During the Holidays, Ken and I hosted an open house for our winery “family”. We served the following menu, along with a few bottles of sparkling wine and 1997 Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir. The menu, designed to be “finger food,” played off the wines beautifully.

Grilled Quail Marinated in Quady Vya
Asparagus Wrapped in Beef with Remoulade Sauce
Miniature Crab Cakes with Garlic Aioli
Homemade Romano Cheesesticks
Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Prawns with Marianne Beauchamp’s Famous Salsa

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the celery and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

When cool, add the onions and celery to the beaten eggs. Stir in the cream and add 1 cup of the bread crumbs, the crab meat, mustard, lemon juice and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste and chill for at least 2 hours.

If the crab mixture is too moist to be formed easily into cakes, add the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Form into cakes and dust lightly on both sides with flour. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter until foamy in a heavy skillet. Sauté the cakes for about 4 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.

If you make the crab cakes bite-size, serve with a garlic aioli dipping sauce. If you make them about 3 inches across, serve over black beans. Garnish with lemon and/or lime and sprigs of cilantro.