Recipe - Salmon Pinwheels

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last week I was in charge of refreshments for our book club meeting.  We have a tradition of serving something that's related in some way to the book we've been reading.  In this case, our story was set in Alaska, so I decided to make Salmon Pinwheels.  They turned out to be easy and attractive--like something Mrs. Patmore might have prepared for Thomas to carry upstairs to guests of the Crawleys, served under Mr. Carson's watchful eye.  But whether or not you're a Downton Abbey fan, these tasty make-ahead appetizers would be perfect for your next party--or St. Patrick's Day--even if the Dowager Countess is not expected to drop in!

 Salmon Pinwheels

3/4 to 1 lb Salmon Fillets 
1 package (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
4 Spinach Tortillas (or wraps) at room temperature
1 small bunch Green Onions, sliced
1 - 2 Tablespoon Capers, drained
3/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/2 teaspoon Dill Weed
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
3/4 teaspoon Lemon Juice

-Rinse salmon and pat dry with paper towels.

-Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Place on a baking pan, skin side down, and bake for 20 to 30 min (or until it flakes apart easily--don't overcook or it will be dry).  When it cools a bit, remove the skin and break it apart a bit so it looks like this:

Keep cold in fridge until ready to use.

-Leave cream cheese out on the counter an hour or so to soften or soften slightly in the microwave (watch it closely!)  Slice up green onions.

Measure out capers and drain on a paper towel.  If you've never used capers before, here's what they look like:

(They're kind of like tiny olives and go nicely with fish.)

-Into the cream cheese, add garlic salt, dill, pepper, the green onions, and the capers.  Mix well.

-Spread over the tortillas, dividing evenly between them.

-Top with the prepared salmon.

-Roll up tightly.

-Wrap all four rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.

-When ready to serve, cut into 1/2" slices with a sharp knife or an electric knife.

-Makes about 32.  Do not leave out for more than an hour, and refrigerate leftovers.

Recipe - Spinach Artichoke Fondue

Hi everyone! Jan's daughter, Jessame, here. As many of you may know, Superbowl 50 is upon us.

And while I personally am not much of a football fan, having a socially acceptable reason to devour some of my favorite snack foods with wild abandon almost makes the idea of spending four hours watching a bunch of sweaty guys try to knock each other down sound like fun. (No offense to you die-hard football fans. If you feel the need to retaliate, please feel free to insult Broadway, Disney, or Black Friday in the comments section below!) Whether you're like me and just see the Superbowl as an excuse to put yourself in a food coma, or whether you're planning to cheer on your favorite team right up until the buzzer, consider treating your party guests to a tasty pot of spinach artichoke fondue (recipe below). This recipe is my attempt to copy my favorite spinach artichoke fondue from the Melting Pot restaurant. It has been a huge hit when I've made it for parties, and I'm confident that you will love it too! Or you could try out one of Mom's recipes for Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Seven Layer Taco Dip, Buffalo Wings, or Stuffed Mushrooms from previous Savings for Sisters posts. Happy snarfing!

 Spinach Artichoke Fondue

2 Tbls minced garlic
2/3 cup white wine (cooking wine will do)
1 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
2/3 cup canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup Butterkase cheese, shredded (you can find this in the deli section of the grocery store)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (you can use the powdered kind if you need to)
2 tsp flour
dippers (e.g., French bread, tortilla chips, raw vegetables, apples, pickles, olives)

Toss the cheeses and flour together in a bowl.

In an electric fondue pot or saucepan, simmer the garlic in the white wine. Continue simmering until the wine decreases by about half. This will give the alcohol a chance to evaporate out of the wine and ensure that your fondue is not too runny. It will take a while---around ten minutes. (Be cautious about making this recipe in larger batches, because it will take much longer to cook down the wine. Make sure if you do a larger batch that you give the wine plenty of time to cook and that you still let half of it evaporate before moving to the next step.)

Stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts and cook until the spinach wilts.

Stir in the cheese and flour mixture until the cheese melts.

Serve hot with dippers and enjoy!

Recipe - Salmon Wellington

Happy New Year Sisters!

Christmas is over, but the holidays aren't.  I always think it's fun to have something festive for New Year's Day, especially if the family is still around.  In past years I've made made things like crab legs or prime rib--foods we don't usually have at other times of the year. Recently I tried something new.  Patterned after the classic dish, Beef Wellington, my Salmon Wellington is a New Year's meal fit for a king (or a hard-working construction guy). I know everyone's tired of hearing about my torn-apart kitchen, so I won't mention that I made this elegant recipe the other day in this less than desirable space:

Don't be too appalled. He left me a small piece of counter top that is kept impeccably clean!  What this means, however, as things have deteriorated even further in my kitchen since then, the next few posts may feature simpler fare.  Pancakes anyone?  I have a daughter or two who has promised to provide a guest post while my kitchen is out of commission, and in a few weeks, if the stars align, a picture of the finished product may appear. Until then, bear with me--and be sure to make something special for your loved ones to kick off 2016!  

Salmon Wellington

-2 egg yolks

-1 egg plus 1 Tablespoon water

-8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, softened

-1 lb chopped fresh spinach leaves

-1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-1 bunch chopped green onions

-1/4 teaspoons lemon pepper

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-One package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed

-About 3 lbs salmon

Divide salmon into 8 equally sized portions, about 3/4" thick. (Please note that I have only 5 pieces, but they were really too big and it's better if you make the recipe for 8).  If there is a skinny edge along one side of the fillets, trim that off and use for another purpose so that the thickness will be pretty consistent (as shown).  If the salmon is not skinless, remove skin from the bottom with a sharp knife, cutting closely as possible so as to not waste any.

Saute spinach, mushrooms, and green onions in 1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  It will cook way down.  Add minced garlic for the last minute of sauteing. 

Drain well in colander, pushing against it with a spoon, then press out more liquid with paper towels as shown. 

 

It needs to look very dry, as shown above.  You don't want watery veggies going into the dish, or it will ruin the crispiness of the pastry.

Put 2 egg yolks in a bowl.  Add the cream cheese (which has been left out an hour to soften), lemon pepper and salt.  Beat well with electric mixer.  Stir in spinach mixture.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out somewhat thinner with a rolling pin.

Spread the cream cheese mixture all over the pastry to within 1 inch of the edges. Divide into portions for the salmon with a pizza roller, so there is a top piece for eacha s well as the bottom piece you have placed the salmon on.  Top with the salmon.  Season salmon pieces with salt and pepper.Place on a greased cookie sheet.Tuck the ends around and under to seal.  Brush the pastry with the egg/water mixture.  Cut several slits in the pastry top.Bake at 375 for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 8.

Note:  I didn't do a very good job portioning out the salmon and pastry and was trying to make 5 servings (which turned out to be too large).  I think it would be perfect if you divided each sheet of pastry into 8 equally sized rectangles (after spreading with spinach mixture).  Then you would have a top and bottom for 8 portions of salmon that would be about the right size.

Recipe - Fried Mozzarella Sticks

I'm sitting here staring at a blank page trying to think of an interesting or clever way to introduce this week's post about Fried Mozzarella Sticks.  I can't expound upon how healthy they are because, well, they're not. That being said, it is the holiday season and what better time to throw caution to the wind and live a little!  Along with French Dip Sandwiches at our Christmas Eve gala (which are essentially fat free the way I make them), we always have fried egg rolls, both cheese and chocolate fondue, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, spinach artichoke dip, cold shrimp, stuffed mushrooms . . . the list goes on and gets a bit longer each year.  And yet despite this evening of (not fat free) culinary excess, no one appears any worse for wear the next day.  Moderation is a wonderful concept because it means that no single favorite treat need ever be banned entirely.  Besides, for some traditional favorites, an annual indulgence is enough and keeps folks looking forward to next year!

Here are some of the usual gang at our party.  No one seems too concerned about diving right in!  It's Christmastime, after all, and there's plenty of time for whole grains and steamed veggies tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Sisters:  I am taking the week of Christmas off, so please note that the next installment of Savings for Sisters will be on December 29.  Have a wonderful holiday season.

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

16 packages of String Cheese

1/2 cup or so of Flour

2 large Eggs

3 Tablespoons Milk

2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 Tablespoon of dried Parsley Flakes 

Slice string cheese pieces in half for a total of 32 pieces.

Place flour in a bowl.  In another bowl, whisk eggs and milk.  In a third bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs with seasonings.

One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, shaking off excess.

Dip in egg/milk mixture, then roll in panko crumb mixture. Another good use for Piggy!
Use your hands to press crumbs all over the mozzarella stick.  It's important that they are well coated and you don't see cheese peeking through.

Dip a second time in eggs and crumbs so there's a double coating. This helps insulate the sticks so cheese will not leak out while they're cooking.  I did not know about doing this when I made them in the photos you're looking at, but I wish I would have, since as you can see, some of the cheese is showing through.

Line up on a tray or cookie sheet that has been covered with foil.
Place in freezer for 1 hour.  Don't skip this step!
Heat a couple of inches of cooking oil in a large skillet or small pot to about 360 degrees.  If you don't have a thermometer, sprinkle a few crumbs into the oil and see if it sizzles.  Then test with one stick, adjusting the temperature as needed.  Add mozzarella sticks a few at a time.  They don't take long, so don't overcook them.  If you ruin one, don't worry; just adjust the temperature and try again.

Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, but then move to a serving plate so they don't stick to the paper towel.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.  You can make a homemade sauce, but I just heat up a good quality jar of purchased sauce.  Makes 32 sticks.