Salmon Two Two

Yesterday, in order to cover my bases in case the Salmon Cider/Cream recipe didn't work out, I bought a LARGE piece of salmon. I nearly needed a second shopping cart to haul it out of the store.

"Feeding an army," Kathy the Fish Lady asked?

"Nope, just me."

"Hope you have a cat," Kathy offered as a parting shot.

If she only knew!

As we all know the Salmon Cider/Cream recipe was a great success, but I baked the other half of salmon figuring I could use it to make salmon croquets or salmon salad sandwiches or something like that.

Tonight, Chef Helen entered the kitchen arena and invented a version of Shepherd's Pie using salmon and cheese instead of ground beef and vegetables.

Here's the blueprint:

cooked salmon
sharp cheddar cheese
milk
corn starch
potatoes

The recipe outline is to make a cheese sauce, mix it with the salmon, cover it with mashed potatoes and cheese and bake until heated through.

First, get the potatoes boiling. You'll want them cooked soft enough to mash.

The cheese sauce is made by taking a cup of milk or so, mixing in a tablespoon or less of corn starch, and stirring like mad over a medium heat until the mixture thickens. If you don't stir constantly the sauce will clump up which is not good. Once thickened, remove the sauce from the heat and add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese. Stir so the cheese melts.

Flake the salmon in a bowl, add the cheese sauce and mix.

Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them in the pot with a little butter and milk. You can also add grated cheese at this point if you'd like cheesy mashed potatoes.

Spoon the salmon mixture into small baking dishes if you're making individual servings, or into a large one if not. Cover with mashed potatoes and grate some cheese on top.

Pop into the oven at 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top is crusty brown.

WARNING: Like Shepherd's Pie this dish will remain incredibly hot on the inside for an incredibly long time and you will, like, so incredibly burn your mouth if you're not careful that you will shout incredibly sailor-ish words.

The vegetables tonight consist of a saute of zucchini, onion, grape tomatoes and nopalitos (prickly pear cactus) because we had some in the fridge and they add a tangy, zesty taste.

Thus ends Day 10 of National Blog Posting Month. Where does the time go!



(Blogger image uploads isn't working at the moment. I'll have to post a picture later.)