Crab Cakes

1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
4 Scallions, green part only, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh herb, like Italian Parsley, Cilantro, or Basil
1.5 tsp. Old Bay
2 - 4 Tbsp. plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup Mayo
Salt and White Pepper
1 Large Egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. Veg. Oil

Gently mix crabmeat, scallions, herb, Old Bay, 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs, and mayo in a bowl, but don't break up the crab clumps. Season with salt and pepper, and gently fold in 1 beaten egg with a spatula to bind the mixture together. Add more crumbs if necessary.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions, shaped into a fat, round cake about 3" wide and 1.5" thick. Cover with wax paper and refridgerate for at least 1 hr. to hold them together, but can be chilled up to a day in advance.

Lightly dredge cakes in flour. Add oil to a med-high skillet until hot, but not smoking. Pan-fry the cakes until browned and crisp on the edges....4-5 min. per side.

Serve With:

1 Jalepeno
3 peaches
Sugar
Green Apple.
Honey

Slowly heat diced and pealed apples with honey to cook the apples. Add the chopped and pealedpeaches and minced jalepeno to taste to make a spicy remoulade. Temper the mixture with sugar for flavor.

Nick's Chocolate Andes Mint Cake

Tip: Start frosting first then make cake. 

Andes Ganache

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

8 oz Andes chips

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. Bring cream to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate. Add corn syrup and let stand three minutes. Whisk gently until smooth; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until mixture reaches spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Cake

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup natural cocoa powder (Hershey's)

2 teaspoons instant expresso or instant coffee

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to center and heat at 350 degrees. Generously grease two 8x11-inch cake pans with shortening and dust with flour.

2. Beat butter in bowl with electric mixer until smooth and shiny (30 sec.). Gradually sprinkle in sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3-5 minutes. Add 1 egg at a time, beating a full minute between each egg.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt cocoa, and instant expresso in medium bowl. Combine milk and vanilla in measuring cup. With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed by 1/3 of milk mixture. Repeat process twice more until batter is fully blended.

4. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake cakes until they feel firm and toothpick comes out clean, 23-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Invert and cool completely. 

5. Assemble cake when frosting is fully cooled and thick. 

Quiche Lorraine

1 pie shell

8 slices bacon - cut into pieces

2 lg eggs, plus 2 lg yokes

1 c whole milk

1 c heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

pinch of grated nutmeg

4 oz Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 c)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Partially bake pie shell. 

2. Meanwhile, fry bacon in skillet until crisp and brown. Whisk all remaining ingredients except cheese into medium bowl.

3. As  soon as pie shell comes out of oven, spread cheese and bacon evenly over bottom of pie shell. Pour in custard mixture. Bake until lightly golden brown and center feels set but soft like gelatin, 40 minutes. 

Variation: Also very good with spinach. Use 1/2 box of frozen chopped spinach. Drain and sprinkle in bottom of pie pan the same time as cheese and bacon.