Happy Birthday to Me!
Well, dinner on Saturday took a lot of work, but it came off pretty well. I definitely should have played with a couple of the recipes before hand (the fennel salad and the scallops in particular), but things worked out ok. Here are two of the recipes that worked great.
Salmon Cakes
Filling:
- 1.5 lbs salmon fillets, skinned and de-boned (make sure to get those pin bones!). Fresh is best, but frozen will work in a pinch. Chop into 1/3" cubes.
- 1 slice high-quality white bread. Wonder won't cut it. Remove the crusts and dice it into tiny little pieces.
- 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 c diced or grated onion
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
Combine the above in a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients gently but thoroughly until all the salmon chunks are coated in the mixture. If you used frozen salmon, pull out 1/2C of the mixture and puree in a food processor.
Using a 1/4c measuring cup, lay out cakes on a piece of wax paper. You should have 8-10. Now it's time to coat them and fry them.
Coating:
- 1 large bag, Japanese Panko (pohn-ko, not PAN-ko) OR 10 slices of fresh bread, pulverized into crumbs. Panko works best.
- 2-3 eggs, depending on size
- 1/4 c milk
- 1 c flour
Pick up a cake and squish it into a patty. Put some pressure on it so the ingredients squish together and stick. Dredge in flour, coating lightly but completely. Dip in egg, then in panko, careful to shake off excess each time. If desired, you may repeat the egg and panko steps for a "double-dipped" coating, but you'll need to add a little salt to the recipe if you do this as the panko is generally unsalted. Adding salt to the panko itself works well too.
When each patty is coated, drop into hot oil until cooked, ~3 minutes per side. Make sure your oil is hot -- luke-warm oil will not cook the outside properly until the inside is over-done. Serve with asparagus and mashed potatoes.
OPTIONAL AOLI
- 1/2 mayo
- 1 tbsp capers
- Juice and zest from one lemon
- 1 tbsp freshly diced or pressed garlic (roasted garlic is fine too and gives a milder flavor)
- 2 tbsp rough-chopped parsley
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Salmon Cakes
Filling:
- 1.5 lbs salmon fillets, skinned and de-boned (make sure to get those pin bones!). Fresh is best, but frozen will work in a pinch. Chop into 1/3" cubes.
- 1 slice high-quality white bread. Wonder won't cut it. Remove the crusts and dice it into tiny little pieces.
- 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 c diced or grated onion
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
Combine the above in a large mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients gently but thoroughly until all the salmon chunks are coated in the mixture. If you used frozen salmon, pull out 1/2C of the mixture and puree in a food processor.
Using a 1/4c measuring cup, lay out cakes on a piece of wax paper. You should have 8-10. Now it's time to coat them and fry them.
Coating:
- 1 large bag, Japanese Panko (pohn-ko, not PAN-ko) OR 10 slices of fresh bread, pulverized into crumbs. Panko works best.
- 2-3 eggs, depending on size
- 1/4 c milk
- 1 c flour
Pick up a cake and squish it into a patty. Put some pressure on it so the ingredients squish together and stick. Dredge in flour, coating lightly but completely. Dip in egg, then in panko, careful to shake off excess each time. If desired, you may repeat the egg and panko steps for a "double-dipped" coating, but you'll need to add a little salt to the recipe if you do this as the panko is generally unsalted. Adding salt to the panko itself works well too.
When each patty is coated, drop into hot oil until cooked, ~3 minutes per side. Make sure your oil is hot -- luke-warm oil will not cook the outside properly until the inside is over-done. Serve with asparagus and mashed potatoes.
OPTIONAL AOLI
- 1/2 mayo
- 1 tbsp capers
- Juice and zest from one lemon
- 1 tbsp freshly diced or pressed garlic (roasted garlic is fine too and gives a milder flavor)
- 2 tbsp rough-chopped parsley
- Salt & Pepper to taste