Shrimp Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce

John and I went on a vacation this summer to Bar Harbor in Maine. It was the best vacation I've ever been on. We've been to many islands- St. Lucia, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and many more- but Bar Harbor stole the show for the most beautiful place I've ever been. All of the pictures in my "About Me" section are from there- it was just such a special trip for us. When we were there we ate our way through many fabulous restaurants. We sampled so many crab cakes I'm surprised we came home able to fit in our pants- it was serious stuff. It was probably the 6 hours of daily hiking uphill (in both directions, of course ::wink wink::) that helped though.

John has been begging me to make crab cakes and I keep putting it off. I don't know why, probably because crab is new to me and I'm not as confident with it. So when I saw a recipe pop up for shrimp cakes I was psyched- shrimp is something I'm quite familiar with! This recipe was excellent. I changed it a bit, coating it in seasoned bread crumbs and pan searing it, plus making a red pepper dipping sauce in honor of the fabulous crab cakes with red pepper sauce we had in Bar Harbor. I loved the combo of filling for these, I mean rice AND panko?!?! YES PLEASE! I chose to bread them with bread crumbs instead of panko because I knew it would stick better with minimal oil, so if you choose to coat them in panko up the oil a bit.  This is really a must make dinner- John and I were such fans and it'll be made time and time again.

Oh, and just for fun, here are a couple pictures from that amazing vacation to Bar Harbor!

Acadia National Park

This picture is taken at the restaurant, The Chart Room, where we had those insane crab cakes that inspired my dipping sauce!

Shrimp Cake
Source: Adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner?

Ingredients:
1/2 pound raw shrimp, finely chopped
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup cooked rice (brown or white)
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. minced scallions
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs
Olive oil

Directions:
1- In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients from shrimp to egg, stirring well.
2- Refrigerate the mixture at least 30-60 minutes.
3- Shape the mixture into two-three patties. Dip the patties into the bread crumbs and set aside on a plate.
4- In a large skillet coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of olive oil, about 3 tbsp.
5- Heat the oil. Once it's hot, place the patties in and allow to cook 4-5 minutes over medium heat or until golden. Flip and repeat. Serve hot with the red pepper sauce.

Red Pepper Sauce
Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 jarred roasted red peppers
2 tbsp. mayo
3 tbsp. sour cream

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in the food processor. Process until smooth.