Ciopinno and Coconut Cake

Every year for my birthday, I bake a cake and make the Italian seafood stew, Ciopinno. This year was no different, except that this year it wasn't actually on my birthday day (work schedules and all) that I made this to celebrate with my family. It was the very best stew I have ever made and I had to share.

Ciopinno
Adapted from: The Best of Sunset

Saute:
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced

Add:
1/2 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2 T. dried parsley, minced
28 oz. can tomato sauce
3 -15 oz. cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 glass red wine
2 t. Italian seasoning
Simmer 20 minutes.

Add:
1-2 lbs. true cod, halibut or salmon, cut into 1 inch chunks
1-2 cooked Dungeness crabs, add crab legs in the shell and meat from body
1-2 lbs. live Manila clams, scrubbed
1 lb. live mussels, scrubbed
1 lb. shrimp, shelled
1 lb. scallops
1 lb. squid, cut into rings
Cover and simmer medium-low taking great care not to scorch. Clam and mussel shells should open and fish flake easily.



This is better the following day. And the day after that, if one is lucky enough to still have any left in the fridge, which often is the case and one of the reasons for this continuing birthday tradition.



I made this cake found in The Complete Southern Cookbook by Tammy Algood (click here) for my husband's birthday last April but never got around to sharing the recipe. This is the author's grandmother's recipe and her daddy's favorite cake. That I took as a serious endorsement. I made it again last weekend for my birthday (notice the trend here?) and simply had to share it. The first time I made it I wasn't sure how it would turn out. It it put together rather oddly compared to the usual way cakes are made but it's fabulous! The original recipe is a Four-Layer Coconut Cake and when I made it in April I baked the full recipe in three pans (because that's what I have). Last weekend when I made it, I halved the recipe for this Two-Layer Coconut Cake -a more modest approach that means I'm eating cake for breakfast only once rather than all week!

Two-Layer Coconut Cake
Adapted from: The Complete Southern Cookbook by Tammy Algood
Yields 6 southern-style servings (or 8 moderate servings)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour two non-stick 9 inch cake pans.
Combine with mixer, mixing well:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. cream tartar
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. solid vegetable shortening
1/4 c. butter, softened

Add:
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 t. coconut extract
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Add 3 eggs, one at a time and mixing well after each addition.
Stir in 1 c. shredded coconut.
Divide batter between two pans and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn onto racks and cool completely. Frost with Coconut Milk Frosting then sprinkle with shredded coconut. Candles are optional.

Coconut Milk Frosting

Beat with mixer until fluffy:
1/2 c. butter, softened
two pinches salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. coconut extract

Add alternately:
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/3 c. coconut milk

Pinks and Zucchini Relish

Life is messy, but my hiatus seems to have been a month with more messes than usual: an allergy season that seemed it would never end...weeds on steroids taking over everything...How much physical therapy does one ankle need for crying out loud?...Does this look like a bedbug bite?...Who forgot and left the dog locked in the basement all night?...bad hair day every day...from flock to freezer: The Silence of the Ducks...a mountain of discarded wool from shearing day...a wallet and passport lost the night before a planned flight...and yesterday's 'is that OUR CAR smashed into the mailboxes??' Luckily yesterday's flares and flashing lights mess involved someone else's teens, who missed the telephone pole by a foot, but directly hit (and took out) the rock-solid frame for our mailboxes. My husband and our neighbor put it all back together again last night after dinner. For dinner we had one of these:



The pinks are running in the river and my husband has gone fishing before work the last few morning. I'm excited about the fish, because fresh fish is so wonderful. Last night I wrapped the one we had for dinner in foil before baking it (YUM), and today I'm smoking one. This is the basic recipe I use for smoking smelt and salmon.



Smoked Salmon Brine
3 quarts water
1/2 c. salt
1 c. brown sugar
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. ground black pepper
2-3 bay leaves
Soak salmon chunks in refrigerator 10-12 hours in brine. Place on dry rack and air dry at least one hour. Use four pans of chips and smoke 8-12 hours or until done. To can, pack into half-pint or pint jars without adding liquid. Seal. Process in pressure cooker for 100 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.



It is the time of year for making Zucchini Relish. Last year I didn't make any and we have only 4 pints left. I ground the zucchini and onions today and put them in a bowl in the fridge to sit overnight. Hopefully, there will not be any major messes to deal with tomorrow and I can cook and can my relish. I can always hope for a mess-free day, even if I'm not counting on one!

Zucchini Relish
Grind and put in Ziploc quart bag in the fridge to add the next day (Saves a second cleaning of the grinder):
1/2 lb. green bell pepper
1 lb. red bell pepper

10 c. coarse ground seeded zucchini
4 c. coarse ground onion
1/3 c. pickling salt
Combine vegetables and sprinkle with salt. Let stand overnight. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Add:

2 1/2 c. vinegar
4 1/2 c. sugar
ground bell peppers in Ziploc bag
1 T. celery salt (or 1 t. celery seed and 2 t. salt)
1 T. nutmeg
1 T. turmeric
1/4 c. cornstarch

Cook slowly for 30 minutes or until clear. Put in pint jars and seal. Water bath for 15 minutes. Serve on hamburgers and other sandwiches and also great added to deviled eggs.

Baja-style Shrimp or Fish Meatball Tacos

In the hopes of life being a bit less crazy-making and a bit more manageable, I try to make, and shop for, a weekly menu. When I do this well, I am one-step ahead of the daily 'what to make for dinner?' dilemma, and we spend less at the grocery store. I try and balance meals from a dozen basic meal types or types of dishes: pasta, rice, meat and potatoes, soup, sandwiches, pizza, ethnic, crock-pot, vegetarian, beans, fish and shellfish and meatballs. For last week's menu I was torn between making Goan Meatball Green Curry or Baja Shrimp or Fish Meatball Tacos (I shopped for both). Since I made the Goan Curry last week, I'm planning to make the Baja Shrimp or Fish Meatball Tacos this week.

Baja-style tacos invite themselves to be included in my meatball-a-week project. I usually make Baja fish tacos with breaded and pan-fried tilapia fillets, and Baja shrimp tacos with peeled and deveined large shrimp seasoned with chili powder and cumin and lightly sauteed in oil. It is a very small step from shrimp and fish, to shrimp and fish meatballs. If you've never had Baja-style tacos, the basic components are fried or grilled fish or shrimp, warmed corn tortillas, mayonnaise with lime juice, fresh salsa, shredded cabbage or lettuce, and bits of diced onion, jalapeno and cilantro, if desired. This is what I plan to do:

Shrimp and/or Fish Meatballs
1 1/2 lb. minced shrimp (peeled and deveined) or fish such as tilapia (or a combination of the two)
1/2 c. (plus or minus) plain bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
2 T. salsa
1 T. canola oil
1 pressed garlic clove and/or 2 T. minced onion
Form, chill, fry and drain.

Mix: 1/2 -1 c. mayonnaise with juice of 1/2-2 limes

Shred: 1/4 head of cabbage or iceberg lettuce

Warm corn tortillas: one at a time, wet hands and rub on both sides of a corn tortilla to just barely moisten both surfaces. Place on a warm-hot griddle and cook just till blisters a bit and begins to change color but do not cook crisp. Stack on a cloth on a plate until all are cooked allowing 3-5 tortillas per person.

Purchase or make a fresh Pico de Gallo tomato salsa.

Finely dice: 1/4 - 1/2 (preferably sweet) onion, 1-2 jalapeno peppers (fresh, or fire-roasted small can), and cilantro leaves -optional but I almost always include one or more of these additions.

Assemble or fill warmed corn tortillas with shredded cabbage (or lettuce), meatballs, salsa, optional additions if included, and drizzle with lime-mayonnaise. Serve with corn chips and more salsa.