I have a dozen or so crab cake recipes but I chose this particular one for Peggy’s birthday because it is extra light. What makes it so, is separating the egg and folding it in the whipped egg white just before cooking. The presentation with the herbed salad and aïoli is especially lovely, but the cakes are delicious on their own, so make it “easy-breezy” and leave those elements out, if you wish. I know I’ve mentioned before the fabulous real crab sold at Costco, but it is worth talking about again.

The brand they used to sell was Phillips, now they carry Blue Star, both are exceptional quality and totally fabulous. What makes them so? Real lump crab that has been pasteurized with a “use by” date on the bottom of the container that is generally about 9 months to a year out. So there is no excuse to not have crab on-hand anytime you need it. For this particular recipe, only about half of the container is used, so you can either double the amounts or be sure and use the remaining half container within a day or two.

To that end, I shall post another crab recipe tomorrow to finish it off. Another thing I have talked about before is the fact that the food processor has a special feature especially for making mayonnaise and aioli. If you need a refresher, click here to go back to that post. Finally, as always, if you don’t have Meyer lemons, no problem, just substitute regular lemons.

[Read more →]

The original version of this recipe is from Tyler Florence of the Food Network.  I made his recipe for a series of classes I just finished teaching at Les Gourmettes Cooking School. With Tyler’s Twice Cooked Potatoes, the second cooking is achieved by deep frying the potatoes, and are they delicious! But after serving 33 students in two nights, I came to the conclusion that using the original version as part of a buffet doesn’t work well because of the final frying step. The potatoes are best eaten immediately, as most fried foods are.  What made the potatoes so wonderful was the crispiness achieved by deep-frying.  My double roasting technique results in a similar crisp texture, but without the extra fat, plus the potatoes can now be served hot or held at room temperature, without becoming greasy. Not only are these potatoes a great vegetable side dish, but they also make perfect little party nibbles!

Aïoli is a garlic and olive oil sauce from France, with a texture very much like mayonnaise. Aïoli is sometimes called the “butter of Provence” because it is such an integral part of their cuisine. In Provence, usually, two cloves are used per person, which may seem like a lot, but roasting the garlic as done here, mellows out the garlic considerably.

The Cuisinart has a special feature just for the purpose of making fresh mayonnaise and aïoli. The lid has a spout (a feed tube) with a “food pusher”.  The food pusher has a small hole in the bottom that allows oil to drip slowly into the work bowl at just the right rate, a “slow and steady stream” allowing the mayonnaise to emulsify perfectly.

[Read more →]