Salmon Cakes

Just a quick pointer to a recipe posted to my personal blog:

Salmon Cakes

It's an easy recipe that uses canned salmon (or leftover cooked salmon) to great advantage. It gets a little crunch from onions, peppers, and celery. It's delicious served as a salmon burger, or on top of a big crunchy green salad.

It's good summer eating.

Corn and Peach Salsa

It's corn season. It's peach season. Why not combine the two? This salsa recipe is from King Soopers (part of Kroger's). I modified it slightly. They have it paired with a teriyaki-grilled salmon, which you can see in the photo of my dinner. It's very tasty with the salmon but it would be good with grilled chicken too.

To grill corn, shuck it and lay the ears of corn directly on a hot grill. Turn when the kernels are mostly dark brown.

Corn & Peach Salsa
(makes 4-6 servings)

2 ears of corn, grilled, cooled, and kernels cut from the cob
1 peach, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup minced parsley, about 6 sprigs (see Note)
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mix together all the ingredients in medium bowl. You can serve immediately but it gets better if it has a chance to chill for at least an hour before serving.

Note: The original recipe called for cilantro, which would give this a more southwestern twist. Fresh basil is also wonderful with corn, peaches, and tomatoes.

Dry Rub Magic

More on grilling, this Memorial Day weekend. If you haven't spiced up your grilling with a bit of dry rub yet, I have a tip for you. Unlike marinades, dry rubs can be put on your meat close to grilling time, so using them requires no advance planning. You can rub them on in advance, if you like, but it's not absolutely necessary to impart flavor. The dry rub brings plenty of flavor in no time at all.

There are an infinite number of dry rubs, depending on where you draw your influence from. This is a traditional American BBQ style rub, a little sweet, and one that you can use on poultry or any kind of red meat, even salmon. I used it most recently on Cornish game hens, which are great on the grill. They are a bit more expensive than chicken, but they are also a bit more impressive than plain chicken. Everyone can get their own half a hen and they cook in 30 minutes if you split them in half before cooking. Another advantage of splitting them in half is you can cover the inside of the bird with the rub too.

In keeping with the quick theme, rub on the dry rub when you start your grill. By the time the coals are ready or your grill is hot, you can put the hens on. If you have more time, put the dry rub on a few hours ahead and refrigerate until you're ready to cook them. Either way, they will be delicious.

This recipe makes more rub than you will need for a single meal. Put it in a glass jar and store in a cool, dark place. You'll have it in the pantry whenever you need a quick BBQ fix. Use it up with a few months of mixing it up. For 4 Cornish game hen halves, you'll need about 6 Tablespoons.

Basic BBQ Dry Rub
(makes 1 cup)

¼ cup coarse salt, such as kosher salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sweet paprika
3 Tablespoons ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon dried minced onion or onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix together in a bowl and store in a tightly covered jar in a cool, dry place.

Use on chicken, Cornish game hens, ribs, pork chops or roasts, salmon, or steak.

Adapted from a recipe by Steven Raichlen.

Sunday Night Dinner: Salmon with a Potato Topping

Looking for something a little special for Sunday night dinner? Here's a delicious idea. The salmon is covered with some mashed potatoes and baked. There are a few steps, but it's all easy. It's also a foolproof way of cooking an expensive piece of fish.

These days, you usually get salmon fillets with the skin still on. Get the person at the fish counter to remove it for you. This will save you a bit of trouble when you get home.

Baked Salmon with Scallion-Potato Topping
(serves 4, costs $15, highly variable depending in the cost of salmon)

¾ pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
¼ cup milk
½ Tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil for greasing baking dish
1 ¼ pounds salmon fillet
salt and pepper for seasoning salmon
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover them until they are soft, about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet and saute the scallions and garlic until the scallions are wilted. Set aside.

Heat oven to 425 F°.

Drain the potatoes and mash with a fork. Add in milk, butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, and scallion-garlic mixture. Mash to combine.

Oil an 8x8" baking dish. Place the salmon fillet in the dish and season with salt and pepper. Evenly spread the mashed potatoes oven the salmon fillet. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake the fish for 18-20 minutes. Cut into 4 pieces and serve.

Adapted from Jane Brody's Good Seafood Book, W.W. Norton & Company, 1994.