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Baked Spiced Salmon Cakes

These Baked Spiced Salmon Cakes are something that I’ve had up my sleeve for a while. It’s one of those simple, no-brainer types of dinners that are perfect for your typical Tuesday night. The leftovers might be my favourite part of making these salmon cakes for dinner. because as much as I love cooking, sometimes I just don’t feel like making dinner, especially when I’m taking some time off.

I finished exams last week (finally!) and since last Tuesday at 10pm, I have been taking a much needed break from everything. I’m not the best at taking breaks, I feel like it’s a skill that has to be learned. I, like many others, tend to feel really guilty when I’m not doing something. I always feel like I need to be crossing things off my to-do list, and moving forward and improving. But during this week off (OK, so I did post last week…baby steps), I realized just how nice it can be to take a step back and look at everything you’ve done and enjoy it.

Baked Spiced Salmon Cakes (serves 4-6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

14 oz (2 213g cans) canned salmon
1 med. sweet potato, peeled, boiled and mashed
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, whisked
1 green onion, sliced
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped capers
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, using a fork, combine all ingredients except for breadcrumbs.

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop salmon mixture. Using your hands form into patties. Carefully dredge in panko.

Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Spray patties with cooking spray.

Bake for 5-7 minutes in the oven, before flipping patties over and cooking for another 5 minutes. Finally, turn on the broiler and broil patties for 2 minutes – this helps to get them nice and crunchy.

These Baked Spiced Salmon Cakes make a great dinner with ingredients that are probably already in your pantry.

- Lou

Shrimp and Vegetable Skewers

So we’re nearing the halfway mark for our award show countdown and the Oscar nominations are finally out – yay! Who’s surprised? Disappointed? Excited? I have to say that I’m a little surprised that Michael Fassbender wasn’t nominated for Shame. I’ve yet to see the movie, but I’ve heard his performance was one of the best of the year. I’m off to see My Week With Marilyn today and am really looking forward to it, having heard great things. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is also on my radar.

Onto the food – this next dish for our Oscar spread are these easy and flavorful Shrimp and Vegetable Skewers. Shrimp for the meat-eaters and vegetables are a vegetarian option, which means that there will be something for everyone at your party. These are also pretty substantial so your guests won’t be hungry. What I love about these skewers is that you can serve them warm, but they also taste amazing when cold. Since both skewers are made with the same marinade, they are really versatile and delicious. My favourite part is the deep flavor of the tomatoes, mmm.

[Have you been keeping up with our Oscar Party recipes? Check out the Olive and Mozzarella Breadsticks and the Seafood Salad.]

Skewers (serves 8 – about 14 skewers.)

Ingredients

Marinade
6 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp thyme

Skewers
1 lb bag of raw, deveined peeled shrimp
8 New potatoes
8 pearl onions, peeled
8-10 asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
12-14 cherry tomatoes

Directions

Preheat oven to 325.

Skewer shrimp onto half of the skewers, and then skewers the vegetables onto the remaining half of the skewers.

Combine the ingredients for the marinade and brush over all skewers.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip skewers and bake for another 15.

These taste great served warm or cold, happy Award Season.

- Lou

Seafood Salad

The Golden Globes are tomorrow night which means one thing: Award Show Season is finally here! After a year packed of movie watching, we can finally see what movies are on the road and destined for Oscar glory. I always try to see most of the movies nominated in the award show season circuit and this year we have a great crop of films. We’ve got some of the big guys back this year, Scorsese with Hugo and Spielberg with Warhorse and Tintin. I’m going to see Hugo in a couple of hours, but I’ve seen Warhorse and it was just beautiful. It should be a strong contender for the cinematography awards. I highly recommend it.

Have you seen any great films this year? The Help (just won 3 Critics Choice Awards) was one of my favourites. A beautiful story was turned into a film that had all the right notes. I laughed and cried, was angry and happy, and in the end, I emerged from the theater seeing some awards on the horizon for Viola Davies and Octavia Spencer. And then Meryl shows up. It’s going to be a tight race this year, with the ever amazing, and my favourite actress, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg in the race for Best Actress. The Golden Globes will be a great precursor to who is going to get those coveted Oscar nominations, I’ll bet on Meryl getting a nomination. She’s an Academy favourite, she’s had 16 nominations.

I won’t even touch on Best Actor. How someone can pick between Clooney, DiCaprio, Gosling and Pitt is beyond me. They are all my favourites. With special attention going to Leo and Ryan. We’re on a first name basis. Yep…I wish.

Alright, enough blabbering about film, let’s get to the recipe. So here’s the deal. I love to host Oscar parties. I spend hours picking out my Oscar menu, the way some spend hours picking out their Superbowl menus. This year I have six recipes to share that I will be serving at my Oscar party, and I will be posting them weekly up until The Big Night; along with some thoughts on the race, the films and of course the style! The first recipe in the spread is a Seafood Salad, a little fancy and delicious.

Seafood Salad (serves 6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

For the salad

1 cup diced red pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 lb frozen raw seafood medley, thawed
1/2 lb frozen precooked shrimp, thawed
1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing

4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp dried basil
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
2 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp capers, chopped

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the red peppers and cook for 5-8 minutes.

Next, add the raw seafood medley to the pan and continue cooking with red peppers for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and add the chopped olives and tomatoes.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking together all of the dressing ingredients.

Pour over salad ingredients, stirring to coat. Cover and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours for flavors to combine.

Who else is planning on throwing an Oscar party? Looking for menu ideas? Check Living Lou weekly for a new Oscar Party recipe!

- Lou

Japanese Spiced Salmon

Time is hard to come by these days. It seems like we’re always running from one thing to the next. Constantly in motion, trying to cram everything we can into 24 hours. At least that’s where I am right now.

With the end of the semester just a week and a half away, I’m deep in essays, midway through the editing process of video assignments and trying to prepare myself to study for finals. To be honest, the end of November and beginning of December is definitely not the most wonderful time of the year. It is completely draining. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though, and that comes on December 9th when I have an entire month off before classes resume. That means that it’s time to go crazy with holiday baking. What’s everyone planning on baking this year? I have some yummy new recipes up my sleeve and of course I’ll be making some of my favourite old classics like Ginger Molasses Cookies and Chocolate Snow Caps.

I also have a fun announcement! I was picked as one of four blogs as Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Blogs of the Month for the month of November 2011! As a big fan of his Food Revolution, and someone who focuses on healthy eating and living, I’m so excited and honored to have been chosen!

Speaking of being healthy, we all know that salmon is one of the healthiest proteins out there. It’s easy and quick to cook and so satisfying. If you know me, you know that I’m not usually one who buys pre-made spice mixes, especially if you can just make them at home. However, as with most rules, especially French grammar rules, there are a couple of exceptions. Those exceptions include a Japanese 7-spice blend and Chinese 5-spice blend. I don’t use the individual spices enough on their own to warrant having an entire jar or bag of each, so having a pre-made mix is ideal. These mixes can be found in most grocery stores and they add great flavor to your dishes.

Japanese Spiced Salmon (serves 5-7)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

2 lbs salmon fillets
3 tsp soya sauce
3 tsp orange juice
3/4 tsp ginger
2 1/2 tsp Japanese 7 spice powder (For Canadians, I like President’s Choice Shichimi Togarashi 7-spice Blend)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place salmon on a lightly greased baking dish skin side down.

Whisk all remaining ingredients together and brush on top of the salmon fillets.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Super easy and delicious – Japanese Spiced Salmon is definitely another salmon dish to add to your repertoire!

- Lou

Baked Salmon Cakes

I really love salmon, it’s definitely one of my favourite things to eat, so it’s pretty surprising that I’ve never tried a salmon cake. I’ve always just been a fan of the classic, baked salmon. The one that melts in your mouth, and is flavored with whatever your mind can imagine. However, I get bored easily, so I’m always trying to find new ways to eat my favourite things.

I was watching The Food Network one morning, and on the show I was watching they were making salmon cakes, they looked so easy, affordable and tasty. Something that could be flavored however you wanted, maybe I would make some spicy salmon cakes packed with hot sauce and hot peppers and chili powder, or I would make savory salmon cakes with bacon and cheese, or maybe I would go with these salmon cakes, a more basic and perfect way to get into salmon cakes. I’ve created a flavor combination that just works, the capers and Dijon add a nice, salty and tangy addition to the sweet and healthy sweet potato, the hot sauce adds a little bit of a kick and the panko creates a nice crunchy crust without frying. These are healthy, easy and delicious, perfect for a weeknight meal.

Baked Salmon Cakes (makes 8 salmon cakes)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and boiled
1 green onion, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg, whisked
1/4 +2/3 cup of panko bread crumbs
3/4 tsp hot sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chopped capers
2 6 oz (180g) cans of wild salmon
olive oil for pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook peeled sweet potato until just fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine green onion, parsley, lemon zest, mayonnaise, egg, 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, hot sauce, Dijon mustard, paprika, chopped capers and canned salmon in a large bowl. Once sweet potato is cooked, add to bowl and mash the mixture together.

Form the mixture into 8 patties using your hands, then bread patties in the remaining 2/3 cup of panko. And place on a greased baking sheet. Spray one side of the patties with cooking spray.

I hope you enjoy these salmon cakes, they are one of my favourite things right now, I served mine with lots of hot sauce and some Spicy Broccoli.

- Lou