Savory Crêpe Cake #SundaySupper

My Christmas will be spent tomorrow at my father´s house. We celebrate the 24th at night, Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena as we call it. It will include appetizers, a turkey with corn and prune stuffing, quince and mustard sauce, salads, a lemon cheesecake and an apple pudding, the last two made by me.
Those recipes are not family ones, except for the turkey, and that is my father´s area, that´s why I have no Christmas recipe for you. Though I´m hoping I´ll be able to take good pics and post about it in the coming weeks. 

This Savory Crêpe Cake is the heritage recipe I choose to share with you as we gather around our Sunday Supper table today.

Bea of Galactosemia is our host, and she choose this Home for the Holidays theme. As usual, the list of recipes will blow your mind away, and isn´t it wonderful how they are all a part of our family´s way of celebrating?
For the last few years we´ve been gathering at my uncle´s house to celebrate the new year. 

Sort of a family potluck, with all of my cousins on my mother´s side, a few odd guests invited at the last minute, and that part of my family I never remember clearly, the second or third aunt or cousin who come with their own families, and though I try I hardly ever remember their names; they usually remember mine which is embarrasing.

And of course the familiar food at the table. Since this is the recipe my maternal grandmother used to make, it obviously makes an appearance at the buffet table. A very large table.

It ends up being a big affair, with tables and chairs borrowed from the whole house, because, just like that, without anyone realizing it, forty people end up seating together to celebrate the new year. 

I hadn´t eaten it in years and was surprised to be craving it as much as I did when I was growing up and this was a once-a-year thing my grandmother made, with familiar flavors that tasted better because of the anticipation. Last year, my cousins made it exactly like the original recipe, with canned deviled ham, store bought mayonnaise and an awful decoration of red peppers from a jar.

Today my version is jazzed up a bit using homemade mayonnaise, smoked pork tenderloin instead of the canned ham, and adding hearts of palm. 

The crepes are the ones I use for everything, from these savory stuffed with corn, zucchini and bacon to sweet one filled with dulce de leche.

This cake is very simple. Just a few thing to take into consideration: since you´re spreading mayonnaise on every crepe don´t put too much on each, remember to salt every layer, don´t overstuff the center of each crepe and don´t press the layers down, that way it will be taller and you will be able to distinguish the different fillings  when you cut it.

The final decoration on top is up to you. I don´t decorate really, it´s not my thing, especially savory things, so I just added some mayo, grated egg, chopped olives and some chives on top. 

This cake can be filled with many other ingredients, depending on your taste, from tuna to roasted red peppers, smoked salmon, etc.

I´ll make it again in a week and take it over to my uncle´s house. I hope they find my revised version as good as the old one. I´ll be crossing my fingers, just in case.

And as the night closes in, the new year is toasted to, the traditional lucky 12 grapes or raisins are eaten, white is worn with pink underwear, which is something hard to pull off, who knows where that idea started, and all traditions are taken care of, I´ll be looking forward to the next time I find myself eating the pancake tower, as it´s called in my family, chatting away with my cousins as someone is inevitably cornered and told some story again and again by a drunken guest; while we swear next year we´ll do something with our friends because it should be more fun than family again. 

Just to find ourselves, a few minutes later, vowing to each other to attend the party again next year, all of us, so as not to leave the others prey of the drunken or boring guests.

I always have fun with my cousins, even though I´m the oldest, and I love celebrating New Year.
It´s a new year after all. It´s important. If the old one was good we have a lot to celebrate; if it was not so good you want to toast to a better one.

Happy Holidays to everyone, hold your loved ones tight and enjoy the moment!

SAVORY CREPE CAKE

Ingredients

1 recipe Crepes, see recipe here

200g (7 oz) sliced smoked pork loin or ham

Lettuce, 2 leaves

1 medium tomato

2 hard boiled eggs, cold or at room tº

1 cup chopped hearts of palm

½ cup chopped green olives

2 Tbs chopped chives, for garnish

Homemade mayonnaise, recipe below

Directions
Have ready: room tº crepes, smoked pork, rinsed and dried lettuce, thinly sliced tomato, eggs and a large hole grater, hearts of palm, olives and mayonnaise.

I put it together like this:

In the plate you plan to serve the cake place one crepe and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise

Arrange smoked pork or ham on top

Another crepe spread with some mayonnaise

Arrange lettuce on top

Another crepe spread with mayonnaise

Arrange sliced tomatoes, covering the surface

Another layer of crepe spread with mayonnaise

Arrange chopped hearts of palm covering the surface

Another crepe spread with mayonnaise

Add chopped olives.

Another crepe spread with mayonnaise

Grate 1 ½ hard boiled eggs directly over crepe (reserve ½ for top of the cake)

Last crepe on top. Spread some mayonniase and grate reserved egg on top, sprinkle with chopped olives and chives.

Homemade mayonnaise: barely adapted from Martha Stewart

It´s very important to keep homemade mayonnaise refrigerated at all times. Use store bought if you don´t want to eat raw eggs.

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil

1 cup canola oil

2 eggs

½ teaspoon dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

Juice of half a lemon

Dash of tabasco

Directions

Put both oils in a jar and reserve.

Put eggs, mustard and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for a minute, until foamy.

Very slowly at first, drop by drop, start adding oils through the feed tube. The first half cup should be added by drops, so it emulsifies well. Have patience.

After the first cup you can add the rest in a thin stream. The mayonnaise will be thick.

Add lemon juice and tabasco and pulse to combine. Check seasonings and refrigerate.

It will keep 3 to 5 days.

Today is all about heritage, tradition and family recipes. 

Breakfast

§                     Eggs Benedict by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

§                     Holiday Cream Cheese Tea Ring by That Skinny Chick can Bake

§                     Orange Refrigerator Rolls by The Wimpy Vegetarian

§                     Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake by Small Wallet Big Appetite

Appetizers & Snacks

§                     Chicken Liver Pate by Tora’s Real Food

§                     Bindaetteok {Mung Bean Pancakes} by Kimchi Mom

§                     Crab and Asparagus Soup by The Urban Mrs.

Sides

§                     Potato Salad {Schwaebischer Kartoffelsalat} by Galactopdx

§                     Italian Orange Salad by Shockingly Delicious

§                     Sweet Potato Casserole by Magnolia Days

§                     Carrots au gratin by Juanitas Cocina

Main Dishes

§                     Char Siu Bao – Chinese Roast Pork Buns by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen

§                     Savory Crepe Cake by Vintage Kitchen

§                     West Indian Curried Goat by The ROXX Box

§                     Pot Cheese and Potato Cheese Pierogies by Cupcakes and Kale Chips

§                     Seafood Gumbo and Grilled Oysters: A Louisiana Christmas Tradition by the Catholic Foodie

§                     Mom’s Paella by What Smells So Good?

§                     Portuguese inspired Chorizo Crown Pork Roast by Family Foodie

§                     Dorie’s Chicken in a Pot by Gotta Get Baked

§                     New Year’s Eve Buckwheat Noodles with Mochi by The Ninja Baker

§                     Mile High Lasagna by Cravings of a Lunatic

§                     Crab Cakes for Christmas Eve by Daddy Knows Less

Desserts

§                     Pizzelles {Italian Wafer Cookies} by Chocolate Moosey

§                     Fudge by Dinner Dishes and Desserts

§                     Crescent Cookies by Cookistry

§                     Christmas Stollen by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks

§                     Pfeffernussen by The Foodie Army Wife

§                     Creme De Menthe Cake by I Run for Wine

§                     Panettone Bread Pudding by the Country Girl in the Village

§                     Spiced Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake | A twist on a St. Louis Favorite by Daily Dish Recipes

§                     Chocolate Gingerbread Cake with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting by Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends

§                     Jamaican Christmas Pudding by Lovely Pantry

§                     White Chocolate Cranberry Santa Cookies by Mooshu Jenne

§                     Christmas Tree Cookies by Damn Delicious

§                     Old Fashioned Lady Fingers {Creamhorns} by The Meltaways

§                     Rose Milk Almond Falooda {Indian Dessert Drink} by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Drinks

§                     Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

§                     Cinnamon Infused Hot Chocolate with Southern Comfort Whipped Cream by Mama Mommy Mom

What does it mean for you to be Home for the Holidays?  

Please join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper today.  

In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our #SundaySupper to talk about our Holiday Traditions.  We are so excited to have you join us.  

All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.

Please feel free to share with us and our followers your favorite Holiday recipe on our #SundaySupperPinterest Board.  We are excited to have you.