Delicious Salmon Cakes

If you want a scrumptious meal for this Valentine weekend that's delicious and healthy, I heartily ♥ suggest these salmon cakes. You can make them as an entree with a salad or make them into smaller patties to serve as an appetizer. 

I made them recently when the weather was cold and awful and I needed to prepare dinner with what was on hand.  I had a beautiful piece of wild sockeye salmon in the freezer and everything else in the pantry and refrigerator to prepare these delicious salmon cakes. 

I had never made salmon cakes before!  We love crab cakes and found a recipe for salmon cakes from Ina Garten that had many of the same delicious ingredients as my favorite crab cake recipe so I was hopeful they would be wonderful and they were!

I served them with a homemade tartar sauce recipe from Cathy at Wives with Knives.  It is the only tartar sauce I use because it is so good. 

The wonderful thing about this recipe is you can prepare everything in the morning and do the sauteing just before dinner.  I served them with a salad. 

If you're looking for a special dessert to serve your sweetheart, look no further than my sidebar.

PS:  I'll be taking a short break ~ see you all in a week or two! Happy Valentine's Day!

Delicious Salmon Cakes

Adapted from Ina Garten and Food Network

Printable Recipe

1/2 pound fresh salmon

4-5 Bay Leaves (my addition)

Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (4 stalks)
1/2 cup small-diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/2 cup small-diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
3 slices stale bread, crusts removed or Panko crumbs (I used 1/2 bread crumbs and1/2 Panko crumbs)
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Place the salmon on an oiled sheet pan, skin side down. Tuck several Bay Leaves under the salmon. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until just cooked. Remove from the oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile, place 2 tablespoons of the butter, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onion, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, capers, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, crab boil seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large saute pan over medium-low heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Break the bread slices in pieces and process the bread in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. You should have about 1 cup of bread crumbs. Place the bread crumbs on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 5 minutes until lightly browned, tossing occasionally.

Flake the chilled salmon into a large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, mustard, and eggs. Add the vegetable mixture and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Shape into 10 (2 1/2 to 3-ounce) cakes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. In batches, add the salmon cakes and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels; keep them warm in a preheated 250 degree F oven and serve hot.

Serve with Cathy's Tartar Sauce

Adapted from Wives with Knives

I usually make 1/2 recipe...

2 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons minced onion
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon green olives with pimento, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly cracked black pepper

Splash of Sriracha sauce or Tabasco (My addition)

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for several hours before serving. I highly recommend Cathy's Tartar Sauce!

Crispy Grilled Salmon with Herbed Garlic Butter

Now that I've had my fill of Thanksgiving feasting, I'm going to do my best to cook healthy meals until the next holiday beckons with delicious treats again! One thing I want to make more often is fish. Salmon is a favorite of ours but I hate making it in the kitchen because of the strong odor it creates when it is sauteed, so we prefer to prepare it outside on the grill - even in cold weather. We simply pull the gas grill a little closer to the back door and use it all winter long.

My new favorite way to grill salmon is on the flat side of a case iron griddle placed right on top the grill grates. This is also a great way to prepare scallops and shrimp. No need to worry about them falling through the grates!

Prepared this way, a delightful crispy 'crust' can be seared on the outside while keeping the salmon tender and flaky on the inside.

The herbed garlic butter topping is wonderful with salmon and is also very tasty drizzled over pasta!

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Crispy Grilled Salmon with Herbed Garlic Butter

Printable Recipe

Serves 2

2 center-cut salmon fillets, weighing about 6 to 8 ounces each

½ stick butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Lawry’s original seasoning salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash original blend seasoning
Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add remaining ingredients including lemon juice and remove from heat while grilling salmon.

Place a cast iron griddle over the grates of your grill so that the flat side is facing up and heat the grill to medium-high heat while keeping the lid closed.

Open lid and spray griddle lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place salmon on the griddle (if your salmon still has the skin on, place skin side down first) and close grill lid. Sear for 3-4 minutes and flip to the other side. (You can easily remove the skin off the salmon at this point with a tongues.) Sear for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the grill and place on a serving platter. Tent with foil for 3-4 minutes. Drizzle herbed garlic butter over salmon and sprinkle with parsley. If serving with pasta, reserve a little garlic herb butter to drizzle over pasta.

Slow Roasted Tomato Pasta with Grilled Salmon

About this time last year, Cathy at Wives with Knives, shared a recipe for slow roasted tomatoes that she had found in her local newspaper. She mentioned that it was so good that it was now her favorite oven-roasted tomato recipe. I saved the recipe but didn't have a good tomato crop last year.

This year, I have a bumper crop of Chocolate Cherry tomatoes! I knew I needed to do something other than serving them in salads since they are ripening in abundance!

They are the most prolific tomato that I have ever grown and they are bigger than the average cherry tomato and so delicious. I'm not absolutely certain about the name because I bought them last year at the farmers' market, saved the seed from one of the tomatoes, and started plants from that seed early this spring. (I'll be sharing my method of saving seed in a post tomorrow).  Following Cathy's recipe, I halved the tomatoes, but didn't bother scooping out the seeds as she did, because it would have been very labor intensive with small-size  tomatoes.

The tomato halves are tossed with a little sugar and salt and placed cut-side-down on a cookie sheet.  Garlic and onion are sauteed and sprinkled over the tomatoes along with freshly cut basil.  Then, a generous amount of olive oil is added and then the tomatoes are roasted for two to three hours.  I only roasted mine for two hours as they were small.

Two hours later, the lovelies were done.  The skins slipped off so easily after they cooled.  I strained the tomatoes and saved the roasted tomato-onion-basil oil for another use. Cathy suggests using it as a dipping oil for baguettes.  I'm trying that tonight!

The slow-roasted tomatoes made a delicious sauce for the fettucini that I served alongside grilled salmon for our dinner tonight. Oh my goodness, these slow roasted tomatoes are so tasty! I can't wait to harvest enough to make another batch of slow roasted tomatoes for the freezer! The roasted tomatoes would also make a delicious condiment for the grilled salmon.

Your can find the recipe for these delicious slow-roasted tomatoes along with Cathy's tips and suggestions at Wives with Knives here.  Enjoy!

This is my family's favorite recipe for grilled salmon

Grilled Salmon with Garlic Butter
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

4 tablespoons (½ stick) of butter
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Mrs. Dash Original blend seasoning
Juice of one lemon, strained

1 large, skinless salmon fillet (about 2 pounds) cut into 4 individual portions

Preheat a cast-iron grill or fish grate on an outdoor grill over medium heat. (I prefer to use a cast-iron grill because the skin gets beautifully crispy).

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a small saucepan and cook on stove until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Spray the pre-heated grill pan or grate with nonstick cooking spray and grill the salmon filets for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned, then turn over with large spatula and grill another 3-4 minutes.

Remove the filets carefully with the spatula and place on a serving platter. Spoon the garlic butter over the filets. Tent the platter loosely with a large piece of aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5-7 minutes before serving.

Salmon Pinwheels ~ A Lovely Holiday Appetizer

Last weekend, we had a gathering of our gourmet group at the home of very good friends. It's always a delightful time since our group has been together for over 20 years and we are all close friends. Good food, good wine and most of all, good company!

The group consists of 5 couples and each couple takes a turn hosting and planning one dinner during the course of a year. The host couple is in charge of the entree and perhaps one side dish and they assign a recipe to each couple to bring or make and assemble at the host couples' home. We all love to cook, research and try new recipes. Some of the husbands really get into the cooking aspect too, and others, like my husband, enjoy researching the wine.

For this holiday-themed gourmet, my husband and I (translate =  me) were assigned a recipe for Smoked Salmon Pinwheels for the first course. I know there are many smoked salmon pinwheel recipes out there but, what impressed me most about this recipe, was the delicious homemade crepes that held the pinwheels together. I could have eaten them as a meal on their own, they were so good!

The 'bonus factor' with this recipe is the batter can be made two days ahead...the crepes made and refrigerated a day ahead, and the pinwheels assembled the morning of the party. I love recipes that have do-ahead features! Sam's Club carries some wonderful smoked salmon that is reasonably priced.



The pinwheels 'logs' are wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated. Then, they are cut into bite-sized pieces and topped with dill weed and salmon roe (optional).

Whether you celebrate the holidays with friends, family, pets or your own sweet self, this is not a difficult recipe if you do it in stages as I did.

Unfortunately, the source of the original recipe is unknown so I cannot give attribution.

Smoked Salmon Pinwheels

Source Unknown

Printable Recipe

Serves 10

Crepe Batter:

1 large egg
½ cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) whole milk
½ cup (2-1/2 oz/85 g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Salt
3 green onions, including tender green tops, finely chopped

Melted unsalted butter for cooking

Filling:

4 oz (125 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
4 oz (125 g) thinly sliced smoked salmon or gravlax

Garnish:

¼ cup (2 oz/60g) salmon roe
24 small fresh drill sprigs

To make the batter, combine the egg, milk, flour, butter, and a pinch of salt in a blender and process until smooth – about 30 seconds. Transfer the batter to a bowl and stir in the green onions. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.

Remove the batter from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before cooking – about 30 minutes. Stir the batter gently to redistribute the green onions.

Preheat a nonstick crepe pan or frying pan over medium heat. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the pan with melted butter. Lift the pan from the heat and hold it at a slight angle. Pour ¼ cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) of the batter into the pan and tip an swirl the pan to cover the pan evenly. Cook until the batter is almost dry and the edges have started to brown, about 1 minute. Using a wooden or silicone spatula, flip the crepe and cook until slightly browned on the second side and cooked, about 30 seconds longer. (I used my fingers to flip them over). Repeat with the remaining batter to create 4 large crepes. Let cool to room temperature. The cooked crepes can be stacked with waxed paper separating them, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Lay the 4 crepes on a work surface. Spread one=fourth of the cream cheese evenly over the surface of each crepe, leaving a ½ inch order uncovered around the entire edge. Lay one-fourth of the salmon over each cheese-topped crepe. Starting with the edge closest to you, tightly roll up each crepe into a cylinder. Wrap each crepe in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 4 hours before serving.

At serving time, remove the plastic wrap and, using a serrated knife, trim off ½ inch from each end of each rolled crepe. Slice the crepe crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Arrange the pieces, spiral side up, on a tray. Top each piece with ½ teaspoon of salmon caviar and a dill sprig. Serve at one.

Salmon Salad with Dill and Yogurt~

Looking through my recipe files today, I found a salad that I hadn't made for a couple of years. I used to make this salad when my daughters still lived at home. It's a springtime salad but hearty enough to be a main course salad. My husband enjoys it just as much as the women around him :) This salad and a nice glass of Chardonnay made for a wonderful meal tonight.

I had mine in a red pepper 'boat' but DH doesn't like peppers so he just had a heaping helping on a plate - it was so good!

I had found the recipe in a magazine years ago and, once again, I regret I cannot give credit. Even after trying to 'Google' the recipe I still couldn't find the same one. I love the addition of yogurt in the dressing which really helps cut down on calories and fat. The dill gives it a fresh, springtime taste.

The original recipe called for canned salmon but I find that it's very easy to poach a nice filet of salmon and the taste is so much better!

Here is the recipe:

Dilled Salmon Pasta Salad
Printable Recipe

Serves 4 as a main course salad

Ingredients:

1 lb of farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 lb salmon filet, poached
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
4-5 scallions, sliced thin
½ cup Hellman’s Light Mayonnaise
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh dill weed or 2 teaspoons dried dill
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Poach salmon in a covered saute pan in approximately 1/2 cup water with a little salt and pepper for about 12-15 minutes (or until fish flakes easily with a fork).

Place frozen peas in a colander in the sink. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain over the peas in colander. Rinse with cold water, drain, and place in a large bowl.

Flake the poached salmon and add to the pasta and peas along with green onions.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, yogurt and dill. Pour over the salmon/pasta mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss gently to combine.

Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving (if you can keep from eating it right out of the bowl!).

Grilled Salmon Salad with Mustard-Dill Vinaigrette

My hubby and I have really been trying to eat lighter since the Thanksgiving free-for-all. We've been eating salads, fruits, veggies and fish as often as possible. 

This salmon can be made on a grill or pan-seared.  I serve it on top of my second all-time favorite salad (just slightly behind Caesar salad). I don't have a name for this salad, it was given to me by a friend. The combination of flavors is wonderful. It can be served as a side salad or topped with grilled fish or scallops.

I used some A in 5 boule dough and added herbs and sea salt to make a small dinner loaf to serve with our salad.

 

Here is the recipe for the grilled salmon. I found this on line years ago so I'm sorry I can't give the proper credit. This makes enough for a whole salmon fillet so adjust if you are only making a small amount. I decided to pan-sear my salmon indoors in a cast-iron pan rather than grilling outside. It was only 15F!

Grilled Salmon

½ stick butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Lawry’s seasoning salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Mrs. Dash original seasoning
Juice of one lemon, strained
1 large salmon fillet

Stir first 4 ingredients together in a small saucepan and cook on stove-top until garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Place fish grate on grill and heat grill to medium heat. Spray with non-stick spray. Grill salmon skin side down first for 4 minutes. Flip over and remove skin. Grill for another 4 minutes and flip again. During last 4 minutes baste with above mixture but beware there will be flare-ups so watch carefully.

After preparing this recipe for a couple of years, I now simply prepare the seasoned butter mixture and pour it over the salmon after it comes off the grill and allow to rest for several minutes.

Here is the salad recipe:

Mustard/Dill Salad with Pine Nuts and Gorgonzola

Dressing:

2t dill
1-2T horseradish mustard or stone ground mustard
1/2-1t salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4C balsamic vinegar
stir these ingredients
add in stream while whisking 1/2C olive oil

Salad:

1 large head romaine
about 1/2- 3/4C pine nuts toasted
Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese 'to taste' - about 1-2 ounces.
Optional - Avocado and Tomato

Serve as a side salad or top with grilled salmon or scallops. Yum!

ENJOY!