Partying with the Silver Palate

Eshun and I went to a reception for the Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversary Edition where authors Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso were actually there (yes, to cooks these people are celebrities in the same way that Olivia Newton John is a celebrity).  We mused about the cookbook's iconic status, celebrated recipes and how it still sits on the shelves of almost everyone we know.

They served dishes from the book which were comfortably tasty. Although some were a little bit of a tastebud timwarp like the asparagus wrapped in brie and bacon which only needed a litlle sun dried tomato pesto and some John COUGAR Mellancamp and we could all be back in the 80s discussing how shoulder pads really flatter our figure...

I was happy to re-taste the famous Chicken Marbella which my roomate Catherine and I once made for a dinner party while we were undergraduates.  We thought we were very sophisticated in our ability to pull of a dinner party. We just ignored the fact that our friends would have been happy with a 2-4 and some beer.

Many teenagers found their love of cooking in the Silver Palate cookbook. It was one of Eshun's first books and she still bakes the Lemon Pound Cake.  Another foodie friend, Clare swears by the Orange Poppyseed Cake and Joanne Yolles, pastry chef at Pangea and the inventor of Scaramouche's famous Coconut Cream Pie bakes the Chunky Apple and Walnut Cake (but skips the glaze). There were even some famous media and foodie types who brought their own books to be signed.

The authors, who supposedly do not speak to each other, said their favourites were the tarragon chicken salad, salmon mousse and baked ham. Not suprisingly, they had made all those dishes on the Today Show earlier this month.

The Silver Palate was also one of the first cookbooks to have sidebars, tips and anecdotes down the side. So I guess that we are indebted to them for breaking the mould when it came to cookbooks because Whining and Dining also has sidebars, tips and anecdotes but we try to be funny. Hopefully, we will also be celbrating the re-issue of our phenomonally successful book in 25 years, but I'm pretty sure we will still be speaking.  Check back in 2032.

I was going to post the recipe for Chicken Marbella for old-time's sake but I very much doubt your picky eaters, or most kids would eat something that is made with capers and prunes. Eshun swears it's a great party dish and she made it for 100 people, so if you are having a summer party check it out!

The Silver Palate Carrot Cake is what all carrot cakes after 1982 tried to be.

Carrot Cake

Silver Palate Cookbook

10 to 12 portions

INGREDIENTS

Carrot Cake

• Butter, for greasing the pan

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 3 cups sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 1/2 cups corn oil

• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 1⁄2 cups shelled walnuts, chopped

• 1 1⁄2 cups shredded coconut

• 1 1⁄3 cups puréed cooked carrots

• 3⁄4 cup drained crushed pineapple

• Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

• 6 tablespoons (3⁄4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Carrot Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in the walnuts, coconut, carrots, and pineapple.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Set on the center rack of the oven and bake until the edges have pulled away from the sides and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 minutes.
4. Cool on a cake rack for 3 hours. Fill and frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl.
2. Slowly sift in the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated. The mixture should be free of lumps. 3. Stir in the vanilla, and lemon juice if desired. Frosting for a 2-layer cake