Salmon Patties

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Andrea

all mixed up

My mom used to make salmon patties all the time and admittedly I didn’t really care for them (sorry Mom!). They were a little too on the fishy tasting side for me. A little potent. Once I left and was on my own for meals I forgot about them.

And then I picked them back up again. I’m not sure how it happened. If I was watching a cooking show maybe and saw someone make something simliar or what, but my interest was renewed. I realized I didn’t have to make them the way my mom had, I could make them however I wanted and jazz them up a bit.

Sometimes it is really interesting to see the differences in the types of foods Scott and I each grew up with. He did not have salmon patties as a staple growing up or even had them before I started making them. This was something totally new for him. He loves fish, so I was sure he was going to like it. Over the years I have come up with a standard salmon patty recipe that isn’t overly fishy tasting and results in a light flavor not leaving you weighted down.

Shrimp and Scallops with garlic wine sauce

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Andrea

Must have

I grew up in a very small town in Southwestern PA. Very. Small. The kind of small town where the “fancy” restaurant is The Red Lobster (always pronounced as The Red Lobster because there can be only one.) that you had to travel 1/2 an hour to get to. One of my very favorite things to get at The Red Lobster was the scampi.

I always felt a little decadent and grown up eating scampi. I mean after all it did have wine in it right? It said so right on the menu! You have to be mature to handle a dish like that, or so I told myself. And when the pathetic little dish of scampi arrived with the overcooked super tiny balls of shrimp, I was in heaven. And you best believe I ate all that sauce too. “Come ‘ere cheddar biscuits and help a sister out!”

Asian Tuna Salad

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Andrea

Asian Tuna Salad

Me: Hey? Do you want tuna sandwiches for lunch?

Scott: Sure.

*chop, chop, mix, assemble and serve*

Scott: What’s this?

Me: Huh? It’s a tuna sandwich.

Scott: Oh.

Me: Why? Doesn’t it look like a tuna sandwich?

Scott: No.

Me: No? What would your tuna sandwich look like?

Scott: Mayo on each slice of bread, scoop out the tuna from the can and stick on the bread. Put the two halves together and eat.

Me: Oh. How about I’ll do the cooking from now on?

And that’s pretty much how our conversation went the first time I made tuna salad sandwiches for Scott and I those many years ago when we moved into our first apartment right out of college. Tuna with some huge globs of mayo slapped on some bread? No thank you. And I’ve been playing with tuna salad ideas ever since.

This recipe came to me because I had a craving for some tuna salad and also knew I had some veggies that needed to get used up. I pondered it, and the result is this Asian inspired recipe.