So Many Dishes

I hope that everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I certainly did; I spent the day with family. Alice, Dante, and Luke were here for dinner, and Ben FaceTimed, so not only did I get to hear, “happy Mother’s Day, Nana” from Emmalyn, Ken and I were able to wish Annie a happy day.

We started our celebration early, when Ken and I went out to lunch on Saturday. Clearly, we weren’t the only people who had that idea. Cooper’s Hawk was packed. I’m glad we made a reservation, because we heard the hostess tell someone that it would be a 45-minute wait for a table. Despite the rush, service was wonderful, and we didn’t feel rushed. I had a delicious chicken Madeira, and Ken tried beef tenderloin medallions in a roasted tomato sauce. Both dishes were delicious. For some reason, I’ve been drawn to the chicken offerings on the menu here, and they haven’t disappointed.

That was the hit. The miss? It was the main course that we chose for yesterday’s dinner. Yes, I cooked. It was my choice. The kitchen is my happy place.

Our kids both have partners who aren’t adventurous eaters. Dante will try, and I appreciate that, but we try to take his likes/dislikes into consideration. We decided to try a new recipe that looked good that we thought he’d like, too.

I’ve had such good luck with Skinnytaste recipes that I figured the Philly cheesesteak pasta recipe would be a slam dunk. The ingredients were basic: ground beef, bell peppers, onion, broth, milk, pasta, and cheese. Seasonings were just Montreal steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. It’s a one-pot pasta, so the pasta cooks in the sauce. It only took 45 minutes to prepare. How could it fail?

Unfortunately, the best description I can come up with for this dish was, meh. Despite a fair amount of the steak seasoning, it was bland. I don’t do bland! To be fair, Dante ate seconds and Luke had thirds, so it wasn’t awful. But Ken and I decided that we were not keeping the leftovers. When I asked him what I should do with what was left, Ken said, “I’m not going to eat it.” Oh, well. As the song goes, “some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues.” I’ve already deleted the pictures I took of the dish.

So, instead of two posts with recipes, this is a single post with one recipe and a very long introduction. (My brother says that making a short story long is a family trait). I cooked a recipe last week that I can’t believe I’ve never shared.

Salmon croquettes are one of those old-school dishes that we rediscovered a few years ago, early in Covid lockdown, I think. My mother made various types of croquettes regularly. It was a good way to use up leftover chicken or turkey, and I remember ham croquettes, too. She may have made them with canned salmon, although I can’t be sure. I do remember that she always started with a thick white sauce, and the patties were fried in a fair amount of fat—maybe Crisco.

I found this Cooking Light version of salmon croquettes, and it was a good alternative for a meal during those Covid times when you never knew what you’d find at the supermarket. This recipe uses yogurt as the main binder, so there’s no need to make a white sauce, and the patties are cooked in a small amount of butter.

Over the years, I’ve made a number of substitutions, plus changes that resulted from cooking mistakes that we thought improved the result. I made another one this time, too. The recipe calls for plain yogurt in both the croquettes themselves and the rémoulade to top them with. I’d forgotten about the rémoulade, so I had just one 5-ounce container of plain Greek yogurt. However, we had leftover sour cream from a dish Ken cooked last week. I used that for the sauce instead, we both agreed that we prefer it this way. So, at this point, I really feel like it’s not my recipe, inspired by Cooking Light 😄

Salmon Croquettes with Rémoulade

Rémoulade:

• 1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 2 teaspoons brown mustard
• 1 teaspoon capers
• Dash of hot pepper sauce

Croquettes:

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can pink salmon, drained and any bones removed
• 1 tablespoon butter

To prepare rémoulade, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Cover and chill.

To prepare croquettes, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, and egg in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a nonstick skillet medium-high heat. Add oil and heat. Add onion and celery; cook 4 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Combine onion mixture, yogurt mixture, 1/2 cup of the panko, pepper, and salmon, and toss gently. Cover and chill 20 minutes.

Divide salmon mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch thick patty. Coat each patty in the remaining 1/2 cup panko. Cover and chill 20 minutes.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; reduce heat to medium. Cook 4 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Serve with rémoulade. Makes 4 servings.

I made yellow rice as a side, and served a green salad, as well. We love having leftovers of this dish. The patties are wonderful as a sandwich with lettuce and a tomato slice on a roll, or just atop a salad for lunch. It’s an updated version of an old school recipe that’s a favorite around here.

Happy eating!