Summer Special

This is my second summer with Pampered Chef and I've got to say, I'm just as enthusiastic now as I was back in May 08. My kit is still looking just as new and the recipes just keep getting better and better.

I love the flexibility of the work, I can fit it around family commitments and my other part time job which is great but I can sometimes be a little bit....dare I say it...lazy? I like to spend the first week...or two if the truth be known not working, its a lazy habit, where I book all my shows I want for the month in the last 2 weeks, giving myself the first two weeks to lazy around and pretend that I'm a lady of leisure...which is great if that's how you want to play it but I've made a choice to do this full time , at a managerial level, trying to build a team so t has got to stop! I've given myself a kick up the bottom and to incentivize myself to book shows in the first couple of weeks I'm offering a summer special. For each show booked in the first two weeks of July & August I am going to take a large jug of Pimms to each show! It is proving to be a success, with 3 shows booked in that time already...looks like my lazy starts to the month maybe at an end! lol

I have been testing out some new dishes to try out at my summer shows and they are delicious! This one can be done with crab, salmon or tuna all with great results!

CRAB CAKES WITH CORIANDER DRESSING

For the Dressing

1 lime

6 tablespoons mild olive oil or grapeseed oil

3 teaspoons clear (runny) honey

2 teaspoons finely chopped (peeled)

fresh root ginger

2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh coriander

1 small clove garlic, pressed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Crab Cakes

90 g fresh white breadcrumbs, divided

350 g canned white crab meat (drained weight), drained

1/2 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 small fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Dash or two of hot red chilli sauce (optional)

Sunflower oil, for spraying or brushing

For dressing,
1. Juice the lime using Juicer to measure 2 tablespoons . Add lime juice, oil, honey, root ginger and coriander to (500 ml). Press garlic into measuring cup using Garlic Press. Whisk ingredients together using Stainless Mini Whisk until well mixed; season to taste and set aside.

For the cakes,
2. Preheat oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/Gas 5. For crab cakes, combine 60 g of the breadcrumbs and salt and black pepper in a shallow dish; set aside. Flake crab meat into Classic Batter Bowl and mash lightly. Finely chop red pepper and spring onions Finely chop chilli using Food Chopper. Add red pepper, spring onions, chilli, pressed garlic, egg, mayonnaise, hot chilli sauce, if using, and remaining breadcrumbs to batter bowl; mix well. Season to taste, if desired.
3. Using Medium Scoop, place 1 scoop of the crab mixture into breadcrumb mixture; flatten slightly to form a round pattie and coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Shake off excess breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining crab mixture to make a total of 18 cakes; discard any leftover breadcrumbs. Arrange crab cakes on Rectangle Stone; lightly spray or brush with sunflower oil.
4. Bake about 20 minutes or until cooked and lightly browned all over. Remove to Simple Additions® Medium Square or Rectangle Platter using Mini-Serving Spatula; serve immediately with coriander dressing (give dressing a quick whisk just before serving).

Another favourite from last year is the citrus berry trifle [printable recipe], this is such a fresh tasting trifle, beats grannies sherry trifle any day and served in my pampered chef trifle bowl it just looks great too!

My trifle bowl is one of my treasured PC items, its so versatile. Unlike most trifle bowls, this has a flat base that keeps the layers from sinking in the centre. It has straight walls that show off recipes elegantly and the unique removable stem and lid means I can store it in the fridge and transport it to friends houses easily. I'm always the one asked to bring the dessert!!!