Pink dolphin appears in US lake

Right here in Louisiana!

News story:

The world's only PINK Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.
Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter.

"It was absolutely stunningly pink.

"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth.

"The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.

"The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.

"I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel.

"As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career.

"It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it.

"While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes.

"Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited."

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4927224/Pink-dolphin-appears-in-US-lake.html

Funny Chocolate Quote

"There is nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate." - unknown

Funny Friday the 13th!

Photo by nao-cha @ flickr of dog Cocoa

From friends over at Twitter:

"Very funny page for Friday the 13th, both versions - peterdrew@keithbaxter It's Friday the 13th! Beware...
http://snipr.com/dp10t DUDE!! not nice scaring me like that :=)"

From Denny: Just click on the title as the address is linked. Enjoy!

Recipe: Chocolate Blackout Cake

Chocolate Blackout Cake Recipe

From Denny: In the mood for something totally decadent? Granted, this is more time consuming when you feel like a labor of love afternoon but it's still easy. She takes you through it step by step. You can also link to Karen's fab cookbook for more of her chocolate genius!

Tomorrow: Chocolate Peanut Butter Streusel Cake

From -
Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker's American Desserts

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients for Pudding:

• 3 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons cocoa (preferably Dutch processed)
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Ingredients for Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa (preferable Dutch processed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup brewed coffee, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 dozen chocolate wafer cookies

Directions:

1. To make the chocolate pudding: Combine 2 cups milk with 4 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and bring to just under a boil.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining sugar with salt, cocoa, and cornstarch. Whisk in remaining 1 cup unheated milk. Gradually whisk cocoa mixture into hot milk. Heat, over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and starts to bubble.

3. Whisk together eggs and egg yolks in a small bowl. Temper the eggs by adding a few tablespoons of the heated milk. Add the tempered eggs to the saucepan and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in chopped chocolate and butter. The pudding should be relatively thick and will firm up when cooled. Cool, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in refrigerator.

4. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 (8-inch) cake pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment and flour pans, shaking out the excess.

5. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.

6. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in vegetable oil. Alternately add dry ingredients with buttermilk, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add the coffee and vanilla to form a thin batter. Divide between prepared cake pans.

7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks, peel off paper and cool completely.

8. When cool, split each cake in half with a serrated slicing knife. Spread bottom layer with 1/4 of the reserved chocolate pudding. Repeat with remaining layers, ending with pudding on top.

9. In a food processor, pulse the cookies into crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the cake.

Tomorrow: Chocolate Peanut Butter Streusel Cake

Recipe: Opelousas Oyster Loaf

A less messy way to fry those tasty oysters! Do it in the microwave. Tony Chachere is well cherished here in Louisiana, after all, he was the first to start selling a Cajun seasoning. It was popular here with Louisiana cooks and spread out to the national palate and they cook Cajun all over the world now!


Opelousas Oyster Loaf

From: Tony Chachere’s Microwave Cajun Country Cookbook

Yield: 4 – 6 servings


Ingredients:


1 loaf French bread, unsliced

1 dozen select oysters, large

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs, can use crumbs from inside of loaf of French bread

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 egg

½ cup cream

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

Dill pickles

Lemon

Catsup

Butter


Directions: Slice off top of the French bread and reserve. Scoop out insides and toast the bread under the broiler. Butter inside generously and wrap in terry cloth towel to keep warm.

Dry oysters on paper towel. In small bowl, combine salt, pepper and egg. Beat well. Add cream and mix well. Place oysters in egg mixture.

Place bread crumbs in plastic bag, add oysters, and shake to coat each piece.
Preheat microwave browning skillet on HIGH FOR 8 MINUTES. Pour cooking oil into preheated skillet. Place oysters in oil.

Microwave on HIGH 1 MINUTE. Turn over.

Microwave on HIGH for 1 to 1 ½ MINUTES or until browned. Drain on paper towel. Fill in hollow of French bread with fried oysters. Garnish with sliced dill pickles, lemon wedges, and dabs of catsup. Replace top, wrap in terry towel and place in microwave.

Microwave on 70% POWER FOR 45 to 60 SECONDS or until warm. Serve at once.