Warm Apple Crab Cakes with Toasted Pecan Tartar Sauce

To make crab cakes: Using a food processor fitted with a shredding/grating disk, or a hand grater, grate apple into thin strips about 1 - 2" long. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute apple strips 1 minute to remove rawness. Combine with crab and green onions and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, mayonnaise, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, lemon peel, mustard, cayenne and salt. Blend well. With a fork, fold egg mixture into the apple and crab. In a blender, process bread into breadcrumbs. Add just enough bread crumbs to apple/crab mixture to bind it. With your hands, form small patties; you should have about 20. Place patties on a sheet of wax paper as you form them. Melt 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick skillet. Saute crabcakes until golden brown, about 2 - 3 minutes on each side. Crabcakes will have to be sauteed in three separate batches, adding more butter and oil to the skillet as necessary before each batch. Serve warm with Toasted Pecan Tartar Sauce. To make tartar sauce: Chop pecans in a blender or food processor. In a small bowl, combine pecans with mayonnaise, vinegar, parsley, dry mustard, lemon peel, salt and cornichons, if using. Blend well. Refrigerate until used. NOTES : * If bread is too fresh, dry out in a 200-degree oven for 15 minutes. Recipe by: The Oregonians "Food Day" Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #826 by LBotsko@aol.com on Oct 5, 1997