Christine Dryden of Georgetown, Delaware won Grand Prize and First Place in the Main Dish category at the National Hard Crab derby’s cooking contest in Crisfield, Maryland.  Her dish, Crab & fresh Corn Gratin was a delightfully fresh dish that highlighted the tastiness of the fresh crab meat.  It was a mixture of fresh corn, off the cob, and seasonings, baked in a shell, topped with breadcrumbs, butter and more crab meat and served with a roasted red pepper sauce.

In the soup category, Bobbie Willis of Crisfield, Maryland won first place for her Capt. Bobbies Crab Bloody Mary.  Madeline Hall of Salisbury, Maryland took home first place for her Creamy Four Cheese Blue Crab Soup.  Jo Dryden, Christine’s mother, received first place in the crab cake division for her Perky Crab Cakes.

Twenty contestants competed in four categories.  The Annual National Hard Crab Derby & Fair’s Cooking Contest is sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Marketing & Aquaculture Development Program.  Below is the Grand Prize recipe for you to enjoy!

CRAB & FRESH CORN GRATIN
Christine Dryden
Georgetown, Delaware

Corn mixture ingredients:
2 ears fresh sweet corn
3 cups cream
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon celery seeds
½ pound Maryland Blue Crab Meat (directions below)

For the Gratins:
½ pound Maryland Blue Crab Meat
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons (1/4 inch slices) cold butter
1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, recipe follows

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
2 slices thick bread, crust removed
3 jalapeno peppers, stemmed and seeded
1 jar roasted red peppers (12 ounces), drained
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
3 tablesppons garlic, minced
½ cup lite olive oil
Sea salt, dash, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Sauce:  Place the slices of bread in a small bowl and cover with cold water.  Drain the bread, squeeze gently, and place in processor with jalapenos, peppers, basil and garlic.  Process to a coarse puree.  Drizzle in the oil with the machine running.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to bowl to use immediately. Can be made ahead of time and refrigerated in sealed container for up to 5 days.  If chilled, heat before using.  Makes about  2 cups.

Directions:
For the corn, shuck the ears and cut kernels from the cobs carefully with a sharp knife.  Set kernels and the corncobs aside separately.  Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil, add the corn kernels, and cook for 4 minutes.  Drain in a colander and set aside.  In a large pot combine the cream, shallots, and the corncobs.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat so the cream just simmers:  cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring to keep the cobs from sticking and scorching, or until the cream is reduced by half.  Remove the corncobs and set aside on plate to cool enough to handle.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Scrape corncobs with the back of a knife to remove all of the corn pulp and the cream that is clinging to them.  This will be a paste, return this to the pot with the reduced cream and discard the corncobs.  Season this corn mixture with salt, cayenne, and celery seeds.  Gently stir in the crab meat.
For the Gratins, divide the mixture into 6-8 gratin dishes or spread into a large casserole.  Sprinkle the remaining crab meat and breadcrumbs over gratins and dot with the butter pieces.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until bubbly and browned on top.
Drizzle with roasted pepper sauce.  Serve hot!!!

2010 National Crab Derby Contest Winners

Appetizers
1st Place Bobbie Willis, Crisfield, MD, Capt. Bobbies Crab Bloody Mary Cocktail
2nd Place Paul Tomko, Crisfield, MD Crab Casino
3rd Place Andrew Todd, Marion, MD Maryland Fusion Crab Crisps

Soups
1st Place Madeline Hall, Salisbury, MD Creamy Four Cheese Blue Crab Soup
2nd Place Tim Howard, Crisfield, MD, Christmas Eve Crab Chowder
3rd Place Lit Dryden, Georgetown, DE, Delightful Crab Gumbo

Crab Cakes
1st Place Jo Dryden, Georgetown, DE, Perky Crab Cakes
2nd Place Jack Mills, Crisfield, MD Somers Cove Crab Cake Supreme
3rd Place Todd Bonner, Toddy Cakes

Main Dish
1st Place and Grand Prize Christine Dryden, Georgetown, DE, Crab & Fresh Corn Gratin
2nd Place Charlese Ann Smith, Bishopville, MD, Blue Crab Imperial
3rd Place Mary Bradshaw, Crisfield, MD Chesapeake Crab Manicotti