…Will Cook for Heels
Breakfast
Ina’s Salmon Cakes
Jan 25th
The original recipe called for smoking my own salmon or something and that wasn’t happening…waaaay too many steps for breakfast when I KNOW the canned Salmon would work JUST fine- and it did.
These cakes get their moistness from the mayo, eggs, lemon juice, and simply not being overpowered by flour. The bread crumbs don’t fight the moistness like flour. You may want to add a little more. My cakes were very fragile but we like the flavors of the capers (kinda vinegary…yeah I said “vinegary” lol) lemon with the fish and veggies without too much “cake”. To each his own but more play with the recipe, they can pull of a lot of flavor….like someone else you know hunh? ; ) (ME! )
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- olive oil
- 1 cup small-diced red onion (1 med. onion)
- 1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (4 stalks)
- 1 cup small-diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
- 1 cup small-diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
- 1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 can smoked salmon
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs (or panko, Japanese bread crumbs)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s Light…don’t tell Greg)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
Place 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of oil, the onion, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, capers, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, and peppers in a large saute pan over medium-low heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Empty salmon into a bowl by itself standing in the shape retained from the can. Gently separate the fish from the sides to expose the full spine of the fish. Try to remove it whole. If you are unsuccessful, no biggie, take your (of course well cleaned) hands and pick through it for any wayward pieces of bone. Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, and eggs and toss lightly.
Add the cooled cooked veggies and mix well. (Whenever you’re working with raw eggs, you want to be sure to not scramble the eggs by adding them to anything hot) Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Shape into salmon cakes, 2 1/2 to 3 ounces each.
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the salmon cakes and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels; keep them warm in a 250 degree F oven and serve hot.
*Salmon cakes can be shaped and stored overnight in the fridge on baking sheets wrapped in plastic; fry just before serving.
RECIPE REGRETS: Not having some sort of dipping sauce or a mango salsa to accompany this dish. I tried, unsuccessfully to mix a little mayo, ketchup and lemon juice. It was edible but not the sauce I was going for.
Greg’s Bday Breakfast-Part 2 (Bananas Foster French Toast)
Jan 10th
I’ve made this recipe before and could not WAIT to make it for my family. For some reason, whenever I go home, I get really lazy and just love to let my mom take care of everything. However, since I was playing host this weekend, I KNEW this would be on the roster. Greg had reservations about the French Toast and the Shrimp and Grits meal combo but I knew they would appreciate it. We all consider ourselves FOODIES but since I am not in a great culinary city like Miami, I am charged with actually having to replicate the dishes I love….plus they can’t cook…shhhh.
Bananas Foster French Toast
(courtesy of Paula Deen)
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter, divided
8 large croissants, halved
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup chopped pecans
6 ripe bananas, halved crosswise and lengthwise
1 teaspoon rum extract
Directions:
In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, cream, and cinnamon. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Dip 4 croissant halves in egg mixture to coat both sides. Using a fork, remove croissants from egg mixture, letting excess mixture drip off. Place croissant halves in hot skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Set aside and keep warm.
In a large skillet, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup and pecans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add banana halves and rum extract. Coat with the syrup mixture, and simmer 1 minute. Spoon over French toast. Serve immediately.
Greg’s Bday Breakfast – Part 1 (Southern Shrimp and Grits)
Jan 10th
This weekend was a really exciting one. My mother, 3 of my sisters and their children came up from Miami to visit for my husband’s bday on Saturday. For some odd reason, he wanted to show the kids a good time for HIS birthday. 
Anyway, I was very excited to cook for them and just HAD to prepare something special WHILE still sticking to the plan to continue to be adventurous in the kitchen. They are pretty critical so I was a little apprehensive. In the end, I decided to so with something old and something new; Bananas Foster French Toast (made with fresh croissants) and Cook’s Magazine’s- Southern Shrimp and Grits. I’ve made a shrimp and grits recipe before and it was good but this one was FANTASTIC. The other one (pictured in an earlier post) had awesome flavor that was combined with the shrimp before it topped the grits. In the current recipe, there was flavor ALL OVA THE PLACE!!! It was fantastic, simple, and the presentation was phenomenal!! I was so proud that my experimentation worked out because they are used to my mother’s fabulous cooking and I was very nervous.
SOUTHERN SHRIMP AND GRITS
RECIPE NOTES:
1-Do not sub instant grits here. 2-You MUST have an ovensafe skillet. (Don’t worry about buying anything fancy, make sure everything is metal (handles, enforcements, etc.) and that there is no rubber. The one I have is Wolfgang Puck (a gift from mom and dad that they tried to take back this weekend, lol. ) that I’ve had forever. 3-You can substitute smoked cheddar or smoked gouda for the extra-sharp cheddar.
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 onion, minced ( about 1 cup)
1 tea salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tes minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
3 1/2 c water
1/2 c heavy cream
1 cup old-fashioned grits
6 oz extra sharp white cheddar, shredded (about 1 1/2 c)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 scallions, thinly sliced (+ 1 to add for garnish just before serving)
1/4 tea pepper (again, I like the large pepper flakes for appearance)
1 1/2 pound extra large shrimp (21 to 25 ct) *
Adjust oven rach to middle position and heat to 450 degrees. (When you can, please buy an oven thermometer. You’ll be more pleased with the outcome of your oven dishes and recipes won’t seem so off, lol. More than likely, the actual temperature of the oven is 25-50 degrees lower than the oven may report, $4.50)
Melt butter in a 12 in ovensafe skillet over med heat. Add onion and salt and cook until softened, 5 to 7 mins. Stir in garlic and chipolte and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in water and cream and bring to boil. Slowly whisk in grits. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring freq., until grits are thick and creamy, about 15 mins. Off the heat, whisk in cheddar, eggs, scallions, and pepper. Lay the shrimp on their sides in a pinwheel formation over the grits and then press on them lightly to submerge about halfway. Bake the casserole untl the top is browned, the grits are hot and the shrimp are cooked through, about 15 mins. Let cool 15 mins before serving.
*Try to leave the tail meat on the shrimp (the fan part at the end) to give it lenght. I takes a little more time when cleanin gb/c if you’re like me, you just snatch that part off and keep it moving. Also, when placing the shrimp, stretch them out to get the pinwheel effect. It was definitely a crowd pleaser.
Blueberry Pancakes
Jan 4th
On Sunday morning, I decided that we would have PANCAKES! My mom didn’t make pancakes for us as kids. She was more of a “grits n eggs”, southern girl and we had no complaints. I recalled watching one of my favs, “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” in which he challenged the famed Clinton Street Baking Company (CSBC) in New York to a Blueberry Pancake Throwdown. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, he finds people that are perceived to make the “BEST” something (pancakes, mac n cheese, crab cakes, fish tacos, etc.) and tries to improve their recipe and then challenge them to a duel. You should check it out….I digress.
Bobby’s Pancakes beat out CSBC’s and made it to my “To-do” list. I planned to perform the recipe as created but there were 2 reasons why I didn’t:
Haute Eggs
Dec 20th
As I told you, I’ve exhausted my Fiercefoodie budget for the month (or until Greg forgets) yesterday on my Patron. Nevermind the fact that he ate 2 cupcakes. Ummmhmmm…. Anyway, I noticed that I have no breakfast contributions on the site so I decided to try to get some daylight shots for a change (supposedly a key factor in food photography) and scramble some eggs. Plus, I was in no hurry to dirty my recently cleaned kitchen, so a one-pot dish was ideal. After a check around the fridge, I found a couple slices of oven roasted deli turkey, deli Muenster cheese, a little white cheddar, a shallot, sundried roasted tomatoes and a little heavy cream.
Of course, you can use ANYTHING for the scramble. Scrambles are quick and more forgiving than trying to fold your eggs over into an omelette. I can do it though (very slowly however) so don’t sleep on my skills. : ) But with the scramble, you get to stuff it with a lot more goodies that otherwise wouldn’t fit in that thin little envelope. Usually, I use leftover mushrooms, onions and peppers but apparently I haven’t cooked anything lately (if you let Mr. Ungrateful tell it, lol) Hey! Birthday girls eat out.
Tyler’s Ultimate Shrimp & Grits
Dec 4th
(Recipe courtesy of Food Network.com)
Level: Easy, 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ( I quasi-covered the bottom of the skillet with the EVOO)
- 1 medium white onion, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 pound andouille or spicy Italian spicy sausage, cut in chunks
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 to 3 bay leaves
- 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
