A Fun Party With Neighbors

For the 4th of July celebration, our street got together at a dear friend's back yard. The event was a "Slider Tasting and Competition". 13 entrants competed for the hamburger squeak-toy trophy. You can see the other entries on our neighborhood Facebook page: NoMa

The process of the party could not have been simpler. There were 2 grills going, names were drawn out of the hat to determine the order, and the contestants were responsible for cooking and serving their entry to the hungry crowd. On average, there were sliders coming out every 15 minutes.

The truly amazing part? No bad sliders! They were all just creative enough to be unique, but not strange. There was huge variety - we had everything from porterhouse steak to turkey to chili with Fritos. There were some different bun choices as well. Some were the pre-packaged slider buns, some were homemade dinner rolls and some were bakery ciabatta rolls.

All in all, a delicious day! The only downside was that you really had to pace yourself and not eat the whole slider. 13 sliders is ambitious for anyone who is not a professional eating contest veteran.

Thanks North Maryland Avenue (aka NoMa) for a great 4th!

Here is the recipe for the one I entered:

Kani Salad Crab Cake Slider

Light and refreshing for summer.

12 slider buns - recommend dinner roll style

Crab Cake:

1 pound lump crab meat

1 tablespoon mayo

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

dash tabasco

1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons Panko, plus more for coating

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon ketchup

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

1 medium cucumber, peeled,seeded and julienned

sesame seeds

Combine all crab cake ingredients gently, taking care not to break up the crab too much. Form into small cakes using a 1 ounce scoop. Coat both sides of the crab cake in panko; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Heat 1/2" of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry crab cakes until golden on both sides.

Whisk dressing ingredients until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To build, lay one crab cake on the bottom half of the slider roll, top with dressing, cucumbers and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.