Old fashioned salmon loaf

Here’s another recipe from my collection which you can serve on Friday’s in Lent without fear of being struck by lightning. 

How often do you buy canned salmon? Oh, I see. You don’t. What’s that you say? You don’t even know what to do with canned salmon. I guess I’ll have to show you. Actually, you should keep a couple of cans of salmon or mackerel on hand for those times when you want something a little different for dinner. Now pay attention and don’t go getting all snippy on me. This isn’t that hard, and you’ll like it. 

2 15 oz. cans of salmon or mackerel

2 banana peppers, chopped fine

1 onion, chopped fine

1 tomato, chopped fine

1 palmful of fresh tarragon (or a pinch of dry)

1/2 tsp. thyme

Juice from one lemon

1 cups of bread crumbs

Salt and with pepper

4 eggs

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 stick of melted butter

Preparation

Drain the salmon and reserve the liquid from the can. Place the salmon in a bowl and flake it with a fork. Remove any big bone pieces but don’t worry about the small bones. They will cook up and never be found. If you doubt me, take the largest piece of bone and see how easily it crushes between your fingers. Don’t ever doubt me again. 

Add the onions, peppers, tomatoes and herbs to the salmon. Add the lemon juice, a little salt and pepper and the bread crumbs. Stir the salmon until everything is well mixed. Add enough milk to the salmon liquid to make one full cup. Add this to the bowl with the four eggs and the melted butter. Stir until the eggs are completely mixed in. 

Spray a loaf pan with some of that cooking spray or grease it with a little butter. Pour all of the salmon mixture into the pan. Sprinkle a little white pepper over the top of the salmon loaf. While you are at it, place a pat of butter on top of the loaf. Bake the loaf at 350 ̊ for about an hour. Let the salmon loaf rest for about ten minutes before slicing. 

Serving

Take a couple of slices of salmon loaf and place them on a dinner plate. If you want to add a little extra fancy touch, try this. Take a can of condensed Manhattan style clam chowder and heat it up without adding water to it. Ladle a little of this over the sliced salmon loaf. Now place a pile of steamed cauliflower drenched in butter beside the salmon. Next to this, add a big heap of wild rice cooked in chicken or vegetable stock. 

What else is needed? Hmm. You did remember to bake some bread along with your salmon loaf, didn’t you? Some of that with a big pat of melting butter is good. Maybe a Greek salad should be added to the mix as well. 

You also have to open a bottle of wine. For this meal, you want a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. For dessert, you want to serve some coffee cake with some freshly brewed French roast coffee. Well, what do you know? It looks like you have a tasty little meal that started out with a couple cans of salmon.

Linguine with red sauce

I don’t know how many times I arrive home, not knowing what I’ll make for dinner.  I usually figure I’ll make dinner out of whatever I have. Sometimes I don’t need much. I often have a can of crushed tomatoes on the counter and an assortment of pasta. Now, if there is a can of chopped clams, hmm, that’s an idea. I also try to keep a can of anchovies around too. That’s enough to make a red clam sauce for pasta.

This is another recipe that is perfect for Fridays in Lent. There are a lot of versions of this. In fact I don’t believe I’ve ever made it exactly the same way twice. This version could actually use more clams, but the last time I made this, I only had one can available. Still, it came out pretty good.

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped very fine

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

Red pepper flakes

4 or 5 anchovy fillets

Adobo seasoning

1-1/2 cups of medium bodied red wine

2 tsp. basil

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

6 oz. can of chopped clams

1 lb. linguine, cooked and drained

Preparation

Take a large skillet out and heat it over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, garlic and anchovy. Use a knife and fork to break up the anchovy and stir until the anchovy dissolves. Add about a small palm full of red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until the onion has softened but don’t let the onions or garlic brown. I would stir the onions off the heat to avoid browning and then back on the burner. Season the onion heavily with adobo seasoning and then add the red wine. 

Bring the wine to a boil and gently simmer it for about ten minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the crushed tomatoes and the basil. Stir to mix. and let that simmer another five minutes, stirring often. Add the clams and their liquid and stir. 

Let the sauce simmer for another fifteen minutes, uncovered, while you heat the water and cook the pasta. Stir the sauce often. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. When the pasta is cooked and drained, you’re ready to serve. 

Serving

Place a mound of linguini on your plate and smother it in lots of sauce. Add a heavy flurry of grated parmesan cheese to that, and liberally sprinkle the linguini with Tabasco. Now set out your homemade bread and butter. Set a bowl of Sicilian olive salad out and a wedge of cheese. Finally a crisp salad with red wine vinegar and extra good olive oil will start the meal on the right foot. Pick out your favorite Italian red wine to wash everything down. 

Baked stuffed poblanos

This is a recipe I make every once in a while. It is one of those dishes that I doubt I ever make the same way twice. It is kind of like chile relleno, but without the breading and frying. The peppers are baked, but the taste will remind you of the classic version. 

This takes a little time, but it is very easy to fix. Just take your time and don’t be in a hurry. Sometimes I make my own salsa verde. I'll will admit that most often I use store bought salsa, even though it can be a little high in sodium. Oh well, that's what the blood pressure meds are for. If you give this a try, let me know how you liked it. 

5 poblano peppers

1/2 lb. coarsely chopped beef

Corn oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

Adobo seasoning

Cumin

Cajun seasoning

15 oz. can of pinto beans

1-1/2 cup of salsa verde (I like Herdez)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation

Wash and dry the poblanos and place them on a baking sheet. Broil them under a hot broiler until the skins darken and blister. Rotate them so that all sides are charred and blistered - this will take up to fifteen minutes, depending on the distance from the flame. Remove the peppers to a large bowl and cover the bowl with a plate. Let the peppers cool for about a half hour. 

While the peppers are steaming themselves in the bowl, heat a large cast iron skillet and add enough corn oil to coat the bottom. Add the beef to the pan and stir. While that is browning, add the onion, garlic and shallot to the mix. Sprinkle on a generous sprinkle of both adobo seasoning and cumin. Now give a light sprinkle of cajun seasoning as well. Stir until the beef is sizzling and the onions have softened. Add the can of pinto beans and stir. Let them cook until most of the liquid has steamed off. Turn off the heat and let that cool. 

Now comes the fun part. Take each pepper and gently pull the skin off. It will come off easy, kind of like cellophane. Once the skin is off, take a knife and make a slit in the pepper. Gently use a spoon and remove most of the seeds. Fill the pepper with the meat and onion mixture and place it seam side down in a baking pan. (Note, the peppers are very soft and tender. They may split in other places as you try to get the seeds or stuff them. Don’t freak out. They’re gonna be covered in cheese, so who cares if they have an extra rip or two? Relax, don’t worry, and have one of my home brews.) 

Repeat with each of the peppers. Take the leftover meat and onion mixture and spoon it around the peppers. Pour the Salsa Verde over the peppers. Add the shredded cheddar cheese mix over the peppers and then add the mozzarella. Bake the peppers at 390º for about a half hour or so, until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling. 

Serving

Stuffed poblanos go good with almost anything. I served mine with beef burritos, chips and salsa, and chilled white wine (although beer or margaritas would be good too). You could even serve these along side a nice charred steak.

Potato skins with ham ... made out of leftover baked potatoes

Yesterday, I met with some loyal readers for some great burgers. The Country House didn’t disappoint with the burgers. They did disappoint me one way, however. One thing I always looked forward to was ordering some of their great potato skins. I noticed that they were’t on the menu, and I asked. Sure enough, I was told that they no longer carry them. Wow, I was sad.

Back in the 1980’s, it seems every restaurant had potato skins on the menu. Now, for some reason, they’ve fallen out of favor. Well, if I can’t order them out, at least I can make my own. Now, traditionally the potato skins are fried first, and then topped with the cheese and ham (or bacon). I had some leftover baked potatoes, so I skipped the frying, and let the broiler do the work. Here’s how I make them.

3 baked potatoes

Olive oil

Cajun seasoning

1 cup of diced ham

Several green onions, sliced thin

Shredded cheddar

Salt and pepper

Greek yogurt

Preparation

As I said, the traditional way to do this would be to scoop out the potato and deep fry the skins before filling them with the filling and baking them. Why waste the potato? If that bothers you, you can scoop out some before proceeding with the rest of this recipe. If you do, at least share the scooped potato with your dogs. For goodness sake, don’t waste it. 

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Rub them with olive oil on all sides, and drizzle extra olive oil over the tops. Place them on a cookie sheet, cut side up. Give them a heavy sprinkle of cajun seasoning. Place them under a hot broiler until the potato starts to brown. Remove the pan to a board on the counter. 

Slide the potatoes so they are right next to each other, with as few gaps as you can manage. Mound the shredded cheese on top of each potato. Don’t worry about spillage. You can’t help that. Get a lot of cheese on them. Go ahead, a little more. That’s better. 

Sprinkle on the chopped ham. Make sure you get it all on the potatoes. If it looks skimpy, chop more and add that too. Now add the green onion slices. Return the potatoes to the broiler and let that get all browned and bubbly. 

Remove the potatoes from the broiler when all the cheese is melted and golden brown. Separate them from each other and plop a big glop of Greek yogurt on each. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and serve. 

Serving

I served my potato skins with a broiled bratwurst, a broiled ham slice, two eggs over easy and buttered rye toast. A dry German Riesling would go with this dinner (or brunch if it’s that time of day). Actually, I was out of white wine, so I had mine with ice water. Don’t ask how many potato skins were left after my dinner. There were none left, but it would be rude for you to comment on that. What can I say? They were tasty. 

For dessert, I grabbed my thousand page David Weber novel, and poured a single malt scotch and enjoyed the evening.