Another One That's Gina's Fault: Salmon Cakes

It's lovely when my friends support my hobbies. This past holiday season, I was gifted with a small jar of Penzey's wasabi powder. For the smell of the place alone, I miss living with easy access to a Penzey's.

When I took and experimental whiff of the powder, my brain immediately went, 'salmon,' and I thought I'd make salmon cakes. It didn't take long for the ingredients to come together in my head. I surfed the web a bit until I had a good idea of the proportions and came up with this:

• 1 14.5 ounce can pink salmon (do not drain)
• 3 green onions, chopped 
• 3/4 Cup of bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon of wasabi powder
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 t light oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Shichimi Togarashi (a Japanese red pepper mix that I utterly adore)

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Carefully (as in be prepared for splashing) de-can the salmon using a fork and take apart any large chunks. Combine with the rest of the ingredients, using a rubber spatula. 

I wanted cakes, not patties, and while I know they're often fried, it made sense to me to use one of my muffin tins. Well, tin is really not the word, I have these:

I didn't press the mixture into the tin, rather I rolled it into six spheres, and then baked for 35 minutes.

For condiments, I put 2 T of mayonaise, 1t of soy sauce and 1 T of a creamy garlic hot sauce by Famous Daves in a ramekin and stirred until everything was evenly distributed. 

For serving, I put 2 cakes on a bed of butterhead lettuce and squeezed a bit of lemon over.

For a first try, I think they're pretty damn good, but I have some plans for improvement most of which can be summed up in one word: MORE. Green onions, wasabi powder, Shichimi Togarashi. I got a little of the wasabi flavor, but not quite enough. Under consideration as additives are finely chopped celery (I rarely buy celery because I need so little at a time. I should check a local salad bar) and a shallot. Also more lemon. Many of the recipes I browsed have red pepper in them, but I think that would take away from the wasabi and I don't want that. Some shishito peppers on the side, maybe.

Now, I need crabmeat to go on sale......

Blame the Millennials or Kate Makes Tomato Soup

A couple weeks ago, several of my friends posted this link on Facebook. The TL:DR of it is, millennials are killing canned tuna. Sales are down about 40%. I'm pretty surprised at this. As one of my friends pointed out, this is cheap, filling protein, and it's reasonably good for you. You'd think a generation that doesn't have a lot of money for groceries would jump all over it.

Anyway, it got me in mind of tuna melts, and since it's cold and often dreary outside I decided I also should make tomato soup to up the comfort food quotient. I did my usual thing of reading a lot of different recipes and came up with the following:

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (these happen to be roasted, but it's not necessary)
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 T unsalted butter (it's probably okay with salted, this is what I had in the fridge)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 generous teaspoon of dried thyme (in other words, don't level it) or 1 Tablespoon fresh
• 1 generous teaspoon of parsley (or 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon of salt. Keep some handy to add to your taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Keep some of this handy to taste as well
• 1 Tablespoon cream for serving (optional)

In a large pot (a 2-quart saucepan is probably doable, but it will be pretty tight. I used my largest pot), cook the bacon on low-to-medium-low heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and do with as you will. Eat it. Save it for tomorrow's eggs. Put it on a salad. I put mine in the tuna salad. 

Melt the butter in the pan on medium-low heat and stir in your onions. Cook until they are translucent, then stir in your herbs. When the herbs are evenly distributed, add your tomatoes, including the juice in the cans. Stir well. Slowly add the broth, and then bring to a low boil.

I originally simmered, partially covered, for about twenty minutes and then used my stick blender on the low setting to give it a slightly rough texture. Feel free to go all the way to velvety. I happen to like my tomato soup with small chunks in it.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle cream on top if desired. 

Twenty minutes of simmering wasn't enough, I determined later. It was merely okay. For my next serving the following day, I simmered for an hour with the lid off. The difference was amazing. 

I ran out of tuna (this melt had Gruyere on it and was eaten on top of a crumpet) before I ran out of soup, so to add some protein to the third meal, I chopped up some Jarlsberg to add while I ate. Provolone also works here.

For my next time, I think I'll add a bit of garlic and maybe some lemon zest, possibly some additional herbs. More research is needed.

How do you like your tomato soup?

What to get at the Asian Market

I've had this recipe on my tablet for a while, meaning to either ask Nexx to write up an entry or to just put it up myself. It's a great side dish, though I'm damned if I can remember just what we served it with.

I have, in learning about Asian food, come to enjoy the lightness and tang of some side dishes and salads. An easy snack is slicking cucumbers adding black sesame seeds and stirring them up with some ponzu. Ponzu, if you have not experienced it, is a citrus-based sauce. A lot of what you see in stores is actually ponzu shoyu, which means there is soy sauce involved, but it's commonly called ponzu.

I love cabbage, maybe it's the Polish ancestry. I love a good coleslaw, kraut, or golabki. I have on occasion made "lazy pierogie" which is fried cabbage and onions stirred up with medium-sized pasta shells.

But I digress (surprise, surprise). The following recipe is easy, tasty and light, which is perfect for summer days ahead. I think I'll serve it alongside next time Austin grills some salmon with an Asian-themed sauce.

Napa Cabbage Salad (serves 2)

10 leaves of Napa cabbage
1 dried kombu
60 g bonito flakes (which are also delicious stirred up with rice and soy sauce. A great way to use up leftover rice)
15 g of ponzu

Slice off the bottom 5 cm of the cabbage leaves and set them aside for another use (soup comes to mind). Pour boiling water on the kombu and let it rest while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Cut the cabbage leaves horizontally into strips about 1 cm wide (figure half an inch). Cut the kombu into strips about 2 cm long and 5 mm wide. Mix the cabbage, kombu, bonito and ponzu in a bowl. Serve chilled.

Delicious, light and nicely crunchy. Enjoy!

Too hungry to take pictures

Hello friends! I am pleased to bring you a meal that is both easy and tasty.

While I got a raise with last year's new job, a lot of it does get eaten up by the commute, so I shop the sales and try to eat seasonal.

This week, I was lucky enough to get a couple of tuna steaks for about 40% off their usual price. Once I found those, I started wracking my brains. I've done sesame tuna, and while it's delicious, it wasn't what I was in the mood for. It is trying to be spring outside, dammit, and I wanted a citrusy freshness, so to Google, I went.

I hit what I call paydirt here. Conveniently, I had both Old Bay and dried cilantro in the house though it wasn't the brand listed. I don't think I'm subject to a lawsuit.

Anyway, very easy to make and not a lot of time. The ingredients are simple too (serves 2):

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 4 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 teaspoons dried cilantro leaves.
• 1 pound tuna steaks (this was two hefty ones, a little over an inch thick).

Blend the first four ingredients in a bowl. Put the tuna steaks in a zipper back and pour marinade over, making sure everything is covered. Put in fridge.

The recipe said a minimum of fifteen minutes, more for more flavor, once I put the steaks in the fridge, I did the following.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Chop about 2/3 a cup of red onions to a small dice and place in a small bowl. cover with white vinegar, add a pinch of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, set aside.

Scrub a pound of fingerling potatoes with a vegetable brush and rinse well, let dry on paper towels, cut into approximately equally-sized pieces. With most of the fingerlings, I could cut them in half. The smaller ones, I put small cuts in for ventilation. Put the potatoes in the large bowl.

Grab 6-8 large bay leaves. Take the leafy part off the main rib and pulverise the leaves with the violent method of your choice until you have a fine powder. Add a touch of salt, and some black pepper. (I actually used 4, and I definitely needed more bay leaves).

Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil over the potatoes and stir until the potatoes are coated well. Sprinkle half the spice mixture over, stir again. Repeat. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet covered with foil and stick in oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Put some fresh lettuce leaves on your plates (either a corner of the dinner plate or its own, but don't use a salad bowl, it won't be as pretty). I used butter lettuce because I love the texture.

Halve, pit, and peel a fresh avocado. Rub lime juice on your cutting board before putting the avocados down and slicing them. This will keep them from getting brown after plating. Slice the avocado and arrange the slices over the lettuce leaves.

At about this time, the timer will be going off. Stir the potatoes and return them to the oven.

Slice a jalapeno into rings, then gently remove the seeds and ribs. Place 5-7 jalapeno rings in a line on top of the avocado. Top with pickled onions.

Set the table, pour a glass of wine, run out the time until the timer goes off. Stir the potatoes again.

Put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (because we're not allowed grills on our balconies and the public ones haven't been cleaned since the Clinton administration) and turn the heat up to medium high. Remove tuna from the fridge and sear for no more than two minutes a side. Transfer tuna to plates. Turn off the oven.

Add potatoes to plates. Pour more wine and serve.

This was too easy

Before I get into the quickbread post, I wanted to post about our pre-Thanksgiving dinner. We spend a lot of Thanksgiving driving to Massachusetts to visit my uncle, aunt and some cousins. I thought it would be a nice treat to have a bird for just the two of us the night before.

I lucked out in finding a special on duck breast--it was about $10, which is less than  half of what I usually see duck going for in a fine restaurant. I pounced. 


For my next trick, trying to find a duck recipe that did not involve cooked fruit. While my sweetie makes exceptions for cranberry sauce, and the occasional mince or apple pie, he generally doesn't like cooked fruit. He also tends not to eat meat with fruit (or cheese with fruit, but I'm working on that).


I found this week's recipe at the Food Network. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Plus, Emeril's Essence is a cinch to make and if you make it yourself, you can control the amount of salt in it. Bonus.


First, your spice mix, and I'll be most of you have these items already:

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients, store in an airtight container.

Now for your duck. Gotta love the ingredient list:

3 duck breasts (I thought breasts came in sets of two. That's what I purchased. Maybe Emeril has mutant ducks)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Essence, as above.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the entire duck breast with Essence. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the duck breast, skin side down. Sear for 6 minutes. Flip the duck breast over and place the pan in the oven. Roast the breasts for 8 to 10 minutes for medium rare. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the duck breasts to rest 2 to 3 minutes before slicing. 

This tasted fantabulously succulent. My hat is off to Emeril for making a gourmet out of anyone who can read with this one. Tender, juicy, rich. This is food porn at its finest.

Nachos that won't kill you (quickly)

I'm going to do something a little different today and actually use brand names. I have, generally speaking, taken a page from our friends at the Food Network, and not used any brand names. Partly because all things aren't available in all places (and I have no idea where half of you are) and partly because, well, nobody is paying me to do it. If they offered, and I liked the product, I'd consider it.

Anyway, I love nachos. Most people I know do. When we get them in Mexican restaurants, they're so damn heavy, though, afterwards I feel like I swallowed a bowling ball. And let's face it, half the reason they're so good is because they're so bad for you. Gooey cheese, sour cream, meat dripping with juice and fat. . .

A while back, I bought some chips from the nice people at Food Should Taste Good. They make a variety of chips and crackers and I've enjoyed several flavors. I saw the mulit-grain chip and I started thinking.

I usually have black beans in the house. Meat? Well, why not chicken for a change? I took the lazy way out and got a rotisserie bird from the supermarket. It was a lime & garlic flavor, I thought it would work. For cheese, I went with Cabot low-fat cheddar. I forget what salsa I had in the house, probably something chunky and organic (and no sugar!).

So, let's list this out:

One package multi-grain tortilla chips

one avocado, sliced

one jar salsa

one cup shredded low-fat cheese

two cans of black beans

two cups of shredded chicken (about two breasts and a drumstick off your rotisserie bird)

one medium onion (smaller than a baseball)

one jalapeno (optional)

Grate cheese

chop onion

Slice avocado. If you wait to do these things until you're ready, the chips will get soggy.

Arrange chips on a microwave-safe plate. Good stoneware will do. I did about a layer and a half. You should see no dish showing through.

Throw the beans, chicken, onion and a heaping spoonful of salsa in a pot. Heat on low until the chicken is heated all the way through.

Microwave your chips for about thirty seconds to get them extra crisp. Spoon chicken and bean mixture over the chips. Top with cheese. Microwave on high for thirty seconds until cheese is melted. Top with salsa and sliced avocados:

Dig in!

 

Questions? Comments? Death threats? Spokesmodel offers? Let's hear them!