Sunshine, Blues Skies, and London's Kew Gardens

We arrived early, coffee in hand, under sunny bright blue skies. We'd never been, and the day was perfect. Summer was in full bloom in London's Kew Gardens which holds the world’s largest collection of living plants.

 Kew’s Palm House, a Victorian iron and glass structure, is considered to be the most important building of its kind in the world. It was designed to house the exotic palms being collected and introduced to Europe in early Victorian times.

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 It's gorgeous inside... with so many interesting and beautiful plants, including the oldest potted plant in the world!

Look at the wrought iron spiral staircase, what workmanship. 

This is The Princess of Wales Conservatory, named after Princess Augusta, not Princess Diana, although it was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales. The pond within the aquaria section is breathtaking and contains the giant waterlily Euryale ferox. This plant has massive leaves that can span two metres and are strong enough to hold a baby!

We saw interesting sculptures, both indoors and out.

Everywhere I looked, there was something or someone to photograph.

Ever the patient husband, GB posed dutifully for me at every turn.

But even he could only take so much; soon it was lunchtime for us both, and nap time for him while I cruised the rose garden. 

Oh, the colors and the scents. I could have stayed forever.

British summertime, when it makes its magical appearance, there's nothing like it anywhere.

Crab Cakes

Crab Cakes...mmm, they conjure up dinners in the deep south, the deep south of South Carolina. We would travel from coastal town to coastal town, searching out the best crab cakes. Everyone's got a secret, everyone makes them different, but they are all so good. Must be those fabulous blue (or soft ) shell crabs.
Oh, the ambiance of the lowcountry; Spanish Moss laden water oaks, the salt water ocean heavy in the air, sea marshes with mile long tides, a moon low in the sky casting silver white shadows over the sand dunes. It's just a feeling, a feeling that's helped along by a long, deep breath, a long slow look, a "put on the breaks and just be" frame of mind. South Carolina, it's a special place.
We love crab cakes, can you tell? Serve them on a bed of fresh, crisp summer corn and take a little trip down south.

Bed of Crisp Summer Corn

Cut the corn off several ears of fresh summer corn. This is most easily done in a deep bowl with a sharp knife. Do not cut too close to the cob, you only want the tender kernels, not the fibrous cob. Next chop a few green onions, and a bit of red bell pepper. Saute it all quickly (2-3 minutes is plenty) in a skillet over medium high heat in just a knob of butter and a dash of salt.  Don't be afraid to judge the amounts yourself, you can't mess this up, I promise. If you only have corn, saute that up and enjoy. It's a great way to enjoy summer corn, much better than boiling.

Crab Cakes

2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 large egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons freshly lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 green onions, green tops only, very thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 ½ cups Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
2 cans crabmeat

1 cup all-purpose (or plain) flour
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)
¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
Lime wedges, for garnish

Whisk together the mayonnaise, egg, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, green onions, salt and cayenne  in a large bowl. Add ½ cup of the breadcrumbs, and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into 6-8 equal portions, forming each into a small cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minute to set cakes. Dredge the crab cakes in the flour, then dip into the egg wash to coat completely; allow the excess to drip back off. Immediately place in the rest of the breadcrumbs, turning to coat well.

Heat medium-size saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat through. Carefully add the crab cakes to the hot oil, and cook until golden brown and crusty on the first side, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using a spatula, gently turn the crabcakes over, and cook the other side, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove crab cakes and place on paper towels to blot oil. 

Serve with tartare sauce or chipotle mayonaise, which is a dollop of mayonaise mixed with a bit of chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (available in the USA, but haven't found it in the UK yet).They are also tasty with asian chili sauce.

Fruit Pizza

Fruit Pizza. Two words that equal endless deliciousness. Basically, it's a giant sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting and fruit - you can't go wrong. Fruit pizza in the shape of an American flag is the perfect Fourth of July dessert because it's light and fresh and well, it looks like a giant flag. 

If you're American, you know how fun July 4th is... the fireworks, the bbq, ice cold beers in the hot sun.  I mean let's be real here - it's the one day of the year that everyone gets to run around the yard yelling and waving a stick on fire in the air (a sparkler, of course!).

We all get to be kids and ooh and ahh at the fireworks. It's a day that everyone should have, a purely fun day filled with hot dogs and things on fire.  Therefore, Brits and all others, I suggest that you create your own July 4th, any day you like!

Pick a day, any day, and celebrate. All you need is something to BBQ, something to drink, something to light on fire (safely! like fireworks or a camp fire) and, of course, a flag shaped dessert. So here's one you can make anywhere, and in the shape of any flag you like!

 Old Fashioned Sugar Cookie Recipe 

1/2 cup (115 grams) butter
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla
1 cup (242 grams) sour cream
3 cups (330 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda

 Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and mix.  Sift and add dry ingredients. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and roll (or pat with your hands) cookie dough out so that it evenly covers the entire cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown, roughly 13 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. NOTE: If you live in the USA, just use one tube of Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough and pat it out on a cookie sheet and bake according to directions. Be sure to keep an eye on it and remove when light golden brown.

Fruit Pizza Recipe

1 sugar cookie base
1 8 ounce (226 grams) package cream cheese
1 8 ounce (226 grams) container Cool Whip or Dream Whip
1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners sugar
1 pint (about 300 grams) strawberries
1 pint (about 300 grams) raspberries
1 pint (about 300 grams) blueberries

Whip cream cheese, Cool Whip, and confectioners sugar till blended.  If you can't find Cool Whip (Brits, this means you), buy one package of Dream Whip and follow directions, then substitute this for the Cool Whip.  Spread mixture evenly over the cookie base and top with fruit. If you want it in the shape of a flag, just pick fruits that match your flag (red = raspberries, strawberries/ blue = blueberries/ green = kiwis/ white = leave black and let mixture show through/ yellow = pineapple/ you get the picture!).

Don't forget to make more than one, these go fast! And just one or two more tips - first, keep this refrigerated! Second, don't pick fruits that yellow (like bananas), or fruits with too much juice (like peaches). No one likes a soggy fruit pizza! Other than that, make them pretty and make them often! Oh, one more thing - share with friends! In the name of friends we don't know, Happy Fourth of July! And to those we do, like Miss Wendy below, Happy Birthday!

The £2500 Coconut Cream Pie or Why You Should Feed Your Coworkers

I really love this copper bowl, this solid copper bowl. It was a tad expensive, so much so that when my husband asked how much it was, I declined to tell him. I got this bowl to help make my Coconut Cream Pie. Okay, it wasn't exactly necessary, I've been making them for years without one. But just look at it, will you? It works as a double boiler, and it's the only way to whip up fabulous egg whites. Well, cream of tarter works just as well, but again, just look at it. It was made in France. Can't you just tell? And, no, it didn't cost £2500, that would be silly. I'll explain that in just a second, but first I've got to tell you about Jane.

I really like Jane. She is one of those "tell it like it is" kind of people. You know just where you stand with Jane. And she's fun. You just know she'd be a blast to hang out with for a night on the town.  Jane is my kind of people. She likes to cook, I know because she makes homemade soup and brings it to work for lunch. And she has chickens. She brought me some fresh eggs; you just gotta love a coworker like that. But wait, the story gets even better.

Right, real quick, back to the Coconut Cream Pie. It's a breeze to make and the best thing is you probably have everything on hand to make it right now. If not, stock up because this is so easy and so good. First of all, you need a bottom crust, baked and cooled. I always make my own, here's my recipe.

Best Pie Crust

1 cup or 190 grams vegetable shortening (Trex in the UK, Crisco in the USA)
2 cups flour or 220 grams (plain in the UK, all-purpose in the USA)
dash of salt
1/2 cup or 120 ml milk
1 tablespoon or 15 ml white vinegar


Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Cut shortening into flour and salt using pastry cutter in large mixing bowl until mixture is in pea size pieces. You can mix as much as you want at this stage. Next, grab a coffee mug and fill it with about 3 ice-cubes. Add the milk to the ice, along with the vinegar. The vinegar should slightly thicken the milk. Next, dribble about half the liquid mixture over the flour mixture. Gently push the flour mixture together with a large spoon. Once you start adding the liquid, it is important to handle the crust as little as possible, because that is what will make your crust tough like cardboard. Dribble a little more liquid and keep pushing the flour mixture together until it will form a ball. You will probably have to use your hands at this point. Again, handle the crust as little as possible, using just enough liquid to get it to form a ball. Once it forms a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.


Next, remove it from the freezer, cut the ball in two since this makes both a bottom and top crust, although you only need a bottom crust for this pie, re-wrap half and put it back in the freezer for your next pie. Pie crust freezes beautifully. Liberally sprinkle flour on the counter-top, and roll out your bottom crust. Start with your rolling pin in the middle of the crust, and push crust outward from the center. Do this in all directions until your crust is about a 1/4 inch thick. Carefully drape pie crust in pie plate, trim edges, and patch pieces together if it is short in some areas, pinch top edges together. Poke a few holes in the bottom to prevent crust from bubbling up. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Remove and cool.

Is your crust made? Yes? Okay then, back to the £2500 Coconut Cream Pie.  By the way, that's about $3700 to you Americans. Not an amount to sneeze at, for sure. I'd been dying to try out my new copper bowl, and Jane had been sweet enough to take an interest in the blog. So, seeing as how I had just made a Coconut Cream Pie the weekend before (it's GB's newest favorite) I thought I'd make one and take some in to work for Jane. Pat, who works with me side by side, is always included, mostly because she's only the sweetest person alive, but also because I adore her.

It was time for a coffee break so I gave Jane a call and as soon as she heard the words Coconut Cream Pie, she materialized by my side. I cut pieces for Jane, Pat, and myself, and because we all happen to be smart gals, we began to discuss the new Chancellor's budget (government budget to you US folk) including public sector salary cuts and freezes. Wow, don't we sound fascinating? One thing led to another, and soon I had my payslip out so Jane could explain a few things to the American girl- that's me, of course. She took one look at my slip and questioned why I pay so much tax. I had no idea, I never thought to question it. Next thing I know, I was on the phone to the tax office who informed me that I had been overpaying for as long as I had been working in the UK! The government is sending me £2500. Now, how often does that happen? So, the moral of the story is, feed your coworkers, it always works to your advantage!

£2500 Coconut Cream Pie

3 cups or 700 ml milk

3 egg yolks, save the whites for meringue

pinch salt

3/4 cup or 150 grams sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch  or 30 grams (USA) or corn flour (UK)

1 teaspoon or 5 ml vanilla

1/2 cup desiccated coconut or 40 grams (dried in a bag from the baking section of the store)

baked and cooled pie crust

Save out a little milk and pour the rest into a double boiler (see pic above- does not have to be copper!), this is just a bowl inside a pan that's filled with boiling water.  In another bowl, beat egg yolks, mix in rest of milk that you saved out, add salt, sugar, and cornstarch and mix by hand with whisk. Now, whisk this mixture into hot milk on stove top (or hob). When mixture begins to thicken, about 3-5 minutes later, add vanilla and coconut. Cook for another minute or two and pour into cooled crust. For an old-fashioned look, set in window or outside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F or 180C. Next, whip up the egg whites to make meringue. Add a bit of cream of tarter to the egg whites, about a teaspoon. Once the whites begin to look foamy, start adding some sugar, a bit at a time. All in all, you'll use about 2 tablespoons of sugar. Beat until stiff and put on top of pie. Sprinkle a bit of coconut over meringue, and bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. This pie is amazing especially when it is cold, so chill and serve!

For simplicity, ease, and wow factor, I don't think there's another pie out there to compare. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Lemon Bundt Cake

 

Nothing says summertime like old-fashioned lemonade.  Just sugar, freshly squeezed lemons, and water served in a beautiful pitcher. Don't forget to toss a few slices of lemon among the ice cubes. Now, take a seat on the deck or the porch, take a long, slow sip and just enjoy. Like the best things in life, it's easy and simple. Now,  imagine that intense lemon flavour in a moist buttery cake, a lemony rich cake that is first drenched in lemon soaking solution, and then topped with a glaze. Yes, it can be summertime any day of the year when you have a slice of this bit of heaven.

This Lemon Bundt Cake is essentially a moist and very flavorful pound cake. It actually improves when first basted, wrapped, and left in the fridge for a few days. Don't glaze it until you are ready to serve. If you can hold off, I really recommend not skipping this step.  Because it is baked in a bundt pan, it doesn't even really need frosting, it looks so pretty as is. But, after basting it with a lemon soaking solution, I like to drizzle it with a pound cake glaze.  This cake will put a sunny smile on anyone's face.

Lemon Bundt Cake

(from Bakewise by Shirley O. Corriher)

Nonstick cooking spray with flour
3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter cut into chunks
1/2 cup (96 g) shortening (Crisco in USA, Trex in UK)
3 cups (595 g) sugar
1/3 cup (79 ml) canola oil (I use rapeseed oil in the UK)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) pure lemon extract
Grated peel of 4 large lemons
3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice
2 large egg yolks
5 large eggs
2 & 2/3 cups (332 g) all-purpose flour. In the UK, I use plain flour because it has no leavening in it.
1/2 cup (52 g) finely ground almonds. I found this in the baking aisle.
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
1/2 cup (118 ml) heavy cream. In the UK, I use single cream.
Lemon Soaking Solution (recipe follows)
Pound Cake Glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350F/177C
2. Spray a 10 inch (25-cm) tube pan or a 12-cup (2.8-L) Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.
3. On medium speed, beat butter to soften. Add shortening, beat until light and pale in colour, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat (cream) until very light, scraping down the sides at least once. At this point, check the bowl to see if it feels cool. If not, put the bowl in the freezer for 3-5 minutes and then continue creaming. Next, beat in the oil, lemon extract, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice.
4. On the lowest speed, blend in yolks and then whole eggs, one at a time.
5. In medium bowl, using a fork, beat together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt for 30 seconds.
6. On the lowest speed, blend flour mixture into butter mixture in 3 additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.
7. Place a bowl, beaters, and cream in the freezer for 5 minutes.  Whip the cream until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Beat just a little more past this stage, about 1 minute. Now stir 1/4 of the cream into the batter to lighten it. Now very gently fold the rest of the cream into the batter using a flat cake spatula.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan. Drop cake pan onto counter from a height of 4 inches to knock out the air bubbles. Smooth the batter with a spatula.
9. Place cake in oven and bake until cake springs back when touched, or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean but moist, about 1 hour. Ideally, the cake should not pull away from the sides until just out of the oven. Let cake cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Knock cake against counter to jar it loose and turn it onto a serving platter to finish cooling.
10. While the cake is still hot, baste cake with lemon soaking solution. See recipe below. Next, wrap cooled and basted cake and put in fridge for 2 or 3 days. When ready to serve, drizzle with pound cake glaze. See recipe below.

Lemon Soaking Solution

1/3 cup (79 ml) lemon juice
1/2 cup (99 g) sugar


Stir lemon juice and sugar together until sugar is completely dissolved. If necessary, heat slightly until dissolved. Brush on the hot cake until all the solution is absorbed.

Pound Cake Glaze

1 cup (120 g) confectioners sugar or icing sugar 

2 to 3 tablespoons  (30-45 ml) cream ( heavy or single, depending on where you live!)

1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) pure vanilla extract

Stir together all the ingredients and drizzle over cake. You want the consistency thick and just barely pourable. Add more sugar or cream until you get it right. Drizzle over the cake so the that it trickles down the sides. Serve to very happy guests. I suggest you put aside a piece for yourself for later, as this cake goes very fast.

Angel Food Cake

How can this cake not exist in England? That's right, the English don't know what an "Angel Food Cake" is.  No surprise really, since it doesn't have the word "sponge" or "pudding" in the title.  I just can't help thinking of eating a stinky, dirty dish sponge when I hear someone say that word in conjunction with a dessert! Have no fear my English friends, I'm here to share my recipe with you.  Made with a dozen egg whites and no yolks, this cake has roughly 140 calories per slice.  Don't worry, I've fixed that by slathering this healthy delight in my very own butter cream frosting! 

I'm not sure who claimed it first, but angel food cake is the choice of my mom, sister, aunt, and myself (among others!) for our birthday cakes.  We make over a dozen a year, each one lighter and more delicate than the last.  The key, whipping the daylights out the egg whites.  When you think you're done whipping, whip more.  How did they make this cake before electricity?  Women with big biceps I suppose.

Nothing goes better with this beautiful cake than sugared strawberries and whipped cream, and if you want a cake worthy of a celebration, just top it with sugared flowers.  You can't imagine how easy it is to sugar flowers.

Choosing your flowers is pretty essential.  I did a test run with a few varieties and learned something in a hurry.  Unless you are Martha Stewart, stay away from dark flowers.  They end up looking like something a six year old did in art class - the only difference, when you're a grown up, no one thinks it's cute anymore.  Of course, if you want to eat them, pick a variety that's edible.  If you are like me and you go for looks over function, as in 5 inch heels walking through London, choose pretty flowers and tell people to eat a salad cause they're not getting their greens on top of your cake!

So, pick your flowers and grab two bowls and a paint brush (any will do, but you'll find that a fan brush with fine bristles will work best).  Fill one bowl with a whipped egg white and the other with very fine white sugar (just throw granulated sugar in the food processor if you don't have any on hand).  Dip your brush in the egg white, paint the top of your flower, sprinkle with sugar and repeat until the flower is covered.

Either lay your flowers flat on a wire sheet or parchment paper, or if you're like me, string the little buggers up with clothes pins (I think this keeps them looking fuller!).  You're done! Once they're dry (a few hours or more), top your cakes, cupcakes, pies, etc and leave people thinking you're a mini Martha in the making!

Light and sweet, make this cake this summer and I bet you'll get a few people asking for your recipe! Enjoy!

Angel Food Cake 

serves 8-10

Tube pan or Angel Food Cake pan (10 X 4 inches)
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 dozen egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup caster sugar (fine sugar, put granulated sugar in food processor if you don't have)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and place oven rack towards the bottom of the oven.  In one bowl, mix flour and powdered sugar for 30 seconds and set aside.  In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat your eggs whites and cream of tartar until foamy, about 1.5 minute.  Add in your caster sugar, roughly two heaping teaspoon fulls at a time, on highest mixer speed.  With your last addition of sugar, add in your vanilla, almond extract, and salt.  Now beat, beat, beat until stiff, glossy peaks form (at least a minute or two more).
Once stiff peaks form, sprinkle in the flour/sugar mixture 1/4 cup at a time, and fold gently with a spatula until just incorporated.  Push into your tube pan and run a butter knife through to get the air bubbles out.
Bake 28-33 minutes until top of cake cracks and it springs back when lightly touched.  Pull it out of the oven and turn it upside down onto a metal funnel or bottle (so it hangs there to cool).  Let it hang until it's completely cool.  Don't forget to loosen the sides of the cake with a knife before inverting onto your cake plate.

Butter Cream Frosting

frosts one Angel Food Cake

1 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3- 1/2 cup cream

Using room temperature butter, whip the butter using a fork.  Add in the powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla and whip with the fork until smooth and creamy.  If it's too thick, add more cream, a little at a time.  If it's too buttery, add more sugar.  If you like it to have more vanilla, add more!  But above all else, don't eat it all before you frost your cake!

Zucchini Crab Fritters with Grapefruit Aioli

Fresh crab vs. canned crab – when does it make a difference? You’ll notice that virtually all recipes involving crab (crab cakes, crab balls, crab fritters, etc) call for fresh crab, picked over.  Most recipes are asking you to buy a whole, giant, ugly crab and return to ninth grade biology – a.k.a., dissect that little bugger.  Yes, take out all the meat, but also remove any tiny bits of shell and other icky bits that you might not want to snack on.  But is that always necessary? And if not, when is the short cut okay? Here’s the simple answer.  If the crab is standing alone (as in no breadcrumbs, mayo, garlic, etc.) then you need to get out your bio book and go to town on a few of the little guys.  
Luckily, or unluckily, however you look at it, crab all alone is rarely on the menu.  More often, I’m sure you find yourself making crabby treats like crab cakes, fritters, steak topping, etc.  You’ll be happy to know that rarely, if ever, could you even taste the difference between the canned stuff and the fresh stuff after it’s mixed with mayo and fried or piled high on a steak and smothered with béarnaise sauce.  So, feel free to make this next recipe and yes, head down the naughty canned meat isle and pick up a few cans of canned crab, guilt free.  You can smile smugly while popping the top – we won’t tell.  It goes without saying, of course, try to pick out the top quality brands when buying something as delicate as canned crab. 

Can I just add, while on the topic of canned meat, it is never, and I do mean never, okay to buy canned chicken. Or meat. In fact, I pretty much draw the line at canned crab and tuna fish. Because really, we can’t pop a chicken breast in the oven? Seriously? It’s too much work to slit open the package and slide it into a pan? Canned chicken was the precursor to the frozen pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Yes.  Didn’t you know?  People are now too busy to pull out two jars, open them, and spread the contents onto a slab of bread.  Gosh – they don’t have all day here.  Hello – the toaster strudel already ate up precious minutes this morning! 

Enough of that – now on to the recipe! Crab fritters are delicious. There is no doubt about it, deep fry crab, and people will keep coming back to your dinner parties.  Your spouse will probably think he/she forgot your anniversary.  For some reason, crab spells special.  These fritters are no exception.  In fact, they look like you spent all day making them.  If you follow the directions for the breading station, you can have them done in no time and happily, these can be made ahead of time.  Just store them in the fridge on a few paper towels (the crab, though drained, still holds moisture and can soggy up your bottom bread crumbs).  When your guests arrive, just heat up your oil and pop these pretty little packages in.

Though following the directions for these fritters will make you a delightful treat, I suggest that you spice up the crab mixture in the center by adding a few tablespoons of mayo, a pinch of cayenne, and a few tablespoons of chopped caramelized onions. Although the plain crab and egg white mix was good, it can’t hurt to kick it up a notch. Add anything you like, just watch the consistency which needs to stay together in the zucchini strips.

On to the aioli.  First, can I say yum? I’d never made a grapefruit aioli and it was lovely – fresh, tart, and sweet with that classic grapefruit citrus zing at the end.  Fortunately for you, I messed this up the first time around.  In a simple case of not reading the directions, but just the ingredients, I ended up mixing the grapefruit juice and zest into the mayo mix without reducing it by half over the stove.  Instead of throwing out the incorrect version, I saved it and made the correct version as well.  When my guests arrived I asked them to take the fritters and test both sauces.  Guess what?  My mistake sauce won!  Both were good, though, and both were gone by the time the fritter plate was clean.  The only difference, the sauce with the reduced grapefruit was what you would except, more tart and with a much stronger grapefruit taste.  If you want to get really adventurous, tempt your guests with yet another sauce – a chipotle aioli.  All you do is take about half a cup of mayo, two or three chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped, and a squeeze of lime – mix and taste.  

Make these crab fritters and your guests will leave with their tongues wagging and their taste buds buzzing about your great party!

Zucchini Crab Fritters with Grapefruit Aioli 

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence 

2 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandolin

1 lb fresh lump crab meat

1 egg white

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups panko bread crumbs

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Grapefruit Aioli:

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 cup sour cream

1 grapefruit 

Begin by slicing the zucchini on a mandolin so you have long thin strips.  Lay out in a single layer on a tray lined with a kitchen towel.  Sprinkle salt on the strips and set aside to allow the moisture to be drawn out and make the strips pliable.

Prepare the crab.   Drain the crab of any excess moisture then combine with egg white in a mixing bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and stir.   Take the strips of zucchini and place a spoonful of mixture on top.  Roll it up and place seam side down so it sticks and continue until you have used up all the crab.  Set up a breading station and coat the fritters in seasoned flour, then egg and finally seasoned panko.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to let the coating set.  Fry in 350 degree F oil until golden and crispy.  Drain on paper towels and

Prepare grapefruit aioli.  Add grapefruit juice and 1 teaspoon of grapefruit zest to a small saucepan and simmer until reduced by half.  Shut off heat and cool.  In a blender, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and grapefruit reduction.  Serve with warm fritters.