4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 Tbsp (or more) vegetable oil
8 oz peeled, cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
2/3 cup finely ground breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp finely chopped preserved jalape?o chili
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons spice mix (recipe included here)

Spice Mix Recipe

1/4 cup cumin seeds
3 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Combine cumin, peppercorns, and coriander in a heavy medium skillet. Stir over medium heat until fragrant and toasted, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly. Finely grind toasted spices in blender. Transfer to a small bowl. Mix in sugar and salt. Makes 1/2 cup.

2 Add shrimp, cilantro, bread crumbs, chili, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Latin Spice Mix. Stir to blend well. Season with salt. Form mixture into six 3-inch-diameter patties.

3 Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly coat cakes in flour. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook cakes in batches until brown, adding more oil if necessary, about 2 minutes per side. Place on baking sheet. Bake until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Tastes great served with lemon, tartar sauce, and coleslaw.

Makes six large cakes.

1 Preheat oven to 425F. Line the inside of a pie shell with heavy aluminum foil, pressing it against the side. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil, poke the bottom of the pie crust with the tines of a fork to create air vents. Return crust to oven, bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until the crust just begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

2 In a large saut pan melt butter on medium heat. Add mushrooms, stir to coat with the butter. Increase the heat to high, stirring constantly until the moisture the mushrooms has released and evaporated, a few minutes. Lower heat to medium, add minced garlic, stir with the mushrooms for 30 seconds then remove from heat.

3 Beat together the eggs, sour cream, milk, and cream. Add freshly ground pepper, a pinch of salt, and cardamom or nutmeg if using. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped parsley.

4 Spread the sauted mushrooms along the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust. Pour the cheese and cream mixture over the top of the mushrooms. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until nicely browned on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

2 Combine 1 cup of flour with baking powder and salt and set aside.

3 Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, a couple minutes more. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

4 Combine the berries with the remaining teaspoon of flour and the lemon juice in a bowl. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter.

5 Bake on middle rack in oven for 1 hour at 350F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Transfer the cake to a platter, berry side up. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

Serves 6.

* If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

2 Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3 Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The pub cans are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Dont work the heck out of the batter C because thats what itll look like C but you dont want lumps, either.

4 Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, youre done.

5 Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.

Reilly grating the lemon

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon double acting baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Alden and Reilly1 Pre-bake the crust. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter, add 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon zest, the crystallized ginger, the ground ginger, and a pinch of salt. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour in batches, a 1/4 cup at a time, beating after each addition. Beat the mixture until it is well combined.

2 Spread the batter evenly in a 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake in the middle of the oven at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes, or until browned lightly around the edges.

3 While the crust is baking, in a bowl whisk together the eggs, the granulated sugar, the lemon juice, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of lemon rind, 3 Tbsp of flour, and the baking powder. Whisk until well blended.

4 Pour the lemon mixture over the pre-baked crust. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden. If you want, sift the remaining 3 Tbsp of powdered sugar over the top. Let the mixture cool in the pan on a rack. Cut it into 36 bars.

Makes 36 cookies.

2 At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a half a cup of roughly chopped pecans with or without a few strips of orange zest. You can add a cup of raisins or currants. You can add up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice can be added too.

3 Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Cranberry sauce base makes 2 1/4 cups.