Snack Break: Salmon and Cream Cheese Crackers

I'm pretty sure that it's quite obvious that I am an avid snacker. When I had a desk job, I'm pretty sure that if you stopped by my cubicle, chances are I would be munching on something. And while I certainly love a cookie now and then, regular snacking usually consists of more savory foods. Sliced apples being a particular favorite.

My favorite thing about snacking is the relative ease in preparation. This "recipe" is no different. Crackers spread with cream cheese, topped with just a bit of salmon. Add a sliced apple and you've got yourself a light lunch.

For an easy alternative, if salmon leftovers never occur at your house, try adding smoked salmon in place of the leftover salmon.

Shrimp & Pineapple Skewers with Rum Butter Dipping Sauce

Happy Memorial Day!

Back in 2007, we were grilling out at a park during spring break. Coincidentally, we were grilling the same meal back then. But it's so yummy that we've kept it in our recipe collection and fall back on it on occasion. It's a slight adaptation from this recipe. The grilled, prosciutto wrapped shrimp are fantastic with the marinated pineapple. And oh, the rum butter sauce. Rum and butter? In a sauce? 'Nuff said.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced gingerroot, plus 1 tsp
2 tsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
24 medium uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/3 lb prosciutto
1 small pineapple, cut into 1" cubes
2 tbsp shallots, minced
1/3 c. dark rum
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces and kept cold
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Soak skewers (if wood/bamboo) to prevent burning while on the grill. To make the marinade, place the lime juice, olive oil, 2 tsp of gingerroot, garlic and red pepper flakes into a bowl to combine. I mix the oil and lime juice first to make sure it is combined before tossing in the other ingredients.

Toss the shrimp and pineapple in the marinade and marinate while the grill is heating up, about 15 minutes.

I like to prepare the rum butter sauce before placing the skewers on the grill just so that I don't have to run between the two.Heat a pan to medium or medium-low heat and pour in the rum. Add the shallots and remaining teaspoon of gingerroot. Stir to combine and let simmer until the alcohol has burned off. Add one tablespoon of butter at a time, making sure to stir to combine so that the mixture doesn't break. Remove it from heat once all the butter is incorporated. It should make a pretty thick sauce.

Wrap the shrimp in thinly sliced prosciutto. Then place the shrimp and pineapple on skewers. Grill about 4 minutes per side, or until shrimp is pink and cooked through.

Remove them from the grill. Remove from the skewers and place onto a plate or platter. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve with the rum butter sauce for dipping.

We served this with brown rice and grilled corn on the cob.

Hope you all have a good (and tasty) Memorial Day with your families. Thanks to all those members of the armed forces who have and continue to serve our country.

Quick Fixin: Teriyaki Salmon with Easy Brown Rice

We've been pretty busy lately. I started working full time just as my licensing exam was over and our wedding planning kicked into high gear. So, quick and easy meals have been my saving grace. This recipe in particular takes almost no effort.

Ingredients (for fish):
1 fillet salmon
Teryaki sauce - I recommend Soy Vay teriyaki if you aren't making your own

Place the fish and teryaki sauce in a plastic zip top bag. Marinate for 15 minutes, no longer than one half hour. Place skin side down on a hot grill until the meat of the fish is cooked and it peels easily from the skin.

Ingredients (for rice):
1 1/2 c short grain brown rice
2 1/2 c water
1 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 tsp salt

Place the butter, water, and salt in a 9" x 9" glass baking dish and heat in the microwave for 5 minutes. Once heated, stir in the rice and cover with aluminum foil. Place in a 375F degree oven for 1 hour. Remove the rice after one hour and fluff with a fork before serving. This is an easy way to cook rice, with no burning the bottom, that I learned by watching, who else, Alton Brown.

We typically serve this with a salad or some other vegetable. Because corn was on sale this week and looked better than I've ever seen Florida corn, we had a few grilled cobs.

What are your favorite quick fix meals?

Snapper

Another Friday, Another Fish.

To prevent Lenten Friday's from getting monotonous, we have been preparing different fish dishes each week. This week, we found snapper fillets at the store, but needed a recipe since we don't often eat snapper. To remedy this problem, we went to a great cookbook, given to Nick by one of his aunts. The cookbook is Roy's Fish and Seafood, Recipes from the Pacific Rim. The recipe we used was from their section on Ehu, or Short Tailed Red Snapper, although I don't believe that is the particular kind of snapper we bought. The recipe, Lemongrass-and-Cilantro-Crusted Ehu with Sweet Black Rice and Mango was delicious.

Ingredients (for two):

2 tsp. minced fresh lemongrass
2 tsp. finely sliced scallions (green parts only)
1 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
black pepper
1/4 c fish sauce
1/8 c soy sauce
1/4 c canola oil
2 snapper fillets
red bell pepper, julienned, for garnish (we used orange because it was all we could find)
mango, diced, for garnish

Combine the lemongrass, scallion, cilantro and black pepper to taste. Mix the soy sauce and fish sauce into a shallow dish and mix. Crust the fish with the lemongrass and cilantro mixture on one side. Place the fish crust side up in the dish with the sauce. Marinate the fish in the sauce for 5 minutes. Heat the canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and saute the fish for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until opaque throughout.

We served the fish with black mango-coconut rice topped with bell pepper, mango, and cilantro.

This was a relatively easy meal to put together. The fish came together in about 15 minutes. The snapper crust was slightly salty which contrasted with the sweetness of the mangoes nicely. Plus, I love cilantro, which is why I also chose to garnish with even more. I could have lived without the peppers, so I probably won't bother to get one the next time we make this.

I'm almost upset that Lent is over since now we won't have a built in excuse to make fish every Friday. But I guess that does mean that Easter is here, and I think I could probably live off deviled eggs for quite some time and be happy.

Salmon Cakes

Since it's Lent, we've tried out quite a few fish recipes. We had salmon cakes last week. We had followed this recipe the first time we made them, but tweaked it this time around to suit our tastes more.

Ingredients:
1/4 onion, chopped and sauted
1 - 2 stalks of celery, diced fine
1 egg
1/2 c. mayo
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1 lemon, zested
2 - 6 oz cans of red salmon
2 - 6 oz cans of pink salmon
1 baked russet potato, peeled and fluffed with a fork
1 c. bread crumbs, divided
1/4 c. grated Pecorino Romano

Vegetable Oil

Once you've prepped the ingredients, the rest is pretty easy. Simply put the onion, celery, potato, egg, mayo, mustard, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and mix. Then, after you have checked the salmon for bones, add to the mixture. Add in breadcrumbs as needed to thicken so you are able to form patties. We added about 1/4 c at first and a touch more later. Form the patties, this recipe should make about 8-10 3" patties.

In a seperate bowl, mix the cheese, bread crumbs (1/2 c) and grate some pepper in to the mix. Coat the patties in the breadcrumb mixture and I recommend sticking them in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up a bit, so they don't fall apart in the frying process

Next, heat up the vegetable oil in a pan. Pour in enough oil that it will cover at least halfway up the sides of the salmon cakes you've formed. Once it beings to shimmer, place in the patties. Cook until golden brown, or about 3 minutes a side.

Add a drizzle of hot sauce to spice it up and you have a perfect Lenten dinner. And you didn't even have to go to a church basement.

Recommended sides: French Bread, Salad