Um, not to toot my own horn, but um, freaking OPRAH featured my Strawberry Lemonade Cake from Generous Table yesterday!!! Ok. It probably wasn’t Oprah herself, but still- I am so happy! And it is a goooood cake, and I promise you would love it. By the way, if you haven’t picked up a copy of my book yet, please do- it is full of tasty recipes for the entire year!

Here is another tasty recipe. Shrimp and Corn Cakes with Avocado Sauce. Seriously, they are phenomenal. I could have devoured the entire batch myself they were so good. Pete marveled at how “light” they were (that is from the fact that I used no binding agent- just the shrimp puree to hold it together). Pia couldn’t believe how crunchy they were! (that was the fresh kernels of corn bursting in her mouth). And my sister-in-law Natalie said that they were “restaurant quality.” So you have a quadruple endorsement here.

We already discussed the juicy shrimp and crunchy sweet corn, but the green onion, lemon zest and spicy jalapeno all combine into the most flavorful explosion. And then you have the cooling, slightly acidic sauce to temper the spice.

These make the most wonderful light dinner or would be an awesome first course at a dinner party. I would also love bite sized cakes as appetizers or nothing could be better than to throw one of these cakes and some of that sauce on a squishy white bun and scarf it down like a sandwich. Jeez…. I think I just drooled on the keyboard.

To make these Shrimp and Corn Cakes with Avocado Cakes, this is what you do:

In the bowl of a food processor add 2/3rds of the shrimp and one lemons zest and pulse until you have a fine paste.

Transfer the shrimp paste to a large bowl and add the remaining shrimp (chopped roughly), one lemons zest, the corn kernels, green onions, jalapeno, salt, garlic and parsley.

Gently fold together until it is a well combined mixture.

Using clean hands, form 8 patties from the shrimp and corn mixture. Set the patties aside while you prepare the Avocado Sauce.

In the jar of a blender combine a ripe avocado, the lemon juice, the garlic, the rice wine vinegar and avocado oil (or vegetable oil) and the tomatoes.

Puree until very smooth and then season to taste with kosher salt.

In a large sauté pan, heat a thin layer of avocado oil over medium heat. Add a few of the shrimp cakes and cook for about 2 minutes each until the bottoms have become golden and crispy.Flip the cakes and cook another few minutes until the second side is also golden and crispy and the shrimp is cooked to pink.

Continue to cook the cakes in batches, adding more oil as you need it. They should be served hot or kept warm in a 200 degree oven while the rest are finished. I serve them with a dollop of the avocado sauce on the side and a few fresh tomatoes.