CEiMB Thursday - Salmon Cakes with Ginger-Sesame Sauce and a Polynesian Shrimp Salad


I have been to the CEiMB home page about 6 times in the last month. Do I join or don't I? I bought Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave cookbook over 2 months ago and have definitely flipped through the pages and tabbed half the recipes to "try soon" BUT have not tried any to date (except for today's recipe). Several days ago I sat down in front of the computer and knew today was the day I wanted to start. I really enjoy how Ellie puts recipes together, cutting out a large amount of calories, but not taking away the flavor.


My first dinner with CEiMB was a great way to start. Sarah of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures (Gorgeous header photo Sarah) chose Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame-Ginger Sauce. I cut the recipe in half because there were just the two of us eating tonight and used Bumble Bee Salmon in the little 5 oz. cans. A first for me using canned salmon. Great flavor (I was pleasantly surprised) and the chestnuts added a wonderful crunch plus the scallions gave added color. Ellie was absolutely correct about the dipping sauce! I could see dipping veggies or anything else, including my finger, in the sesame-ginger sauce. We loved it.



My only negative point to add is, for some reason, my patties were on the dry side. I had trouble keeping the patties together, especially when flipping them gingerly in the pan. Crazy. =) Thank you Sarah for the wonderful selection and for hosting this week. We really enjoyed our dinner! To get the recipe for the salmon patties, go to Sarah's beautiful blog and/or buy Ellie's Cookbook.



To go with the salmon patties and dipping sauce, we made a Polynesian Shrimp Salad with just a hint of mild yellow curry powder, pineapple chunks and the reserved juice. Summer time and cold salads go hand-and-hand.

Polynesian Shrimp Salad
Serves 6 (20 min. + chilling to Make)

Ingredients:
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups cooked medium pasta shells
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper



Directions:
Drain pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice; set pineapple aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, curry powder, salt, pepper and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in mayonnaise and sour cream.

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, pasta, water chestnuts, red pepper and reserved pineapple. Add dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Comments

Sarah said…
Welcome to the group Shandy! I am glad that you joined, we are a small but fun group. I am also glad that your first recipe was a success and that you liked the salmon cakes. I also had the same problem with the cakes staying together, but fortunately the taste was still great. Again, welcome to the group, and I look forward to your other CEiMB posts!
Peggy said…
Welcome to our group Shandy! Looks like you did a great job with the salmon. We have a fun group of gals here. I did not get to make these this week and we will be on vacation next, but I will be back cooking after that and looking forward to getting to know you better. Your photo is very nice!
Joanne said…
Great job and welcome to the group.
One little recommendation: if you don't think you will like the recipe pick on a particular week, make it anyway. I've been surprised almost everytime I was a bit skeptical. The recipes are great.
Hanaâ said…
Your combo meal sounds delicious. So delicious that it makes me want to join the group. Luckily reality just kicked in :o)
We make salmon cake/patties at our home too. I created my own recipe for it. One ingredient I add to my patties to make them moist and stick together is milk (I used milk in meatballs for the same reason and figured it could work in salmon patties). Give that a try. Refrigerating the patties prior to cooking might prevent them from falling apart too.
Eliana said…
This all looks so delicious. Love that it's healthy too :)
Kayte said…
Welcome aboard! Your salmon cakes look wonderful, and so does that shrimp salad! We really enjoyed this recipe and I didn't think we would, so that was a nice surprise. It will be fun getting to know your blog.
I am glad to see you posting here. You certainly were successful with your salmon cakes. Mine were a bit dry also/

I love what you wrote. You got Ellie down perfectly. Her recipes are usually filled with flavor even when we don't think that they are going to turn out that way.

Take Joanne's advice, please. Many of us now give almost any recipe a try because, more times than not, we are happily surprised.

Welcome.
Bri said…
Great first CEIMB post! We're happy to have you. I couldn't agree more with the other gals: try the recipes, even if you're doubtful! I've done so many times, and been pleasantly surprised much of the time. Again, welcome!
Liz said…
I read some reviews that thought they were dry too. So I decreased the bread crumbs and added red bell pepper. Yours look great!
this is a great dishes Shandy, sound so delicious especially the shrimp salad, love it!
Shandy said…
Sarah - Thank you so much for such a warm welcome!

Peggy - Thank you too for the great welcome into CEiMB. Congratulations on the upcoming new grandbaby. How exciting!

Joanne - Thank you for the great advice and the warm welcome.

Jennifurla - Thank you and hugs!

Hanaa - LOVE your advice on the milk for the patties. I was wondering what to do. When life gets a little slower, you may want to join =).

Eliana - Thank you! I think the dish was great for the healthiness side of it too.

Kayte - HUGE thank you for the warm welcome and compliments.

Sweet and Savory - Thank you very much for the warm welcome, your wonderful compliments, and great advice.

Bri - Thank you too! I love how inviting and involved everyone is here. GREAT group to be a part of.

Liz - Thank you and I like your alterations to making a better pattie.

Sonia - Thank you very the wonderful compliments. You are always so sweet.
Anonymous said…
Welcome to the group! I have been busy over the last few weeks and haven't been participating as much as before, but it really is a great group. I'm glad you finally joined us; I have been really happy with most of Ellie's recipes! Beautiful pictures. Glad this one was a hit :)
Shandy said…
Liz, thank you for such a warm welcome and the wonderful comments. I think everyone in the group has been wonderful and supportive. I love it!

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