Royal canapes

So, we did it. Neil and I woke up at 2.20am and watched the Royal Wedding. It was fun. I drank rose and Neil had some rum to toast the couple and we ate some canapes I prepared at 10pm the night before. We went back to bed at 5.30am, just as it was getting light and were glad we'd made the effort. 

Aside from my disappointment at Kate Middleton feeling she needed to slim down to fashion model skinniness, (really, what kind of role model is she being, with Diana having had an eating disorder as well?), I enjoyed all the British pomp and circumstance mixed with all the tackiness of the crowds outside. All part of the whole charade for us and something that will be repeated again and again.

 

I chose to make two canapes, or appies as they're called in Vancouver. Devilled eggs and rice-less sushi.

Many times in this blog, I have praised Karen Barnaby for her help with low-carb recipes through her book, The Low Carb Gourmet. She has been an incomparable source of knowledge and tips when I really feel the need to make cheesecake or am desperate for some potato or rice substitutes. I was left confused and a little disillusioned, therefore, when I tried this recipe for stuffed eggs, and found the results an absolute disaster.

On glancing through the ingredients, I was somewhat surprised to see 1/4 cup olive oil listed. It seemed a large amount. The recipe stated that the yolks were to be mashed with mayonnaise and then olive oil, drizzled in small amounts until incorporated ,continued until the whole mixture was soft and fluffy. "You may not need all the oil", she explained. I followed the instructions to the letter and got a lumpy, scrambled egg mixture. Basically, it split, similar to a Hollandaise or Bearnaise whereby the oil and other ingredients no longer emulsify. Not Karen's fault, my fault, but I wish she had mentioned this could happen and to keep an eye on the mixture.

 

The disastrous first attempt. As you can see, the mixture has curdled, leaving little unappetizing pools of oil here and there.

 

I managed to salvage them by wrapping the yolk mixture in paper towels and squeezing until most of the oil dripped away. A very messy job but it did the trick. The yolks were now thick and amalgamated and I spooned them back into the whites, relieved that I didn't have to throw everything away, or just eat a load of egg whites. 

 

Rice-less sushi is, of course, not sushi. So to correctly label these would be to call them nori rolls with prawn, mayonnaise and cucumber. This was one recipe from Karen's book that worked fantastically. I am not a huge fan of sushi itself, I do like it, but I couldn't base an entire dinner or lunch around it. I like more variety, perhaps some soba noodles, some teryaki or tempura to accompany it as a mixed meal. I do miss it as a quick snack while trying to eat low carb, though, so these little rolls were perfect and I can envisage an entire world of possibilities before me. Maybe crab, avocado and mayonnaise for the classic California roll, or some scallop and green onions or maybe even Philadelphia cheese like they use in Brazil.

Recipe : Devilled eggs (Adapted from The Low Carb Gourmet by Karen Barnaby)

I've added some optional extras such as curry powder and hot sauce, you can use these or experiment yourself)

4 large eggs

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 - 2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp curry powder

a few dashes of hot sauce

salt and pepper (a few twists each)

Sprinkle of paprika

Hard boil the eggs, drain and let them cool, peel then carefully cut in half. Cut a tiny piece of white from the bottom of each half so they can sit without rolling. 

Scoop out the yolks and mash with the mayonnaise until smooth.

Now, add the oil a little at a time and stir well. Keep going until the mixture has become fluffy, but be careful not to let it split. 

Add all other ingredients and spoon back into the whites. Chill and serve.

Recipe : Nori rolls (from The Low Carb Gourmet)

1 sheet nori.

1/2 cup small, cooked, peeled shrimp

2 tsp mayonnaise

1 green onion, chopped finely

1/4 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 tsp sesame seeds (the recipe said toasted, which would give a better flavour, but I didn't and they still tasted good)

Mix the prawns, mayonnaise and green onion together in a bowl.

Lay the nori on a flat surface and lay the prawn mixture about 1 inch from the edge in a line.

Lay the cucumber slices next to the prawns and sprinkle sesame seeds over the filling.

Wrap up carefully, as tightly as you can. Leave to sit for 1 minute and then cut into 6 pieces using a sharp knife.