat (we used a can of Stavis Seafoods wild-caught crab from the Philippines, bought at the Quarterdeck in Maynard).
• very fine dice for the celery (Barbara is expert at that)
• top-notch bread for the bread crumbs (made from slices of Jessica’s Tuscan Pane, crusts trimmed off, chopped fine in the food processor, and toasted light brown)

Buon appetito!