For the average home cook, especially for those with families, this really is a goldmine of creativity. I don't generally make food in large quantities, so in the past I have used it as more of an individual recipe finder than a week long "no waste" bible.
This totally changed post Christmas dinner. If you have read earlier posts, that Christmas salmon was a doozy, and we only used a quarter of the salt baked fish for the actual meal. Turns out, the salmon chapter in this book is the best one! I used Nick's idea to turn leftover salmon filets into salmon cakes.
I turned this operation into a total fridge dive. I mixed the cleaned salmon meat with sour cream, bread crumbs, chives, dijon mustard, a little dill, eggs, minced shallot and fresh parsley. I rolled the mixtures into balls, spaced them on a baking tray, and stuck them in the fridge. This fish made an entire tray of VERY large salmon cakes (this jumbo lump crab cakes on crack).
I turned these cakes into a benedict, of sorts. Because the cakes were so large, I preheated the oven and cooked them like I'd cook a filet. I seared them on the stove top, finishing them in the oven. I topped them with a poached egg, and finished them with the same citrus buerre blanc (I made a new one) that I served over the original salmon. The poached eggs were definitely a challenge, and I certainly need to work on my technique there. Something to do with a little vinegar in the water or something....I'll get there....eventually! I garnished the dish with a little fresh parsley leaves, and voila!
It turned out great, but it was a lot of food. In the future, I would make smaller cakes. I loved the whole benedict twist...especially with the bright buerre blanc sauce. The salmon was cooked with tarragon, dill, grapefruit and lemons, so the grapefruit in the sauce highlighted all the lighter, more acidic components.
No pictures unfortunately, 8 AM on a Saturday is not my most "put together" of moments.
Until next time, enjoy your fridge diving :)
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