Salmon Cakes & Strawberry Shortcake

We had a combination of chefs this week since they each had very few recipes. I wasn't really able to find a Masaharu Morimoto recipe that looked appealing to me, but I did try a recipe each from Melissa d'Arabian and Mary Nolan.

I'll start with the main course- Salmon Cakes.

Salmon Cakes
Courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian

Ingredients:

• 2 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled, reserve the fat
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 1 (14 ounce) can wild salmon, checked for large bones (I've only had one previous experience with canned salmon and it was really terribly unappetizing so I splurged and bought the "no skin and bones" salmon)
• 1 baked or boiled russet potato, peeled and fluffed with a fork
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used herbed bread crumbs because that's what I had handy)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil*

Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon fat in a small saute pan over low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Cool the onions for a bit.

Mix the bacon, onion, egg, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Add the salmon and potato, mixing gently after each addition. Form the mixture into 12 small patties.

*Okay, at this point I knew something was not "right" with this recipe. I had salmon soup, not something that would be able to be formed into patties. I mixed in some instant potatoes to thicken it up a little, but they still weren't really formable so I decided to scoop the mixture into my muffin pan and bake them instead. I sprinkled some bread crumbs over the top of each "cake" and then grated a little Parmesan onto each. I baked them for about 20 minutes at 175 C (350 F). Below are Melissa's instructions if you have better success than me and want to fry them.

In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and pepper, to taste. Coat the patties in the bread crumb topping. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, and cook the salmon cakes in batches until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add more oil, as necessary. Arrange on a serving platter and serve.

The Verdict: These tasted FANTASTIC! We both thought they were really good and I was glad I figured out a way to salvage the recipe. I'm going to try it with tuna and see what happens with that.

*****

For dessert I made Mary Nolan's Strawberry Shortcake. I'm not going to post the recipe because to be honest I wasn't -that- enamored with it. It tasted good, but I don't think I'd use that shortcake recipe again. It was a bit too dense. The addition of the lemon zest to the whipped cream was genius though. I'll do THAT part again.