Recipes

By Mindie Burgoyne

Whitey Schmidt—a.k.a. the Blue Crab Guru—has just published his 11th cookbook. The native Marylander’s latest offering, The Eastern Shore Cookbook, focuses less on seafood and more on local foods sold at the hundreds of farm stands dotting the landscape of Delmarva.

Whitey explains that he “got lost” on the shore and visited 700 local markets—from Cape Charles to Wilmington, from the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean—where he collected recipes and shot the 300 color photographs that appear in the book.

In particular, this cookbook is designed to help home chefs use the ingredients they have on hand.

Got squash? Refer to the squash section. Apples plentiful? Choose from 16 recipes featuring the popular fruit in everything from salads to main dishes. Other ingredient-specific sections center on pumpkin, seafood, tomatoes, asparagus, beans, berries, and greens.

The book’s final section carries one of the most coveted recipes on the shore: Smith Island Cake. Recipes for the Maryland state dessert are rarely shared by local bakers; Whitey acquired his from a Smith Islander and taste-tested it with locals.

The cookbook boasts other unique-to-the-region dishes, too, such as pecan wafers and pork tenderloin with stewed figs. Of course, Whitey’s gold-standard recipes for crab cakes, deviled crabs, and soft crabs are in here, too.

Every recipe was tested in Whitey’s Crab Lab kitchen in Crisfield, the town he’s called home for 13 years. With The Eastern Shore Cookbook, he’s developed a solid, must-have reference that supports the concept of buying locally, eating healthfully, and preparing foods high in flavor in traditional Eastern Shore style.

To learn more about Whitey Schmidt and his cookbooks go to www.crablab.com

You can also order Whitey Schmidt's books through Maryland Life's webstore: www.shop-marylandlife.com