Dinner Chez Moi

I am excited to announce that for my birthday, I received Laura Calder's new cookbook, Dinner Chez Moi: The Fine Art of Feeding Friends. I have been chomping at the bit to get my hands on it!

I immediately began flipping through this charming cookbook; and, to my surprise, there is an entire section devoted to birthday cakes!!! How fitting! So, completing my Birthday Menu, I made "Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Icing." I have never made marshmallow fluff before, and was a little worried about drizzling hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites. However, it turned out great! This cake has a subtle coconut flavor, is moist, refrigerates very well, and the texture is amazing! If that's not enough, it's pretty and delicious! 

Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Icing

Ingredients:

For the cake

3 cups cake-and-pastry flour (e.g., Swans Down)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coconut milk

For the icing

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping

Toasted coconut (spread out 2 handfuls of coconut on a baking sheet, bake at 400 degrees, stirring occasionally until evenly browned, watch it!)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of two 10" cake pans (I used 9", and it was fine) with parchment paper.

For the cake

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, and preferably using electric beaters (I used a stand mixer, scraping down the sides regularly), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Alternately beat in the dry ingredients and the coconut milk, adding about a third of each at a time. Divide the batter between the pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on racks.

For the icing

Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a bowl. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and boil until a drop in a cold glass of water forms a soft ball (238 degrees F, if you use a candy thermometer, which I did). Remove from the heat. Beat the whites and cream of tartar to peaks (again, I used a stand mixer), then continue beating while pouring the syrup in a thin stream. Add the vanilla at the end. 

Place a cake layer on a serving plate. Spread some icing on top and sprinkle over a handful of toasted coconut. Top with the second layer, and ice the sides and top of the cake. Strew some toasted coconut on the top to decorate.

What I Want to Eat on My Birthday!

As you may or may not know, my birthday was last Friday; and, I made a menu that I would enjoy:

I was looking for a light first course featuring crab, and stumbled upon "Crab Louie Salad," also known as "Crab Louis Salad," and "King of Salads." I had never heard of it before! Apparently, this is a famous west coast specialty, and a favorite of James Beard, that began popping up on restaurant menus somewhere between 1904 and 1917. In my research, I found that there are many versions of this salad, but the star ingredient is Dungeness crab (a delicacy of the region). The remaining ingredients vary widely, but consist of some variation of the following:

• Lump crabmeat,
• Crab Louie, Thousand Island, or Russian dressing,
• Romaine, Iceberg, Boston, or Endive lettuce,
• Fresh tomatoes,
• Boiled eggs,
• Cucumber,
• Asparagus,
• Olives, and
• Avocado.

I chose Wolfgang Puck's version because it looks fantastic! I thought it was the perfect starter for a heavy main course. It tasted fresh and really stimulated my palate! This would also be perfect on a hot summer day!

Crab Louie

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 oz. jumbo lump crab
3 tablespoons Crab Louie dressing (recipe below), Thousand Island or Russian dressing
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1 large (may need more depending on size) vine-ripened tomato, diced and well drained
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
16 red endive leaves (I couldn't find red, so I had to use white.)
1 whole avocado, diced
1 ring mold (click here for more information)

Directions:

Pick through the crab meat thoroughly and remove any shells. Place the crab in a small bowl, and fold in the dressing and chives. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the tomato, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley to make a nice relish.

To plate:

Set the ring mold (or in my case, a can) in the center of the plate. Place 4 endive leaves around the mold, creating a flower pattern. Spoon 1/4 of the crab mixture in the mold, pressing down with the spoon. Next, spoon in 1/4 of the avocado, pressing down. Finally, spoon in 1/4 of the tomato relish, pressing down. Now, carefully lift the mold and smile! Repeat with the remaining 3 plates.

Crab Louie Dressing

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce
3 tablespoons minced green bell pepper (or sweet relish, if you prefer)
3 tablespoons minced green onions with some green tops
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

You may also like Crab and Avocado Salad.

You'll Be Amazed What This Can Can Do!

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