Crab cakes, mac and cheese, and fried plantains

lemon curd layer cake

I hope my description of the lemon curd/whipped cream frosting made your mouth water. It was so good on the cake as was the lemon curd in between the layers - however, the cake came out quite dry. I divided up the batter among three 9" round pans which was an absolute mistake. Next time I will double the batter and divide it among three pans OR I will bake off two cakes and do a double layered cake (instead of triple layer) or slice the thicker 9" rounds. they were too thin and too dry, though they had a good lemony flavor.

the menu for the night was

• Red pepper crab cakes w/ spicy aioli
• Gouda, Parmesan and Cheddar macaroni and cheese
• Fried plantains w/ curry ketchup
• Green beans
• lemon cake

when I asked Andrew two weeks ago what direction I should take the meal in, he said he wanted Southern, homey, some fried, and he said catfish would be nice. Well, fried catfish is yummy but crab cakes are his absolute favorite thing to order when we are at a place that will do them well. So I attempted to rival the best crab cakes he has eaten and, though I cannot say mine were the best, I do think they are better than many that I have had. fried plantains ("patacones") are a staple in his half-Panamanian household and have been among my favorite foods to try since a trip to the Dominican Republic a few years ago. Luckily my boyfriend's mom has been making them for her entire life and showed me how to really do them. all guessing aside, now I really know how to make patacones. the idea for the curry ketchup came from a great restaurant in Little Rock called The House. they served sweet potato fries with a curry ketchup - so tasty. finally, my goal for the Mac n cheese was to make a Gouda mac, but unfortunately Gouda is quite costly so I opted for a 3-cheese mac to cut costs (and can you ever have too much cheese?). it turned out well based on the silent first five minutes of the meal when he was too intent on eating to have conversation.

the set-up

Crab cakes:
1 lb. lump crab meat
minced shallot
minced garlic
minced red bell pepper
course ground dijonmayonnaise
1 egg
dash or so of cayenne pepper
fresh squeezed lemon juice
s & p
panko bread crumbs

whisk wet ingredients in a small bowl and pour into mixture of crab meat, shallot, garlic, red pepper. delicately mix with rubber spatula so as not to break up the crab meat - let sit overnight or for a few hours before making cakes. I think the smaller, plumper crab cakes stay together better (make sure your mixture is fairly dry - but not TOO dry). Roll cakes in panko bread crumbs, sear in olive oil and butter on both sides until caramelized on the exterior, then bake at 350 for ~12 minutes.

spicy aioli:
mayonnaise
crushed red pepper
paprika
lemon juice

whisk together until uniform and creamy. keep adding pepper and paprika to suit your color and taste preferences!

fried plantains:
2-4 plantains, cut into 3/4 inch slices

fry plantains in hot oil until just darker on either side. remove from oil and using a bowl, cup or plate base, smoosh plantain until flatter and mushed. re-fry until golden brown and crispy on either side. mix some curry powder into your ketchup and voi la! you have the tastiest and most unhealthy side dish.

three cheese macaroni:
1 lb. corkscrew noodles
8 oz. gouda cheese
8 oz. cheddar
8 oz. parmesan
panko bread crumbs
1 stick of butter
some milk
2 eggs

cook noodles al dente. in a large mixing bowl, toss noodles, cheeses, bread crumbs, melted butter, eggs and milk. transfer to a well-greased casserole dish, top with more cheese and cover. bake on 350 for about an hour. it probably does not need seasoning due to the salt in the cheeses.

the happy birthday (and nearly graduated!) boy