Have your Crab Cake and eat it too.

Southwest -style Crab Cakes with avocado crema

Last week I spent several hours working on a different recipe for this column, but for reasons yet known, I couldn’t get it quite right. On Saturday evening I was making crab cakes for my book group, and decided to poll my small cadre of Instagram followers as to which recipe they’d prefer. To my surprise and delight the crab cakes took a decisive victory.  In my experience crab cakes can be absolutely decadent, or they can be completely terrible. Of course I like to think mine are the former. The trick to making good crab cakes is to stop thinking of them as cakes.  They’re more like crab patties, dredged in bread crumps at the last minute, and pan fried in olive oil just long enough to set the egg batter and impart a golden crisp. The crab will still be juicy and flavorful, with a little bite from the chipotle and jalapeño. I love to finish this recipe with a little avocado crema, which is so smooth and the citrus really brightens the flavor. It’s the perfect compliment the to crispy “cakes”.  These crab cakes are best served hot and fresh. You can keep them warm in a 250 degree oven if you’re making a large batch, but don’t wait too long before eating them. If you prefer a bit more spice, add a drop or two of hot sauce right before serving.

that remoulade i was talking about...like a month ago.

Now that summer is in full swing here in the Midwest (hottest May on record in over 50yrs), I've completely reverted to a few easy, but good solid standbys. #1 on the list is roasted shrimp with a dijon remoulade.  #2 is a good margarita.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen me dipping my shrimp on a regular rotation. I use Ina Garten's recipe for Roasted Shrimp because it's already perfect, but I've never been a huge fan of cocktail sauce. The Palm Beach Grill serves their shrimp w/ a Dijon sauce that is so good, and I've been trying to replicate it for a while (I'm not even sure if what I've arrived at is techincally a remoulade).  Below is the recipe for a sauce that pairs perfectly with everything from roasted shrimp, to a salad of romaine and garlic scapes, or on top of scrambled eggs and toast.  It will last in the fridge for much longer than you'll be able to keep it around.


Dijon Remoulade:

1/4 cup good mayonnaise (personally, I like Dukes - I've also made this using vegan mayonnaise and it's still quite good)
1 generous tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon minced garlic
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly using a small whisk or a fork.  Mixture should be homogenious and very creamy. Dip Trip, Flip Fantasia.

It's never too late for Carrot Cake

This recipe has been in my family as long as I can remember.  Both of my grandmothers made a version of this cake, one had raisins, the other walnuts, but they were always three layers, with the thickest sweetest swaths of cream cheese frosting between the layers, and finished with generous layer of sweetened shredded coconut. My dad still makes his mother's version on a regular basis. My sister and I always fret about the calories, yet that's never stopped us from splitting a second piece.

My version of this cake isn't that much lighter, and I promise that it tastes just as decadent, but it's at least gluten free, and can be grain free if your prefer (see recipe notes). The fruit forward flavor of carrot and pineapple are the stars of this show, and I actually think the paleo flour holds a bit more moisture for a richer crumb.  I usually make this in a bundt pan, and drizzle it with a goat cheese/ nut milk/ sugar or honey drizzle.  However,  since it's Easter, I decided to go with the extra icing, and add unsweetened coconut flakes. It's only two layers, and the frosting is a half and half combination of goat cheese and a coconut oil based frosting.  It's not as rich as butter, but still adds the sweet tang that compliments the cake.

Happy Easter!