Wasabi Salmon Burgers & Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Great. Now I'm hungry!

I was so impressed with this recipe! I didn't think Abby would like the soy-wasabi glaze, so I left it off of hers. She can't seem to make up her mind about salmon - she either loves it or hates it. She didn't care for her plain patty, but with a little of that glaze she gobbled it right up! Greg said they were "really good" and if you know my husband you know what a compliment that is! You can also tell a recipe is really good if I don't get a picture of it before we start eating!

I served these burgers on lightly toasted whole wheat English muffins with shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, mashed avocado, and wasabi mayo and sweet potato fries on the side.  You could also serve it as a wrap or on a salad with mixed greens, carrots, radishes and sprouts.

Wasabi Salmon Burgers

From Eating Well:  June/July 2005, The Eating Well Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook (2006)

    2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce (or 1 1/2 Tbsp regular soy sauce and 1/2 Tbsp water)

    1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder

    1/2 teaspoon honey

    1 pound salmon fillet, skinne

    2 scallions, finely chopped

    1 egg, lightly beaten

    2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

    1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Whisk soy sauce, wasabi powder and honey in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.

With a large chef's knife, chop salmon using quick, even, straight-up-and-down motions (do not rock the knife through the fish or it will turn mushy). Continue chopping, rotating the knife, until you have a mass of roughly 1/4-inch pieces. (You could also pulse a few times in your food processor if you're lucky enough to have one!) Transfer to a large bowl. Add scallions, egg, ginger and oil; stir to combine. Form the mixture into 4 patties. The mixture will be moist and loose, but holds together nicely once the first side is cooked.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the patties and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until firm and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Spoon the reserved wasabi glaze evenly over the burgers and cook for 15 seconds more. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

I have no idea where this recipe is from. I sent my husband searching for it, so I'd guess AllRecipes or something like that.

    2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, rinsed and dried

    2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

    2 tsp. smoked paprika

    1 tsp. coarse salt

    1 tsp. garlic powder

    1 tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper

    1/2 tsp. cumin

    1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Carefully cut the potatoes into 1/4″ thin strips, or to your desired thickness and length.  Then place in a large bowl, and toss with the remaining ingredients (oil and spices) until potatoes are evenly coated.

Then spread out the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Try not to overcrowd the sheet, or have multiple layers of fries — you want them to be roasted, not steamed. DO NOT attempt to get away with not lining your baking sheet. You will be so, so sorry!

Place in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning the fries once or twice during that time to cook evenly.  (May take more or less time, depending on the size and thickness you cut the fries.)  Remove once the edges slightly begin to brown and fries begin to crisp.

Warning: Husband Cooks Too

Yes, that's right folks. We drink our mimosas from a Mason jar. If that's too country for ya, then ya'll can just go to IHOP!

Happy New Year's everyone! We have never done anything special to ring in the new year at the Baker house, but today we started a new tradition that I am excited to plan and execute in a more fashionable way next year - we had friends over to have New Year's brunch and it was just so much fun!

My husband is not much of a cook, but me oh my can he whip up some crepes! It's his specialty and its always a treat to have him make a meal. We've mastered sweet, fresh fruit fillings for our crepes and decided it was time to venture into the savory category. With the help of Pinterest, we decided to try ham, cheese, and egg crepes. We used our old stand-by recipe for crepes from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - you know the big red one that I use every single day. Best wedding present ever. Anyway... on to the point...

We also tried a new sourdough crepe which was so, so good. There are lots of great site with info on how to start and maintain your own sourdough starter, but if you'd rather bring me a mason jar I'd be glad to pass mine along. The sourdough crepes were delicious with the ham, egg and cheese filling, but I have a hard time imagining them being very good with a sweet filling. Maybe if you add a dash of vanilla and a tablespoon or two of honey to it? Give it a try though and let me know what you think! Here is the recipe for the Sourdough Crepes... please note - this is not my recipe, but I have had it for sometime and don't remember where I got it.


Sourdough Crepes
makes about (9) 10-inch crepes

1 cup sourdough starter (mine is 100% hydration, all whole wheat flour)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 pinches of salt
1/4 cup milk (more or less may be needed depending on your sourdough starter)

In a medium size bowl, whisk 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and 3 pinches of salt until combined. Add to this mixture 1 cup of sourdough starter. Stir well.

Add milk slowly until you get a thin batter. Preheat skillet over medium heat for two full minutes, then turn down to low before lightly grease the skillet.

For a 10-inch skillet, pour 1/3 cup of crepe batter into the center of your skillet. If you are using a smaller skillet you will need 1/4 cup of batter. Quickly pick up the skillet and roll the batter towards the outer edges. Put the skillet back on burner and cook until edges are a bit dry and small bubbles dot the surface of the crepe. It may take less than a minute to cook each side of the crepe. Cook times depend on the skillet type, burner heat, and crepe thickness. If you try to flip your crepe and it does not seem ready, let it cook a few moments longer. Flip. The second side will take less time to cook than the first.

Place your crepe on a plate. Make your second crepe. Continue stacking finished crepes until you are ready to serve. Stacking keeps the crepes soft and warm.


If you want to make the ham, cheese and egg filling your process is slightly different. You will need to have a cup or so of finely shredded cheddar cheese, a cup with 4-5 eggs scrambled with a little bit of milk or cream, and deli ham sliced into halves or thirds depending on the size of your pan, prepared and near the stove top. As soon as you flip your crepe you will add about 1/4 cup of scrambled egg on top of the cooked side of the crepe. Place a lid on top and cook for about 1 minute. When the egg is nearly set, sprinkle with cheese and top with ham slices. Cover until cheese is melted, then fold in half, then in half again so you're left with a triangle. These would be awesome with some finely chopped scallions in them or on top for garnish.

They are great hot out of the skillet or at room temperature, so making them up a little in advance for a crowd is no problem. Abby and her 3 year old friend Andrew gobbled these "sandwiches" up, which is awesome because I have a hard time getting her to eat much protein! We experimented with freezing them and were very pleased with the results. We will be making a very large batch in the near future for quick and easy meals or snacks.

I am very much looking forward to having these crepes on my birthday... and on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, our anniversary, and well pretty much any other time I can persuade my husband to make them again!

Chicken and Dumplings

One of the first meals I ever prepared for myself was the recipe for Chicken and Dumplings on the Bisquick box. Over the years I made adaptations, first adding thyme and then other spices, and eventually making my dumplings from scratch with whole wheat flour. It is still one of my all time favorite comfort foods and I'd like to think that I have come up with a recipe that never fails, but the truth is that no matter how many times I make it its always slightly different! I still can't figure out if the dumplings are supposed to be chewy and gummy or biscuit-y. I have given up trying to achieve either one because I love them both ways.

A friend recommended this recipe, which is pretty different from the way I would normally make my chicken and dumplings so I decided to give it a shot. My one-year old seemed to really like it, so it scored bonus points there! I, on the other hand, thought it could use a little work. I do plan to make it again, but next time will add a bay leaf to my simmering vegetables and will try boiling my dumplings in the broth instead of baking them, which is how I'd normally make them. I may try to bake them again, but in the future I would add a few tablespoons of flour to the milk before adding it to the filling to thicken it and make it more gravy-like. It doesn't seem like that should be called chicken and dumplings though, that seems a lot more like chicken pot pie. Whatever it will be called, I'm sure it will be good.

Chicken and Dumplings
Adapted from Passionate Homemaking

Note: Except for the dumplings, there is really no need to be exact in your measurements. Just eyeball it and save yourself the dishes!

Ingredients for filling -
4 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stocks, chopped
1 cup peas
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Ingredients for dumplings -
2 1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup hard white wheat, 1 cup soft white wheat and 1/4 cup barley flour)
1 cup cultured buttermilk
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Combine flour, buttermilk, and melted butter. Cover and soak overnight or approximately 12-24 hours.
2. Saute all vegetables excluding peas in butter and spices for approximately 5 minutes. Add broth and heat to a boil. Add two chicken breast and simmer until cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken and chop.
3.  Add milk, chicken and peas to skillet. Stir to combine. Pour into a 13×9 baking dish.
4. Add remaining ingredients to soaked flour. Scoop dumplings by rounded tablespoon onto the top. 
5. Cook for about 18 minutes at 425 degrees.