Let Them Eat Fish Cakes

One of the bounties of the season here in the Pacific Northwest is Spring Run Chinook Salmon - known as Springers - not to be confused with the dog breed that I'm very fond of.

Time for a slight digression and I find this vaguely disturbing - it appears that I share two things in common with George W. Bush - we've both owned springer spaniels and a black cat named India. W apparently named his dog Spot (picture at right) after the the dog in his favorite book. 

So back to fish - my buddy Jeff, the great and generous fisherman, shared a chunk of his first fish of the season with me. This is the fourth year in a row that I've been on the receiving end of his generosity. I'm prepared for this to be a lifelong tradition.

I steamed the fish on a bed of aromatic vegetables and dry vermouth. It picked up hints of the anise from the fennel. There was way more than I could eat and I was faced with the enviable issue of left over salmon.

One of my favorite ways to deal with leftover fish is to make fish cakes - I usually just wing it, but I remembered a recipe for Cod Cakes in an issue of Saveur that I had laying around. I substituted salmon for the cod. This recipe is really good, but it's a bit more fussy than the ones I just throw together.

I served this with some asparagus and a nice Sparr Gewurztraminer. One of the nice things about this recipe is the preparing of the salmon cakes ahead of time. You don't need to cook them all at once. You can cook them up as you want over a couple of days or you can cook them up and make a sandwich with the leftovers.

Salmon Cakes 
- based on a Cod Cake recipe from Saveur

6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 russet potatoes (about 1 lb.), peeled and cut into 1⁄4" cubes (I used a couple of left over baked potatoes)
Kosher salt, to taste - I used several generous shakes of Old Bay Seasoning
1 lb. steamed salmon filets
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1⁄2 cup dried bread crumbs - I used Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1⁄4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill or 2 tsp of dried dill
2 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
4 tbsp. unsalted butter


1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add celery, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Transfer celery–onion mixture to a large bowl and set aside.

2. Put potatoes into a 4-qt. saucepan and cover with salted water by 1". Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; transfer half the potatoes to a plate. Set aside to let cool. Transfer remaining potatoes to a bowl and mash with a fork. Transfer mashed potatoes to reserved bowl of onion mixture; set aside to let cool.

3. Add salmon, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, herbs, egg yolk, and lemon juice to the potato–onion mixture and stir vigorously to combine. Add the reserved cubed potatoes and the salmon and mix gently to combine. Using your hands, divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and form into 3"-wide cakes (use a 3" ring mold if you have one). Transfer cakes to a wax paper–lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm. Working in 2 batches, heat 1 tbsp. oil and 2 tbsp. butter in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon cakes and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer cakes to a serving platter; serve with chowchow, if you like.
SERVES 4

Chowchow

1 1⁄2 lbs. green tomatoes, cored and finely chopped (I used the greenest tomatoes I could find at the store)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄3 cup distilled white vinegar
1 1⁄2 tsp. dry mustard
1 1⁄2 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp. celery seeds
1 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
1⁄4 tsp. ground coriander
10 whole peppercorns
10 whole cloves
10 whole allspice berries


1. Toss tomatoes, onions, celery, and peppers in a large bowl with salt; cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight. Transfer vegetables to a sieve and press to extract excess juices; discard juices.

2. Transfer vegetables to a 6-qt. saucepan and add remaining ingredients. Cover, bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft, about 2 1⁄2 hours. Transfer relish to a jar and let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Note: I made a double batch and water bath canned 4 pints

MAKES ABOUT 2 PINTS

 Since I now have an abundance of housemade orange liqueur I've been trying a variety of recipes that call for Cointreau. This one is pretty fine and makes a nice after dinner tipple.

Argentina Cocktail

·    1 oz gin
·    1 oz dry vermouth
·    ¼ oz Cointreau or housemade orange liqueur
·    ¼ oz Bénédictine
·    1 dash orange bitters
·    1 dash Angostura bitters
·    Stir well with ice and strain in to a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Spring has Sprung

It was a beautiful day in Portland yesterday. Spring Equinox fell on a perfectly lovely spring day. I had daffodils, hyacinths and a couple of straggler crocuses in bloom.

I spent the day doing battle with the laurel hedge in front of the house. I'm trying to whack it down to a manageable size and still maintain the privacy screen it provides. It's a long slow process - you'd think I was Michelangelo working on the marble sculpture of David.

The beautiful weather got me thinking about summer drinks. One of the cocktails enjoy in the summer is a Gimlet. It's a simple enough drink; half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and yet I've always thought it could be a bit better. The Rose's Lime juice is made with HFCS instead of sugar (apparently it's still made with sugar in Canada) and it seems overly sweet. So I was delighted when I came across a recipe for a homemade lime cordial while poking around on eGullet a few months ago.


Yesterday after I'd had enough of tormenting the hedge I hit the two local Asian markets for limes and kaffir leaves. It only took about twenty minutes to get the limes peeled and juiced and get it simmering. I let it cool and settle overnight and ran it through a coffee filter this morning. So here I sit enjoying the first Gimlet of the year and it's much better than what I'm used to and all that I'd hoped for.


I"ll be drinking a lot of these this year since this made about three or four times the amount of lime cordial that I usually go through in a year. This is limeade for adults with the added benefit that a regular ration of it will help prevent scurvy!


Housemade Lime Cordial

Submitted by: Katie Loeb on Recipe Gullet

The below recipe will make about 5 cups of lime cordial. This works in gimlets (vodka or gin) for cocktails, or as a base for limeade, or with ginger beer for a non-alcoholic ginger-limeade with a bit of club soda splashed in with the cordial and ginger beer.

3 Cups  Water
1-1/2  C Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar
1/2 Tbls Citric Acid (available at homebrew shops)
1 tsp Tartaric Acid (available at homebrew shops)
2 Cups fresh lime juice - This will be 15 or 16 large limes
Peel of 4 limes
6 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded (Get them at a Thai or Asian Market)
1 tsp Rose water
1 tsp Orange Flower water

Stir sugar, citric acid and tartaric acid together with a whisk. Bring water to a boil, then add sugar mixture. Stir thoroughly to dissolve sugar mixture into water. Add lime juice, lime rinds, kaffir lime leaves and stir. Heat mixture for 10 minutes on high heat, turn off heat, cover and cool overnight. Strain out lime rind and add Rose and Orange Flower water. Refrigerate for another day before using (the flavor continues to change a bit). Stored in the refrigerator, it should keep better than simple syrup.

Gimlet
1 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Lime Cordial


Mix the ingredients over ice in a highball glass and garnish with a slice of lime
 

Beet Me Daddy (Eight to the Bar)

Beets are one of those love or hate food things. Some people find the earthiness of beets a bit too earthy. Personally I love beets. Give them to me roasted, pickled or the out of the can pile them on your salad at the salad bar type.

The only problem I have with beets is the color or more accurately the way a beet wants everything it touches to be beet colored. I'm pretty sure the first person that ever got caught "Red Handed" had been stealing beets. One of my wooden cutting boards now looks like it's some exotic wood like purpleheart instead of maple.

A few weeks ago I made a batch of borscht,  basically a beet stew, for a friend's sister that has been undergoing radiation treatment. The recipe called for 4 large beets. The older I get the more frustrated I get about descriptions like "4 large beets". Large compared to what? I've seen baby beets that were the size of cherries. So does that mean a large beet is the size of a tennis ball? Perhaps a the size of a softball?

I ended up with some extra large beets - maybe the size of a medium cantaloupe - you know what I'm talking about - larger than a large grapefruit, but smaller than a soccer ball.

I bought five of these beet behemoths, because really if you like beets, can you ever have to many? Maybe I was just channeling some long gone Russian peasant. As it happens I think each of these beets was the equivalent of about six of the large beets that the recipe's author had called for. When all was said and done I had a couple of gallons of borscht - plenty for the sick sister, the healthy sister, the other healthy sister, their families and even quite a lot for myself.

It was good stuff. So yesterday I made another, more modest batch.

Borscht Recipe

The original recipe is from Elise Bauer's Simply Recipes - this is a simplified version.

Ingredients

* 8 cups beef broth
* 1/2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes
* 1 large onion, peeled, medium dice
* 4 large beets, peeled cut into 1/2 cubes - 4 cups
* 4 carrots, peeled, chopped into medium dice
* 1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
* 3/4 cup chopped fresh dill or a couple of Tbls of dried dill
* 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
* 1 cup sour cream - to garnish when serving
* Salt and pepper to taste


Method

1. Add all of the ingredients, except the sour cream, to a pot
2. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the beef is falling apart tender - 1 1/2 to 2 hours
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar.
4. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with sour cream and a pinch of dill.

Serves 6

I drank a nice lighter Pinot Noir with this. No cocktail after dinner, but I did have a bit of Johnny Walker Red and the slight smoky peaty note was a good finish to the meal.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours

First off, nothing else that I cook smells as good as this does when it's cooking! First you smell the onions, then you smell the seasoning and finally the smokiness of the ham hocks and andouille.

I've developed a bit of a thing for all things Southern the last few years and it seems to manifest itself most often in Red Beans and Rice.

Red Beans and Ricely Yours is supposedly the way Louis Armstrong signed off his letters. It was an homage to his upbringing in New Orleans and to his one of his favorite meals as well - I'm with Louis on this one.

Red Beans and Rice are a New Orleans staple to this day. They're cheap and filling and really, really good if made right. Hell's Bells - even the funky beans in a bag version from Popeye's will do in a pinch. That might just be because for better or worse they were my introduction to the genre.

I've used a couple of recipes over the years, but my go to recipe these days is Chuck Taggart's Gumbo Pages Recipe. The secret sauce so to speak of this recipe is the Creole Seasoning Blend

Creole Seasoning - A slight variation on the Gumbo Pages recipe - mostly because it used what I had on hand.

• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoon celery salt
• 5 tablespoons sweet paprika 

Red Beans and Rice

Soak the beans overnight.

1 pound dry red kidney beans - soaked overnight

1 can diced tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

5 ribs celery, chopped

5 cloves of garlic

1 large smoked ham hock

1 lb smoked andouille -sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/8" slices

1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed

3 bay leaves

A couple of big shakes of Tabasco

3 T Creole Seasoning

2 or 3 T of Ham Base or salt to taste

Cover the beans with a couple of inches of water and add the rest of the ingredients

Cook for three hours or so until the beans are really soft.

Serve over steamed white rice with a bottle of Louisiana Red Hot Sauce on the side to add some heat to suit.

Since this in a New Orleans's dish I mixed up a couple of Sazeracs to go with the beans. Tragically I'm out of Rye.....so I made the Cognac Variation. Since the French settled New Orleans, the Cognac Version was most likely the original.

Sazerac

• 1/2 teaspoon absinthe
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 4 dashes Peychauds Bitters 
• 1dash of Angostura bitters  
• 2 ounces Cognac 
• Strip of lemon peel

Pack a rocks glass with ice. In another Old Fashioned glass, moisten the sugar with just enough water to saturate it, then crush. Blend with the whiskey and bitters. Add a few cubes of ice and stir to chill. Discard the ice from the first glass and pour in the Absinthe and coat the inside of the entire glass,Strain the whiskey into the Absinthe coated glass. Twist the lemon peel over the glass so that the lemon oil cascades into the drink, then rub the peel over the rim of the glass. Some folks say it's sacrilege to throw the peel in the glass - being the heathen that I am, I toss it in.

Rhymes with Orange

I've been looking for Seville or Sour Oranges for years - I'd heard rumors of them being available locally, but usually just after the nick of time.

This year I hit the mother lode while browsing around Barbur World Foods out across from the Park & Ride Station on Barbur at Taylor's Ferry Road.  I picked up several pounds of the them while I had the opportunity. I knew I wanted to try my hand at making some marmalade and some orange liqueur.

These babies were really aromatic sitting there in the fruit bowl. They perfumed the whole house - it was a treat to walk through the front door and smell the oranges.

I had a couple of recipes for marmalade that I'd saved the links for. One of the recipes was on David Liebovitz's Blog, the other was Rose Prince's recipe on the Telegraph - a British newspaper. I don't have a clue who Rose Prince is - she may be the Martha Stewart of the United Kingdom for all I know. David Liebovitz on the other hand is a former pastry chef from Berkeley's famed Chez Panisse and a prolific writer on all things sweet.

I basically followed Ms. Prince's recipe and the only issue I have with the results is that the marmalade is a bit on the runny side. Next time I'd add some pectin. The jam firms up when it's refrigerated. It's tasty on toast or pancakes. I'm not a big jam or marmalade eater so most of this will go as gifts or get used in deserts that call for jam or jelly.

I'm much more pleased with the liqueur. It's a very aromatic and substitutes well for Cointreau or Curacao in cocktails. I've got a near lifetime supply at this point having made nearly a gallon of the stuff. It makes a mean margarita, but I thought that since in my mind the marmalade is such a British thing I needed to make a cocktail that at least sounded like it had British origins, so I whipped up a "Churchill" - probably need a bulldog and cigar to really enjoy this one!

Churchill Cocktail
1 1/2 oz Blended Scotch - I used Famous Grouse
1/2 oz Housemade Orange Liqueur or Cointreau
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 to 1/3 oz fresh lime juice - this is the juice of half a small lime

Shake or stir in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Housemade Orange Liqueur

Peels of  three Seville oranges - use a vegetable peeler and just take the orange part
750 ml of 100 proof vodka
10 oz evaporated cane sugar or 1 1/4 cups
5 oz water

Soak the orange peels in the vodka for two weeks - strain the extract through a coffee filter

While the extract is filtering make simple syrup from the sugar and water - mix them in a pan and bring to a boil. When it's cooled down add it to the extract and bottle it up in some 375 ml bottles - you'll get about 2 1/2 bottles out of the deal.