Crawfish will soon be in season. If you can’t get live or boiled, I suggest you try some of our seafood pasta sauces. There’s one from Dr. Gumbo, made with crawfish, that I think is great tossed with pasta, but also makes a great topping for crab cakes. CRAB CAKES Makes 6 servings

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
• 20 saltine crackers, finely crumbled
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
• Cracker meal or bread crumbs for dredging
• Butter and vegetable oil for frying

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for about one minute. Alternate adding the flour and milk, stirring constantly to make a smooth thick white sauce. Remove from the heat. Add the crabmeat, saltine cracker crumbs, egg, salt, cayenne and Tabasco. Gently mix together and set aside to cool completely. (If you wish, you can chill the mixture in the refrigerator.) Gently shape into six patties. Dredge them in the cracker meal or bread crumbs, coating completely and evenly. Put about one-half inch of equal parts of butter and vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties two to three minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm with Dr. Gumbo’s sauce or some of our Louisiana Tartar Sauce.