Salmon Patties with Creamed Peas

I give full credit for my love of seafood to my Grandma Christopher, because my earliest introduction to fish came by eating her tasty salmon patties smothered in yummy creamed peas. I never thought to get a copy of her recipe, so over the years I've had to combine and tweak recipes from various cookbooks to come up with this version. My kids insist that they hate fish, but they happily eat these . . .

SALMON PATTIES

4 Tbsp. butter

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1/2 c. onion, finely chopped

2 14.75-oz. can salmon (about 3-1/2 c. cooked salmon, if you're using fresh/frozen)

2/3 c. (or 2 slices) fine dry bread crumbs

1/2 c. shredded mozarella

2 Tbsp. parsley*

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 c. crushed saltine crackers

*parsley is optional. Sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't. To me, dried parsley doesn't add to the taste and often detracts with its texture. Fresh parsley works better, but you need to chop it up super fine.

CREAMED PEAS

3 c. frozen peas

1/4 c. onion, chopped

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

2 c. milk (or half-and-half)

Cook onion and celery in butter until tender but not brown. Remove from heat.

Drain salmon, reserving liquid. REPEAT . . . DO NOT THROW AWAY THE LIQUID! Discard bones and skin from salmon; flake meat into a large bowl.

Add celery/onion mixture, bread crumbs, mozarella, parsley, lemon juice, salt, mustard, and eggs. Mix together well.

Add reserved liquid as necessary to moisten mixture (you want it to stick together and form a patty, but not be too mushy). This is a very non-scientific process and will vary each time; you decide by feel when you've got the texture that you want.

I prepare my cracker crumbs by sticking them in a baggie and running a rolling pin over them to crush them. Then I pour the crumbs into a pie plate.

Shape salmon mixture into about 12 patties and coat with cracker crumbs. Because my hands are a mess during this step, I find it's easiest to coat all the patties and place them onto waxed paper—I don't worry about cooking them until I've got them all formed and ready to go.

Many recipes call for frying patties in oil, which is a disaster—they'll just fall apart. A nonstick fry pan or griddle without any oil works best. Cook the patties over medium heat (about 5 minutes per side or until they look nice and golden brown). While the patties are cooking, make the creamed peas.

In a medium saucepan cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in milk, one cup at a time. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in peas; heat through. Season to taste.

Spoon creamed peas over patties and serve.

Heavenly Halibut

This is an adaptation of my dad's recipe. He never measures, so I did my best to write some approximations down.  It's all about "to taste."

Butter a casserole dish. Place halibut fillets or steaks in dish and dab the fish with butter pats.

Season to taste (salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and dill).

Mix mayonnaise (2 cups), sour cream (1 cup), and dry mustard (1-1/2 Tbsp); slather over halibut.

Don't be stingy with the mayo mixture; liberally coating all the pieces of fish will keep them tender (and it bakes into a yummy sauce).

Sprinkle chopped green onions, sliced fresh mushrooms, and grated cheese over entire dish.

Cover and bake at 350, about 35–45 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets). Use a fork to check the halibut . . . you want the meat tender and flaky, not rubbery (overcooked) or translucent (undercooked).

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