salmon cakes with steamed asparagus and baked sweet potato

Okay, I know that some people may think sweet potatoes do not go with salmon, but I wanted some color on the plate. ;)

This salmon cake recipe is one that I have used before and came from my Cuisine at Home magazine.  The last time I used fresh salmon, so I decided to try out canned salmon this go around.  I also reduced the sriracha sauce to keep the heat down.  Overall, I thought the flavor was good, but for some reason, the cakes did not hold together well.  I think they need a little more egg.

You all are probably tiring of seeing pictures of asparagus spears here, but we love them.  They are one of the few green vegetables that Chef D likes, so I fix them often.

All the potato needed was a sprinkling of our special cinnamon-sugar mixture (vietnamese cassia cinnamon with turbinado sugar) and a little butter (well, I used smart balance light since I am watching my calories).  

All in all, I thought this was a pretty good meal for under 400 calories.

maple glazed salmon with baked potato

This salmon recipe is really easy and definitely leaves a nice crisp exterior and tender inside.  I didn't use enough salt this time, so the flavors did not all come through like they should have.   The potato was fluffy, yet still had a nice texture.  I originally planned to have steamed broccoli, but realized I had the makings for a salad already, so made a last minute change.

In the end, I still really liked this quick and easy meal.

salmon cakes and asparagus with creamy dill sauce

This is my 50th post!  [just wanted to share that with anyone who cares]  Now, on to the business at hand.

The salmon cakes were much easier to prepare than I thought.  It just took a few moments to pulse the ingredients in the food processor then add in the salmon.   I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop it out and flatten out a bit before leaving it in the icebox until it was time to cook.  I also did a quick blanch of the asparagus and made the dill sauce in advance, so all I had to do at the end was add it together and heat up a bit.  

I really enjoyed the texture of the cakes, but Chef D and I both agreed it had a bit too much heat.  If I make this again, I will reduce the sriracha to 1/2 tablespoon.  I think this could easily be made with frozen salmon to reduce the cost.

Chef D recommended this apple pie bite recipe for our dessert after our bible reading group.  I had some crescent roll dough that needed to be used, so I used that instead of the biscuit dough.  I just rolled it out and flattened out all the perforations and cut it into 6 squares.  I also added an eggwash to the tops before baking.  They turned out great!  

menu planning monday 10.13.08

Chef D requested that I begin including nutritional data for my recipes.  Until I figure out the easiest way to make those calculations myself, I am going to include some recipes from my Cuisine At Home magazines (they have nutritional data!).  So, this week is Cuisine At Home Week that happens to include a lot of seafood! 

Monday: Chef D and the boys will be attending a church men's group dinner, so I am on my own for the night!

Tuesday: Salmon Cakes with Steamed Asparagus and dill sauce and Apple Pie Bites for dessert

Apprehension-Free Wednesday:  This week's menu at church is meat loaf, hash brown casserole, green beans, salad and dessert. 

Thursday: Dan Dan Noodles with Pickled Cucumber

Friday: Surf & Turf on Caesar Salad

Sous-Chef Saturday: I wonder what Chef D will have up his sleeve for tonight's meal.  Whatever the case, I know I will enjoy playing sous-chef for the night! [edited to add:  it now looks like we will be traveling to Tigertown to see tigergirl, so there will be no sous-chef work in my future this weekend]

Sunday:  TBD

Don't forget to check out all the other great menu ideas at OrgJunkie!

pan-seared salmon with pineapple-jalapeno relish with a side of coconut rice

This meal was just an all around success, in my opinion. First, it was easy and not overly time-consuming. I was able to quickly chop of the items for the relish in the beginning so the flavors could sit and meld together while I worked on the other parts of the course. I had never cooked basmati rice and I have to admit that just the name of it caused a bit of apprehension. But, I jumped right in and followed the very easy directions provided by Michelle [and I was happy to find the coconut milk at the first market I stopped by earlier today when I was finishing the grocery shopping for this week's meals]. This rice did seem to soak up the liquids sooner than other rices, and I did add a bit more water during the last 10 minutes of cooking, but it all worked out just fine. I usually bake or grill salmon, so this pan-fried version was a little new to me and I hoped the fish would end up moist enough for Chef D. The recipe held true to it's word and 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat was perfect.

Chef D informed me that he liked this rice for it's fluffy texture and good flavor. He definitely prefers it over the usual white rice, and even ate it without adding his usual cinnamon. Although he enjoyed the flavor of the salmon alone and felt it needed no additional flavoring, he did not dislike the relish. In the end, I am thrilled that he liked the whole meal!

I really liked the sweeter flavor and fluffier texture of the coconut rice. Moreso, though, I loved the pineapple-jalapeno relish and the flavor it added to the salmon. Much of that is the fact that I like to camouflage the 'fishy' taste as much as possible...and the relish did the trick. We will definitely have this meal again. Many thanks to Michelle from Michelle's Messy Musings for this recipe:)

[Chef D and I decided to save our leftover rice to use on Friday in the place of the couscous. I will add some curry seasonings and some of the leftover coconut milk and stir-fry it.]