Salmon Fish Cakes

I have blogged about these once before here so I won't post the recipe again.

My husband and I kicked off the holiday weekend last night by going to see The Hangover. As you can probably guess, it wasn't Chekhov or anything, but it made me laugh a lot, which I really needed! We also had a coupon for a free popcorn and Coke--score!

We were still feeling hungry when we got home, so I whipped these up for a late night nosh, using the leftover mashed potatoes from the night before.

I think the roasted garlic in the mashed potatoes got a nice meld going on in the fridge overnight, because the garlic flavor was much more noticeable in the fish cakes than it was when I ate the potatoes the first time. In my opinion, that made them even more delicious!

Rating: This is awesome (again)

Salmon Fish Cakes

I got this wonderfully comforting recipe from Nigella Bites, and it is a delicious way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. She suggests using canned salmon instead of fresh, so I bought a can of the stuff for the first time tonight.


Man, it was a great deal! 14.5 ounces of wild salmon for $1.50. I'm not suggesting that it's an adequate substitute for a freshly grilled salmon filet, but if you need some cheap protein and a quick hit of omega-3 fatty acids I don't know if it can be beat for the price.

Nigella uses matzo meal in place of bread crumbs to fry these fish cakes, but I used panko instead since I had it in my cabinet.

For the fish cakes:
1.5 to 2 cups cold mashed potatoes
14.5 ounces canned salmon, drained
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled (optional--only use if the mashed potato hasn't got any butter in it)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 egg
Salt and pepper (season cautiously--remember that the canned salmon will be salty and the potatoes have already been seasoned!)

For coating and frying:
2 eggs
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs or medium grain matzo meal
scant 1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a large bowl, mix together all of the fish cake ingredients with clean hands.

Cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Form palm sized patties of the mixture, and place on the baking sheet. I got 7 cakes out of my mixture, but I think it will vary on how much potato you have. Set the baking sheet in the refrigerator and leave the cakes to firm up for however long you can wait--at least 20 minutes. To save time in the evening, you can mix up the patties first thing in the morning and leave them to sit in the fridge all day until dinner time.

Even with this time in the fridge, you will have to handle the fish cakes very delicately during the dipping and frying process. I had one fall apart on me!

Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl and spread out the breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip each fish cake into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs, coating evenly. Warm the butter and oil in a large pan over medium high heat. When the butter is melted and starts to fizzle, fry the fish cakes on each side until golden brown and the centers are warmed through.

Rating: This is awesome

Leftovers rule! Even though the fish cake mixture smelled like cat food before I cooked it, it tasted fantastic once it was done: crunchy exterior, mild and soft interior. It wasn't overly fishy or potato-y; everything melded together nicely.

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

(Dinner for one)

This might be my ultimate dish for solitary dining: it's fast, easy, somewhat decadent and full of garlic. Just what I want when I'm not trying to impress anybody! Of course, you can increase the amounts to feed as many people as you want; I'm a firm believer that heavy garlic consumption at dinner doesn't matter as long as both you and your date eat it.

10 medium (41-50 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 ounces linguine
A spritz of lemon juice or a splash of white wine
1-2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

Get a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, and cook the pasta for about a minute less than it says on the package, since you'll be finishing its cooking with the shrimp.

In a large skillet, warm up the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion and gently saute until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Throw in the garlic and saute for another few minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook until pink on both sides.

Drain the pasta and add to the skillet. Toss thoroughly and stir in the lemon juice or white wine. Let everything simmer together for 2 or 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the parmesan and some chopped flat leaf parsley if you have it (I did not). Take off the heat and serve. You might want to light a nicely-scented candle in your kitchen at this point since it will be reeking of shrimp and garlic!


Be careful not to add the shrimp too early; overcooked shrimp are the worst. If the onion and garlic have to cook a little bit longer on its own while the pasta finishes, that's fine.

Rating: This is awesome

Just lovely :-)

Shrimp Frittata

I had neither eaten nor cooked a frittata, an Italian open-faced omelet, before tonight. I needed another dinner for one idea, so I gave the frittata a whirl. Now I can say that I am a huge fan!! It turned out so tasty, savory and filling, and it was quick and easy. The possibilities are endless, too; you can use any filler ingredients and herbs that you want. Here's mine--it looked so pretty when it came out of the oven:

7 large shrimp, peeled, devenied, and chopped
2 green onions, finely sliced
1/3 of a red bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 eggs
1 ounce parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Milk or half & half

Preheat your broiler at its highest setting, and adjust an oven rack directly below it.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, green onion, and garlic to the pan. Season with a little salt and pepper and saute until the bell pepper is softer, about 5 minutes. Throw in the shrimp and cook until it turns pink. Whisk together the eggs, parmesan, a splash of milk or half & half, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour into the pan and scatter the basil over top.

Don't touch the pan and just let the eggs cook for a few minutes. When the eggs have set for the most part, but are still wet on top, take the pan off the heat and place it under the broiler. Leave it there for a couple of minutes until the edges are browning and the top sets completely. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn!

Take out from under the broiler and let the pan sit for 5 minutes. Flip the frittata out onto a plate, cut into quarters, and serve.

Rating: This is awesome

This is a great dinner for when you don't feel too creative and you need to use up random ingredients, especially some bits of expensive cheese you want to stretch, or a handful of herbs about to go bad. I just love finding new budget-minded dinner options :-) It warms my cheap heart!

Thai Shrimp Soup with Lime and Cilantro

Another night, another soup! This one is a variation of a recipe I got from The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook. I first ate this earlier this year, when I did SBD in an effort to lose weight for the wedding. It was dinner on my first night of the diet, and I remember that it tasted so good that I thought the whole dieting thing wouldn't be too bad. The original recipe calls for 3 cups of thinly sliced napa cabbage in place of the bean thread noodles I used here.

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 inch length of fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
5.25 ounces bean thread noodles
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon sugar or sugar substitute
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

To start, reconsititute the noodles. Place them in a large bowl and cover with hot water straight from the tap. Let them sit for 15 minutes, then drain the noodles and set aside.

Warm up the oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Throw in the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute. Add the chicken broth and water and bring up to a boil.

Stir in the bean thread noodles. Add the shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice, lime zest, and sugar and cook just until the shrimp turn pink, about one minute. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the heat and scatter the cilantro into the soup. Serve hot.


Rating: This is awesome
The flavors are sharp and intense, but they all come together well. The noodles are tricky to catch, since they're so long. Try eating with a soup spoon in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other--grab some noodles with the chopsticks, transfer them to the spoon, scoop up some of the broth in the spoon, and slurp the whole spoonful down.

Fried Shrimp Cakes

I made a chicken-noodle stir fry last night, but it was so similar to the Chicken Lo Mein that I made earlier this month that it didn't seem worth writing about. I used rice wine this time, but I think I over did it; the final dish was a bit too acidic.

Another dinner for one tonight! I got this recipe from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat; she states in turn that she got it from Leonie Palmer's Noosa Cook Book. How can I get a job where I write cook books using other people's recipes?! Oh well; I'm very glad that she included it, because these little fuckers are delicious and perfect for eating gluttonously by yourself.

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 green onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons dry sherry
Olive oil

Place all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in a bowl. Mix together, adding enough water to make a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Warm up 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Drip the batter in the hot pan, in drops of about one tablespoon each. Fry each cake for 4 or 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Nigella suggests eating them with a "fierce mayonnaise." Uhm, no thanks. I just squirted some lemon juice over them, although I would have used lime if I had any.

Sorry for the blurry picture; it was really hard to get a good one of these!

Rating: This is awesome
I ate mine with my bare hands, while enjoying a Bass Ale and Michael Palin's Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years. Ahh, solitary pleasures!

Bay Scallops with Orecchiette

This is a bit of a MacGyver dish. I bought the scallops yesterday when we were at the Asian market with the intention of using them for a different recipe, but I never made it to the grocery store to pick up the other ingredients I needed. I didn't feel like going shopping this evening after spending all day cleaning the house. However, I was not going to mess around with letting the scallops sit in the fridge for too long after my turkey meatball incident! I came up with this tasty little pasta dish using ingredients that were already in the kitchen.

A note about the scallops: I specify bay scallops, but you could easily use the bigger sea scallops instead. You should be advised, though, that the bay scallops fit snugly inside the bend of the orecchiette, which makes for a very cute forkful!

3/4 to 1 pound bay scallops
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
Juice of half a lemon
8 ounces orecchiette pasta
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano
A pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, deep-sided pan and warm over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and saute until it is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and garlic, and season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down a bit, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, sugar, and lemon juice and bring up to a bubble. Let it simmer away until the liquid thickens somewhat, about 10 minutes.

Warm up a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook on each side for 2 minutes. If you bought frozen scallops, like I did, you won't get a good sear. The heat will just cause the liquid to cook out of the scallops, preventing them from browning. Fresh scallops are preferable for flavor, but ehhh, do what you've gotta do. Remove the scallops to a plate.

Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle in the basil and oregano and stir to combine. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add the scallops to the pan and let everything simmer together for a minute or two. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan on top.



Rating: This is awesome
Not bad for a MacGyver meal!

Crab Cakes

Wei and I are both sort of Maryland natives. We were born elsewhere, but we grew up there. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary that I made a batch of crab cakes before the summer was over!

A note about purchasing the crab: if you're more hard core than me, you could buy your own Chesapeake blue crabs, steam them, and pick them until you have one pound of meat. It's probably cheaper that way too. Instead I chose to buy just the meat. I got 8 ounces of jumbo lump meat (the most expensive) and 8 ounces of claw meat (the least expensive). I think it was a good compromise; the lump gave the cakes enough heft, and the claw meat filled them out well.

I found this recipe on a Chowhound message board; it was attributed to Blanche, the late grandmother of the poster's best friend, and a "true Maryland lady."

6 saltine crackers, crushed
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 pound crab meat, picked through for pieces of shell

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Form the mixture into 6 or 8 patties and set on a baking sheet. Chill the cakes in the refridgerator for at least 45 minutes--this will help them firm up and keep them from falling apart when you're trying to cook them.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Carefully add the cakes to the pan when the butter is melted and do not touch them for 6 minutes. Flip them over and let cook on the other side for 5 minutes. Remove to a plate and pat them down with paper towels to absorb some of the oil.

I toasted up some French bread rolls to make crab cake sandwiches, but these are also just lovely on their own, with a little lemon juice squeezed over the top.

Rating: This is awesome
Many thanks to Blanche for the perfect no-filler crab cakes!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Not long after Wei and I started dating, he made shrimp one night when I was hanging out at his place. We stood at his kitchen sink, peeling and eating. I matched him shrimp for shrimp. After a little while he said "Damn, I've never dated anyone who likes shrimp as much as me." I smiled and licked the Old Bay and shrimp juices off my fingers. So as you can see, when we got married last month, it was truly a marriage of soul mates :-) I share this story as a way of explaining why there's so many shrimp dishes in here. We love the crustaceans. Also, they cook really quickly, which make them perfect for weeknight cooking.

I took this recipe from Everyday Italian. I decided to use shrimp shell stock instead of recipe-stipulated white wine in the sauce, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I used the easy Mark Bittman method: throw all the shells in a pot, cover with water, and let it boil away. After only ten minutes of boiling, the stock was intensely flavored and fragrant. I would definitely make it again to use in any shrimp dish! I chose to serve this with fettuccine; you could also omit the pasta and eat it with slices of rustic bread to dip in the juices at the bottom of the bowl.

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved for stock
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use 1/2 teaspoon or omit entirely if you don't want it spicy)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shrimp shell stock
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
6 ounces fettuccine or linguine

Start a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, if you're using it. Put the shrimp shells in a small pot and cover with water. Bring it up to a boil, and let it simmer until you need it.

In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. In a large, heavy skillet, warm the oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink, 2 or 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside. Add the onion to the same skillet and cook until soft and translucent, 6 or 7 minutes.

Drain the shells out of the shrimp stock and reserve a cup of the liquid. Add the tomatoes with their juices, 1 cup of shrimp stock, garlic, and oregano to the pan, and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Return the shrimp and accumulated juices to the tomato mixture and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. If using pasta, add the drained strands to the pan and toss thoroughly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley and basil.


Rating: This is awesome
I love how this dish is elegant, but still very easy and delicious.

Sauteed Salmon with Spicy Fresh Mango-Pineapple Chutney

Another RR recipe from 365: No Repeats tonight. I was a little gunshy about this one after last night, since pineapple and mango are both possible latex allergy triggers, but all seems to be well.

This isn't particularly groundbreaking, but I did love the flavor of ground coriander on the salmon. I might have to slap some on anytime I make salmon from now on! The outside of the fillets crisped up perfectly for me. And the skin on the underside...OMG...so tasty. Is it bad to eat the skin? Oh well, I don't care.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow or red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and membrane removed, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
2 tablespoons honey
2 salmon fillets, about 8 ounces each
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 ripe mango, diced
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3/4 - 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed

Heat up one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onion and jalapeno, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook for 8 or 9 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the pineapple, honey, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then down to a gentle simmer.

If you want to serve steamed green beans with this, as I did, put a pot with a couple of inches of water on to boil, then get on with the salmon. Warm up the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the salmon on both sides with salt, pepper, and ground coriander. Place the fillets in the hot pan, skin side up first (I don't know if there's a reason for it, but that's how I cook it). Saute until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness.

While the fish is cooking, put the beans in a steamer insert and place inside the pot of boiling water. Season with salt and clamp a lid on for 5 minutes. To finish the chutney, add the mango lime juice, parsley, and cilantro, stir to combine, and turn off the heat.

Serve each piece of salmon with some of the chutney on top and with green beans on the side.

There are different theories about the best way to cut mango. The easiest way for me is to cut down each side of the large, flat pit in the middle so you have what resembles two halves of a sphere. Hold one half in your hand, take your knife and, being very careful not to pierce the skin of the mango , cut grindlines into the meat of the fruit. Flip the skin inside out, and voila, you have mango cubes! If you are a master of dexterity, cut the cubes free from the skin. If you're not (like me), just pull them off.

Rating: This is not awesome
It was fine, but I'm not wowed.

Teriyaki Ginger Lime Noodles with Shrimp

I'm not going to post about the slow cooker chicken tortilla soup I made last night. It was so not awesome that I'm not even going to write about it and tag it as "This is not awesome." Blech. Why is it so hard to find a good slow cooker recipe?

I'm going to post the weekly menu tomorrow. I went rafting all day yesterday, and I was too exhauted to work on the menu when I finally got home. Thus, tonight I had to throw something together from the odds and ends laying around. This is what I came up with!

1 pound shrimp
1 broccoli head, cut into florets, with the stem sliced into coins
2 carrots, sliced into coins on the bias
3 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
8 ounces spaghetti
1 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
Sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons peanut, corn or vegetable oil

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti. You should probably do this while you're still prepping, since the dish doesn't take very long to cook. Add the pasta when the water is boiling, and drain when it's just this side of al dente.

Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok over high heat. Add the broccoli, carrots, green onion, and garlic. Stir fry until the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes. Throw in the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Put the lime juice in a small bowl, whisk in a teaspoon or so of sugar (use more if you want!), and add the grated ginger. Pour contents of the bowl into your pan or wok and stir to combine.

Add the noodles to the pan, a little bit at a time. Toss everything together with the noodles as they're added. Add the teriyaki sauce and stir around. Add a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Taste to see if it needs salt--it probably won't as there's a lot of sodium in teriyaki sauce!



Rating: This is awesome

It was light, fresh, and tasty--an easy, summer-y weeknight dinner!

Fiery Singapore Noodles

I saw Ching He-Huang make this recipe in an episode of Daily Cooks! on BBC America about a month ago, and I knew I had to try it! Besides the fact that Singapore Noodles is one of my husband's favorite dishes, it has a lot of my favorite ingredients. Turmeric is amazing in its flavor, vibrant color, and health properties. It is like, Super Spice. I love getting the chance to use it :-)

One of the great things about stir fry is that you can customize it however you want. If you don't want this to be spicy at all, omit the chiles! If you want it extra spicy, leave the membranes in when you chop the peppers! Don't have any sesame oil? Leave it out! You get the idea. Never forget that you are the one in charge of what you're cooking, not the recipe. My only tip for making this dish is to get all your prep done before you start cooking it. By which I mean, have all of the elements sitting on the counter next to your range so you can grab them and keep cooking with minimal running around.

1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 pound thin, dried rice noodles
2 tablespoons peanut, corn, or vegetable oil (peanut is best)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 chiles, seeds and membrane removed, finely chopped
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled
2 teaspoons turmeric
4 green onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 egg, beaten
A couple of pinches crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (freshly ground black pepper is fine if you don't have white)
A few drizzles of sesame oil

Put the rice noodles in a big bowl and submerge in hot (not boiling) water for 10 minutes. I try to time this right so that the 10 minutes are up when I'm already cooking, so I can pull the noodles out of the bowl with a pair of tongs and put them straight into the skillet.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet over high heat. Throw in the garlic, ginger, and chiles and cook for a minute, until the garlic begins to change color. Add the mushrooms and shrimp and stir until the shrimp turns pink.

Add the turmeric and stir around until everything is coated. Add the noodles to the skillet and use a pair of kitchen shears to randomly snip them several times to shorten the strands--this will make them much easier to work with. Toss together with the shrimp and mushrooms so that everything gets combined.

Toss in the green onions and soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the beaten egg over the noodles, turn down the heat, and let the eggs set for 30 seconds. Stir gently.

Turn off the heat and sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes and white pepper over top. Finish with a few drizzles of sesame oil.

Mark Bittman wrote an article in today's New York Times about using shrimp shells to make a simple stock to use in shrimp based dishes. I was going to make some to use in this dish, but I realized too late that I had bought the already peeled shrimp by accident. D'oh! I probably would have thrown in a 1/4 cup or so of the stock at the same time as the sauces. Maybe next time. Let me know if you try it!

Rating: This is awesome
Mmmm, so awesome. Simple cooking with tasty flavors, my favorite kind of food to make and eat. Definitely a keeper! My husband's verdict was that while it tasted good, it wasn't "greasy enough." Uhm, I can live with that, thanks!