Scott's Salmon

Recipe challenge, week six.

Salmon. Tuna. Meatloaf. That’s the short list of foods I just will not eat.  There’s more…mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, anything made with the combination of mayonnaise and hard-boiled eggs, etc.  But that’s not the point. 

Living in Alaska was harder than it needed to be for me because I just didn’t develop a taste for salmon. Scott, on the other hand, loves salmon.  I mean, loves it.  Salmon chowder, baked salmon, smoked salmon, salmon jerky, you get the picture.   In fact, when we order sushi, I won’t eat any with salmon on it.  Fish eggs? Sure.  But if I see that raw pink fish, I pass.

Scott requests salmon for dinner often and swears up and down that those omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins and minerals are something he wants everyday if possible.  So I make a lot of salmon.  I don’t eat it, ever, but I make it several times a week.  I’ve perfected my method.  Keep in my mind that you can season it with whatever you like.  I keep the onion and garlic seasonings off of it because we usually give a few slivers to the dogs.  (Our dogs have expensive taste.)

My salmon advice (from someone who does not eat salmon):  Buy good salmon.  The bags of Copper River Salmon are $34 at Costco.  We used to get real live salmon out of the Copper River in Alaska and to buy the filets from Costco now is kind of like a punch in the stomach…however, it is what it is.  Don’t buy Atlantic Salmon.  It’s not the same thing.  The good stuff will be more expensive, but buying the bags from Costco will save you in the long run. 

When Scott saw me typing this up, he asked why.  He said it's not like I put anything special on it.  Ahhh..Hmmm..Well.  I do make it at least 3 days a week, so if I want to share this thing that I cook on the blog where I write about things I cook, then yeah, I'm going to share it.

(I apologize...Recipage would just not work for me when I tried to use it.  Disappointing.)

Scott’s Salmon

1 (or more) thawed salmon filet

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Thaw your salmon in warm water.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a ceramic or glass dish, spread a little olive oil on the bottom and swirl the filet in it, coating both sides.  Make sure it’s skin-side down when baking.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  Bake for 14-16 minutes.  It’s done when it flakes easily with a fork. 

Baked Crab Dip

Recipe challenge, week one.  

There was a restaurant near our house in Alaska called Evangelo's.  It was an Italian place and surprisingly upscale for Wasilla.  We probably went there 4 times in 2 years and you're probably thinking, "Wow, it couldn't have been that good, Kristin, if you only showed up a handful of times".  But it was and the reason why we didn't go often is because we would start off with a baked crab dip and loaf of baguette.  And then I would usually follow that up with a calzone.  Not a meal you want to eat often, right?  Or maybe you do because it was that good.

Sometimes I still think about that place.  Almost in the same way I think about Vagabond Blues and their Greek wraps and all the fabulous sushi places and the Kaladi Brothers coffee they'd have in the staff lounge because Alaskans don't drink wimpy coffee.  And I think about my beautiful, like-new classroom that I had…and my shiny (albeit expensive) gym…and…well, then I get all nostalgic and I probably shouldn't think that way because there's no way I would make it through another winter in Alaska.  I just wouldn't.  If the darkness in December has affected me in Colorado, I don't think I'm made of tough enough stock for that nonsense anymore.

However, the point of this is to tell you that I made a fabulous crab dip and we enjoyed it on Christmas.  It would make a tasty addition to any party spread. The Superbowl maybe? Or those winter night get-togethers where you just want to supply some comfort food.  I used Wildtree Red Bell Pepper and Garlic Blend seasoning in this dip.  There are very few ingredients, including garlic and coriander. You could use any kind of seasonings, such as Old Bay.

We ate it with Club crackers but baguette would be amazing too.  I tried it with tortilla chips and it wasn't a good fit.  Go for crackers or bread.

Baked Crab Dip

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake appetizer gluten-free

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Ingredients (9 inch pie pan)

• 1 block cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ T. seasoning (I used Wildtree, but I would recommend 1 t. Old Bay + 1 t. garlic powder + 1/2 t. coriander)
• 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press or very finely minced
• 1 cup shredded/diced crab meat

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together with an electric mixer in a large bowl. I’m convinced this is the secret to getting a smooth dip: I use a handheld mixer. Spread into a pie plate-sized dish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned on top.

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Many of you seemed excited by this challenge I'm attempting for the next 52 (now 51) weeks.  Do you have any recipe requests?  Any ideas I should try out?  I have a few that are ready to share, but I'll need more!

Spicy Skewered Shrimp & WIW

Here's what I wore yesterday, the first day of school.  

  

Dress and Sweater:  Loft  //  Sandals: Target

I took this picture on the deck for one reason:  The railing was the right height to prop the camera on.  That deck is 15 ft. off the ground.  I see a fallen camera in my future if I keep this up.

This is the wrinkly dress shot taken after I got home.  I went with flats yesterday simply because you do a lot of hustling on the first day.  Learned that the hard way.

Despite looking like a grown-up (?), I was still greeted with, "You're the teacher?" and "How old are you?" and "You look too nice".  While I can't change the fact that I am the teacher nor change my age, I can guarantee you that I am not, in fact, "too nice".

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And here's a tasty shrimp recipe.  

Tell me, is there nothing better than grilled shrimp??  Yum.

I wish I had a better picture of these shrimp.  My husband made them during R&R (I'm not clever enough to work the charcoal grill).  I sort of inhaled them and didn't have chance to model my food precariously on the windowsill first.  I had just come back from the gym and was all hungry and stuff...
While he made the shrimp, I made the bruschetta.

You see, I really enjoyed the two skewers of shrimp I ate, but Scott didn't like them.  He was just being picky, I think.

Spicy Skewered Shrimp.

Happy weekend!

The Best Crab Cakes Ever (??)

Today I'm guest-posting for Kristen at Established: 2008.  She's in Boston.

I'm in Alaska.


Let's not talk about it.  Mine envy overfloweth. 

But you should totally go check out her blog.  
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Last year, I tried a crab cake for the first time at the Alaska State Fair.
It was delicious.

Two months later, in Maine, I had crab cakes again.  They were amazing.

A month after that, Scott made crab cakes at home.

Scott is the kind of cook who will print a recipe off of the computer, take it to the grocery store, and scurry up and down the aisles buying all of the ingredients.  Sure, we may already have "1/4 teaspoon salt" at home, but why not buy some more?

He'll then take over the kitchen (turning on that blasted overhead light) and cook exactly according to the recipe.

I'm the kind of cook who will look for recipes based off of what I already have in the cupboard.  If I must go to the store, it will only be for one or two ingredients and, gosh darn it, my meals are planned a week in advance.  If I need carrots for something, we'll have 3 meals including carrots that week because I want to use them all up if I'm going to buy them.  (Actually, this statement is more applicable to "jar of pasta sauce" because carrots stay fresh in the crisper forever.  This I know.)

Anyway, Scott went to Paula Deen to look for a crab cake recipe when he wanted to make them.

I went to Pinterest.

Men and women are different that way.

Scott hated the crab cakes he made (I thought they were fine, for the record).

He loved the crab cakes I made, proclaiming them "the best ever".
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So this Maryland Crab Cakes recipe was the one I used, simply because I thought the picture from Pinterest looked yummy.  (The above picture is mine.)

I broke my own rule, failing to survey the fridge before leaving to buy the crab legs, and we were out of mayonnaise.  Also, we had no Old Bay.  And then I forgot to put in the Worcestershire, even though it was sitting on the counter.  I subbed plain Greek yogurt for the mayo.  I added a teaspoon or so of Tabasco sauce.  I didn't measure the panko bread crumbs at all, just dumped them in until it felt right.   I chilled my cakes for all of 15 minutes, not one hour, and I added at least a full tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to the mixture, as well as squeezing it onto the cooked cakes.

Oh, and there was no fresh parsley.

Well, there was some at the store, I'm sure, but I was too dumb to look at the recipe before I went shopping, so there was no fresh parsley in my crab cakes.

Briefly, I thought about pulling out my phone, going to Pinterest, looking up the Pin, going to the website, and re-reading the recipe.

But that seemed like far too much work.

So what you've got are crab cakes.  You can follow the recipe exactly and I'm sure have tasty results.  Or you can follow my path of discombobulation and maybe get lucky.


Good luck.

Do you like crab?  Or lobster?  Or (yuck) salmon?  
I eat crab, halibut, haddock (if fried), and shrimp.  I'm pretty picky about my seafood.
Did you know that if you cook halibut by boiling it in 7up and then dip it in butter it tastes like lobster? Just another fun fact that I've picked up in Alaska...


Shared at:
Mingle Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Mix it up Monday

Plus, I'm hooking up to the GFC Blog Hop!

Shrimp Lo Mein

Still trying to use up the shrimp over here (up here??). 

I found a cute (?) little marinade that incorporated my very favorite flavors:  lime.garlic.ginger.

I threw in some sesame oil and it was perfect.  Until I re-read the recipe as I was getting ready to make dinner and it said "marinate".  Darn it. 

It marinated for 45 minutes.  I was hungry. 

It was good.  Scott liked it too.  I bet it would be even better with chicken though.  Hmmm...

Shrimp Lo Mein

(about) 20-30 medium shrimp, uncooked and de-veined

Marinade:

2 T. olive oil

1 T. sesame oil

Zest of one lime

Juice of one lime

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. grated fresh ginger

1 clove grated garlic

1/2 box of whole wheat spaghetti or linguine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 clove grated garlic

1 cup sugar snap peas

Mix the ingredients for the marinade together and toss in the shrimp.  Let marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours, or even over night. 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Once drained, sprinkle in another teaspoon of sesame oil and toss. 

In a skillet with high sides, heat some olive oil.  Add in the pepper, onion, and mushrooms and cook on medium heat until soft (about 8 minutes).  Add in the marinated shrimp and cook until no longer pink.  Add the sweet peas and garlic and cook for another minute or two. 

Toss with the cooked pasta to combine all of the flavors.

Shrimp Scampi

Like most Americans, I prefer my shrimp breaded, deep-fried, with cocktail sauce on the side. 

(And why does this always taste so good at 12:30a.m. while you're in a bar playing pool??  I guess we'll never know.  What?  I don't do that.)

But we don't really fry food around here.  Any food you can fry at home will usually taste better in a restaurant anyway.  We bake everything, even french fries.  So I tried to come up with a healthy use for the 2 bags of shrimp that somehow ended up in our freezer. 

Grilling would be amazing, but Scott wasn't home to start the charcoal grill (you caught me.  i don't know how.) and it was awfully windy out yesterday (We're currently under a red flag fire warning).  So I decided to try some scampi.

This is something that I probably wouldn't make too often because a lot of butter scares me.  Shrimp is just too healthy to play with all that much.  But it fit the bill and was worth trying because I had all of the ingredients in the fridge. 

Shrimp Scampi

1/3 of a stick of butter
1 T. olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
20-30 medium shrimp, uncooked, de-shelled and de-veined ("still gray")
1/2 cup white wine (I actually used a Riesling because I only drink the sweet stuff.)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 t. lemon zest
Parsley (2 T. fresh or 1 t. dried)
Salt and pepper

Cooked and drained angel hair pasta
Crusty Italian or French bread

In a large saute pan with high sides, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium/low heat.  Add the onion and let it soften.  Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the shrimp and cook for 3 more minutes.  Keep the heat kind of low or the garlic will burn.  Add wine, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper (I don't measure salt and pepper.  Just a few shakes of each.).  Let it cook together until the alcohol-y smell is gone and the shrimp are completely cooked.  Toss the cooked and drained pasta into the pan and mix it all together to heat through.  Garnish with lemon zest and parsley.  Serve with bread.