Corn Muffin Shrimp Cakes Talk about your not-so-secret ingredients! This might be a nutritional wasteland, but it tastes great. I expect to see a variation of this recipe turn up at a Chili's or TGI Friday's someday; it's that kind of thing. 1 lb. raw bay or other small shrimp, coarsely diced 1 Dunkin' Donuts or other large, fattening corn muffin 3 pilot biscuits, or equivalent in plain crackers, see below 1 T butter 2 shallots 1 lge. stalk of celery, diced 1/2 c. chicken broth 1/4 c. water 1 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. powdered mustard White pepper to taste 3/4 c. panko (Japanese bread crumbs) Additional butter for cooking Crumble the corn muffin and toast the crumbs in a toaster oven for 2 or 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Crush the pilot biscuits in a blender (or just put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin). They can be a little rough. Between the muffin and the cracker crumbs you should have about 1 1/2 cups. Combine the crumbs with the diced shrimp in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan and cook the shallots and celery over medium heat until the onions are soft but not golden. Add the chicken broth and water, bring to a boil and cook another few minutes, until the celery and onions are quite tender. Let cool for a minute or two, then add to the shrimp mixture along with the salt, mustard and white pepper, and stir up well. The mixture should be moist enough to form cakes; if not, add a bit more liquid (water, broth or even cream). When ready to cook (the mixture can stay in the fridge several hours or overnight), spread the panko in a pie tin or small baking pan, form the mixture into patties about three-quarter inch thick, and coat well with the panko, pressing it in by hand. Heat about two teaspoons of butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the patties, turning once, until golden. Cook in batches, as required, adding additional butter to fry each batch. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce. Makes about eight patties. Notes: I've written before about Nabisco Pilot Biscuits, largish plain crackers which are the closest descendant of the sailor's infamous hardtack, and which seem to be available only in New England. You can substitute about four Vermont common crackers or six plain saltines per pilot biscuit, or just make up the difference with commercial bread crumbs, which tend to be cracker-like. I like the juiciness of celery in this recipe, but you can easily substitute red pepper, if you like the flash of color and additional sweetness, or just omit altogether. Whatever you use, about 3/4 cup of vegetable matter, including the shallots (or onion, of course) would be right for this amount of shrimp. In reading my notes for this recipe, which I made a few weeks ago, I have to wonder if I actually added a beaten egg or two but forgot to write it down. I seem to remember being surprised how rich it felt with just broth and water, and thinking perhaps it was the eighteen grams of fat in the muffin which obviated the need for the ten grams of fat in two eggs. At any rate, eggs are always an option, though controversial in New England-style seafood cakes. Consider an egg or two nonetheless, if you make this with lean cornbread crumbs instead of a commercial muffin.
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