Moving to Michigan

It has been a while since the last update. Mostly because we have been in a transition period. Losing my job, moving in with family while searching for the next opportunity, and now finally finding a great new job in Michigan.

We will be moving to Lansing in the next couple of weeks. While I was interviewing we celebrated Salt's birthday at Ai Fusion Sushi and Grill in East Lansing. It was definitely a big plus for the city that we found a good sushi spot since it is one of our comfort foods.

Here is a picture of our sushi, followed by a picture of a sushi boat that the chefs were preparing for a large group.

Up to this point, I don't know what the food identity of Michigan is...other than the fantastic fresh fruit we had a couple of years ago when we were vacationing in Montague, MI. The cherries were fantastic.

We are looking forward to exploring Michigan and its culinary offerings. If anyone has good recommendations, please send them our way!

Salmon Cakes and Broilied Asparagus

After staring at the two salmon fillets we had defrosted last night with a look of "what the hell am I going to do with you two?"...I opted to go with a simple salmon cake preparation. First step, check for necessary ingredients:
1 pound of salmon, diced into 1/4 inch cubes - check
1 slice of white bread - um...I'll get back to you on that.
1 T. mayo - yes
1/4 cup grated onion - maybe
1 T. chopped parsley - just pruned my parsley plant so I know we have that.
1/2 t. salt - of course
lemon juice - yep
flour - got it
1 egg - no prob.
Breadcrumbs, preferably panko - um, not so much. I used up most of the panko when I tried to make deep fried cheese balls - an unsuccessful venture I might add.

So no white bread and no breadcrumbs. No problem...I'll just use up these slightly stale bagels and make my own breadcrumbs - a much tastier option to any store bought breadcrumbs anyway!

Breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 300. Chop up the bagel in the food processor until desired consistency. Put on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a little oil, sprinkle with some seasoning and pop it in the oven for about 8 minutes until the breadcrumbs are dried out and slightly crispy.

Salmon Cakes

Mix salmon with chopped bread, mayonnaise, onion, parsley, salt, and lemon juice in medium bowl. Oh - I also added a generous dollop of siracha here. Use hands to form into a patty. Place patties in freezer until surface moisture has evaporated, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread flour in pie plate or shallow baking dish. Beat eggs in second pie plate or shallow baking dish, and spread bread crumbs in a third. Dip chilled salmon patties in flour to cover; shake off excess. Transfer to beaten egg, turn to coat; let excess drip off. Transfer to bread crumbs; shake pan to coat patties completely.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup vegetable oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 3 minutes; add salmon patties and cook until medium golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip cakes over and continue cooking until medium golden brown on second side, about 2 minutes longer.

We also roasted up some asparagus to go with these cakes...

Put asparagus on a baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place about 6 inches under the broiler for about 10 minutes.