Thai Salmon Cakes

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while. It's in my new favorite cookbook, "Quick and Easy Thai" by Nancie McDermott. I was originally turned off this recipe though as it calls for canned salmon....I had a bad experience in college with canned salmon when I didn't realise it wasn't boneless and had to throw out an entire pot of salmon curry...wasn't too happy about that. My friend, C, assured me however that the wild salmon that she buys at costco is boneless and skinless and I should have no problem. So off I went to costco today to get the salmon...I also found a 2-pack of organic blue agave nectar for just over $7, a bottle of resveratrol and a bag of ground flax to add to our smoothies....was very happy about that.
I thought this was really delicious, quick and healthy! D gave it 5 stars! I served this with steamed broccoli and non-fat greek yogurt mixed with a bit of red curry paste.










Ingredients:
1 -14.75 oz can pink salmon (I used 2-6 oz cans of boneless skinless wild salmon)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 egg
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil ( I used coconut oil and you could use much less)

-Drain salmon well, place in a medium bowl. Add bread crumbs, onion and cilantro. In a small bowl, stir and mash the egg, red curry paste, fish sauce, salt and pepper until failry smooth. Add to the salmon mixture and combine everything well. Shape into patties and set aside.
-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a bit of the salmon mixture sizzles at once. Gently add half the salmon patties and cook, carefully turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and cook the remaining patties the same way. Serve hot or warm.

Serves 4 ( or 3 if using 2- 6 oz cans)

My First Cooking Class with Chef Becky Clark

I received a wonderful birthday present this year...three cooking lessons with a private Chef. Her name is Rebecca Clark and she comes from the Northeast so it was a great match. Check out her website. http://www.beckycooks.com/

Menu:
-Romaine hearts with sliced pear, maytag bleu cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds, finished with a cider vinaigrette
-Pan Seared Halibut Steak with a shallot and port wine reduction
-Roasted asparagus with shallots
-Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla ice cream




Pumpkin seeds
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Raw pumpkin seeds

Roast in at 350 degress F in a baking dish until toasted.

Cider Vinaigrette
Cider Vinegar
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper

Use a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of vinegar to oil (according to your taste). Combine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and then slowly pour in oil to emulsify.

Halibut
Halibut steak
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Olive Oil

Put olive oil and butter in a heavy( not non-stick) skillet that has been heated. Season the fish and then pan sear until crusted on both sides. Don't move fish in the pan during this process. Finish in a roasting pan in the oven.

Port wine reduction sauce
1 small shallot or half of a large one
2 cups Port
1 Table Spoon Champagne vinegar
2 Table Spoon Brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground pepper

Using the same pan that you pan-seared the fish, saute the shallot, deglaze the pan with the port, whisk in vinegar, brown sugar and salt and pepper and reduce until syrupy.

Japanese Night

Menu:
Edamame with Sea Salt
Salad with Ginger Dressing
Tuna Tartare
Salmon Sushi

I am just going to post about the tuna tartare as that's really the only part of the meal that involved any skill. The salmon looked a bit "iffy" at the supermarket so instead of risking food poisoning, I picked up salmon sushi from a local sushi restaurant to complement the homemade tuna tartare.
This was another Ina Garten original :) The link to the original recipe follows, however on the food network website the serving size is for 50 people. I found my recipe in her "Family Style" cookbook with a serving size for 6-8 people (looks more like 3-4 people...)http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_28673,00.html
Review: While I thought the recipe was inherently very good, I felt like it was way too heavy on the lime. Next time, I will increase the soy sauce and decrease the lime juice to see if it improves the flavor.

Tuna Tartare
Serves 6-8

3/4 pound very fresh tuna steak
4 tbsp olive oil
Grated zest of 1 lime
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp wasabi powder
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
2 tsp minced fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
1 ripe Hass avocado
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Restaurant Quality Dinner

Salmon with Puff Pastry and Pesto

I really thought this recipe was phenomenal...so incredibly easy...it took about 15 minutes from start to finish, and the end result was restaurant quality in looks and taste. A real keeper! I used pecans instead of almonds, as thats all I had in my fridge and I omitted the tomatoes as I hate them :) As usual, I halved the recipe.

For the original recipe from Giada DeLaurenttis click on the link. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35039,00.html

2 pieces of purchased puff pastry, each cut to be just larger than a piece of salmon

2 (4-6 ounce) pieces salmon

2 Tbsp pecans (or almonds)

2 Tbsp purchased pesto

2 tomatoes, sliced (optional)

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the 2 pieces of puff pastry. Also, place the 2 pieces of salmon, being careful to make sure they are not touching. Sprinkle each piece of salmon with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the sliced nuts. Bake for 10 minutes.
To serve, place each piece of puff pastry on a plate. Top each puff pastry with 1 tablespoon of pesto. Top the pesto with 2 slices of tomatoes each. Top the tomatoes with the salmon and serve.

Dinner Party Menu

sorry, But I don't have any pics...I thought it might be a bit off-putting to my guests if I starting photographing their food :)

Hors D'Oeuvres: Hummus doctored up with toasted pine nuts, cumin and olive oil (thanks Felic!), baby carrots and crackers

Appetizer: Arugula and baby spinach salad with apple, toasted walnuts, and shaved manchego with champage vinegar dressing, and balsamic glaze drizzled on the plate.

Entree: Roasted Wild Coho Salmon with a balsamic reduction (see recipe below), roasted broccoli with garlic and parmesan and mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with sour cream.

Dessert: Lemon Cake ( see recipe in previous post), fresh raspberries and blueberries

I thought everything turned out really well excpet for two things...
1. I don't think I reduced the balsamic sauce enough for the salmon as it was a litle thin when poured over the salmon. It had a great flavor though so it didn't matter too much.

2. I need to work on my mashed potatoes... I don't often make them and while they seem like a simple enough thing, mine never quite turn out the way I want... suggestions?


Roasted Salmon with a Balsamic Reduction
(an adaption of a recipe from Bon Apetit, July 2007)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105288

Sauce:
1/2 cup good balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tspsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to about 1/3 cup, about 17 minutes. Watch the sauce carefully as it can burn! Can be a made a few hours ahead and slowly rewarmed before using.

Salmon:
4, 6-ounce filets of wild salmon
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat the oveen to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place salmon on sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for abotu 20 minutes. Drizzle balsamic sauce over the salmon and serve!