Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

Baked salmon is quite a treat, and leftovers the following day are also delicious when broken up over a bowl of veggies, rice, or mixed with mayonnaise and tucked into a croissant. Salmon is best removed from the oven the moment is it cooked through; it's a delicate fish and if overcooked can become dry.

I like to prepare my Herb Mustard Glaze from scratch, but if you are lucky enough to find any in your local grocery store, by all means use that instead.

Side dishes to consider with the Salmon are: pasta, rice, baked potatoes, mash tomatoes, or a nice mixed green salad.


Baked Salmon Fillets with Herb Mustard Glaze
Makes 4 Servings

For the Herb Mustard Glaze:
½ cup smooth Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon:
4 organic salmon fillets with skins (6 ounces each)
4 tablespoons of Herb Mustard Glaze

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the middle.

Prepare the mustard glaze by combining the Dijon, mayonnaise, relish, parsley, horseradish, dill, and pepper in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until well combined. Set aside.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on a baking dish and generously coat each fillet with at least 1 tablespoon of the mustard glaze. Extra mustard glaze will keep in a well sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bake the salmon until it turns pink, or about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set it aside to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Labels: baked salmon, fish, herb mustard glaze, holiday meals, seafood

This recipe is the perfect answer to leftover holiday turkey. It can be made in stages to reduce the sense of continuous prep time or simply buy pre-made pie crusts to help speed things up. Or only prepare a bottom crust and instead cover the pot pie with shredded cheese (as seen in the picture). Potpies can also be assembled and frozen for a later date. The potpie recipe can be converted to work with any meat or seafood, such as duck, pheasant, ham, chicken, shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, or lobster.

Turkey Potpie
Makes 8 Servings

For the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoon butter, unsalted
¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 medium white onion, peeled and roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces
4 celery stalks, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped into ¼-inch pieces
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups good chicken broth
4 lb. turkey, roasted, meat removed from the bones and carcass and chopped into ¼-inch pieces

In a medium metal bowl, combine the flour, butter, and salt. With clean hands, slowly begin to mash and smear the butter, mixing it with the flour until the butter is completely incorporated. The flour will begin be pale yellow. Add three tablespoon of ice water and again incorporate the mixture. If more water is needed, add in a few cold drops at a time. If you overdo it and have to add flour to compensate, the dough will become tough. Once the dough is formed, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with an oven rack placed in the center of the oven.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot and sauté the carrots, onion, and celery over medium-high heat until tender, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the parsley, salt, pepper, chicken broth and turkey. Cover the pot loosely and cook the filling for about 15 minutes or until a nice soupy mixture forms. Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool slightly.

To finish the crust, remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. On a floured surface, roll out half of the dough with a well floured rolling pin to about 1/8-inch thick, about 12 inches across. Move that off to the side and roll out the second half of the dough in the same manner. Gently place your hands under one of the rolled out doughs and transfer it to a 8 to 10-inch pie pan.

Scoop out the filling and spoon it into the pie shell, coating it evenly. Cover the pie with the second rolled out crust and cut away the extra crust that extends beyond the pie pan. Set the extra dough aside. Begin pinching the seams together with your fingers, sealing the doughs together. Tuck the pinched together crust into the pie pan to reinforce the edge and decoratively pinch the edges with your fingers and a knuckle to make a fancy indentation.

Bake the pot pie in the oven for 25 minutes on the center rack. The crust should begin turning golden brown. Carefully and loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil to avoid the crust getting too brown and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the crust is thoroughly cooked.

Remove the pot pie from the oven, and let it cool slightly before serving.

Labels: holiday meals, leftover turkey, pot pie

Croquettes can be created from your favorite ingredients and once you learn the technique, it’s easy. I like to use a food processor to mix my croquettes; it saves a lot of hand chopping time. In this recipe, I use shrimp, but you could also try: scallops, tuna, cod, salmon, rockfish, cooked lobster meat or even my favorite Maryland crabmeat! And, with the holidays just about here, croquettes work with ground chicken and turkey meat too! And if you want to go one step further, you can stuff them with a tiny bit of mozzarella cheese. Simply form the croquette, push the cheese into the middle and close up the opening.

Croquettes can be assembled ahead of time and frozen. If you are baking from a frozen state simply add another minute or two until they are cooked through. (another reason to consider these)

I suggest making a dipping sauce on the side. If you like hummus, that's a great place to start, but the sky is the limit here and so be playful in the kitchen. Other great options are a mixture of equal parts tartar sauce and cocktail sauce to create my favorite: sunset sauce.

Shrimp Croquettes
Makes 6 servings, 2 croquettes per serving

For the fried croquettes:
¾ pound fresh raw shrimp, shelled and deveined and roughly chopped
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1½ cups cooked white rice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup of your favorite finely chopped fresh herbs (I suggest: cilantro, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley chives, chervil)
2 eggs, whisked
2 cups olive oil

For the coating:
1½ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (or your favorite herb)

For the sauce:
¾ cup store-bought Hummus
1 tablespoon chili sauce

In a food processor combine the shrimp, cheese, cheese, rice, garlic, salt, cilantro, and eggs and pulse until a paste is formed. Scoop out the shrimp mixture and make 12 equal balls, or about 1 heaping tablespoon each.

In a small shallow bowl pour in the breadcrumbs and cilantro and mix.

Pour the olive oil in a medium sauce pan and heat it to 350F.

Meanwhile, dip the croquettes into the breadcrumbs (roll it around until it is well coated) and place them on a clean plate.

Fry the croquettes in batches in the olive oil for about 2 minutes or until they turn golden brown. The croquettes should be completely submerged. Also, make sure to carefully move them around in the oil so they fry evenly. When they are done, remove the croquettes from the oil and place them on a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

While the croquettes are frying prepare the Hummus dipping sauce by combing the hummus and the chili sauce and mixing until blended.

Serve the croquettes warm with the dipping sauce. If you really like it spicy, just adjust the sauce to taste.

Labels: Croquettes, Easy Recipes, holiday meals