Salmon Burger w/ Teriyaki Glaze & Wasabi Mayo and Warm Asian Slaw

A perfect combination of flavors!

Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 500 grams fresh salmon (steak or fillet)
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 cloves garlic, rough chop
• 1 small onion, rough chop
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2-3 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp good, smokey, hot chili oil (I get the stuff with black beans in it)
• 1 tsp Maggi seasoning
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 2-3 tbsp mustard powder
• 4-5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tsp Nước mắm
• 2 tsp plain unflavored gelatin
• 1/2-3/4 cup panko
• 2-3 tbsp corn starch
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup mayo
• Wasabi powder (to taste)
• English muffins
• Two old empty tuna cans, cleaned
• Warm Asian slaw
• 1/4 head of red cabbage, julienne
• 2-3 large carrots, julienne
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Asian sesame oil
• 1-2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or grated)
• 1-2 tsp hot chili oil
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Teriyaki Glaze
• 1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1-3/4 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2-3 tablespoons white sugar (to taste)
• 2-1/2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• black pepper (to taste)
• optional: corn starch to thicken it to preferred glaze consistency.

Directions

1. First take the salmon and cut it into chunks, being careful to remove the bones
2. Then take the salmon and all ingredients down to the gelatin and add them all into a food processor. Pulse a few times until it gets a homogenous creamy consistency with some large chunks in it.
3. Add the panko and corn starch and process again. The goal is to get it mostly creamy and smooth but leave a few good chunks of salmon in it.
4. Set the mixture in the fridge while you prepare the teriyaki glaze, mayo, and slaw.
5. Start with the teriyaki glaze by bringing mirin to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. Season with garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, and black pepper; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Set aside (Note: can store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for extended times).
6. For the wasabi mayo, just add wasabi powder (or the paste) to the mayo mixing until it has the kick you want.
7. For the slaw, prepare the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, ginger, hot chili oil, peanut butter, and sugar until smooth.
8. In a skillet on medium-high heat, add a splash of sesame oil and then toss in the carrots, cooking until slightly browned on the edges (about 2 mins). Then add in the cabbage, tossing frequently and cooking until just wilted and warmed through (about 3-4 mins). Then add in the dressing, toss a few times and set aside, covered.
9. Take the tuna cans and cut out the bottom so you have a ring (like an egg ring but much deeper) and place them on a plate or cutting board. Scoop in the salmon mixture and compress it down to remove the big air bubbles and smooth over the top. Get a non-stick pan nice and hot with some sesame oil in it and then gently shake the molded salmon patty into the pan. Cook until golden brown and flip (approximately 3-4 minutes per side)
10. Toast the English muffin, spread on the wasabi mayo, lay down a bed of spinach, and then place the salmon patty on top. Drizzle on some of the teriyaki glaze and complete with a side of the slaw.
11. Bon ap!

Excellent with chilled white wine!

Pumpkin Pasties & Butterbeer

Since it's the grand finale of the Harry Potter movies, we're doing a marathon and I thought it'd be fun to add some HP snacks! The butterbeer is dairy-free and has a little more alcohol than the house-elf standards in Harry Potter ;)

The pumpkin pasties are pretty simple, but need a little prep time since the filling is pre-cooked. I tailored my favorite pumpkin pie and crust recipe to fit into a pumpkin pasty, which came out perfectly. However, finding a butterbeer recipe that fit J.K. Rowling's description was a little bit of a task, so I adjusted a few of the "best" butterbeer recipes online to make one buttery, foamy, alcoholic beverage that's served warm! The biggest complaints with the top recipes online was basically that they were too sweet and non-alcoholic. I cut back on the sugar proportions and cranked up the booze, but not enough to distort the overall butterscotch flavor :] Try it out and let me know what you think! I'll be testing another butterbeer recipe when I'm in the mood for some HP and butterbeer!

Serves 4-6 (1 dozen small pasties, 4-6 cups butterbeer)

Ingredients

• Pumpkin Pasties
• Pumpkin Filling
• 425g cooked pumpkin, blended smooth (or 1 can of pumpkin, 15-oz size)
• 1 (14-oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (equivalent to 395 g)
• 2 large eggs 
• 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/2-1 tsp ground ginger 
• 1/2-1 tsp ground nutmeg  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons shortening 
• 2-1/4 teaspoons white sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 egg (optional, if available)
• 2 tablespoons water
• Hot Butterbeer
• 1 liter vanilla cream soda (we had to use ginger beer) 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 (375ml) can soy cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (to add the vanilla flavor to our ginger beer)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup Butterscotch Schnapps, to taste
• 1/4 cup spiced rum, to taste (we used Sailor Jerry's, which has an excellent vanilla flavor)
• Salt, to taste
• Optional: non-dairy whipped cream, if available!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into casserole dish. Bake 15 minutes. 
2. Reduce oven temperature to 350F (175C) and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from casserole dish wall comes out clean. While the pumpkin filling is baking, prepare the crust in the next step.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, shortening, sugar, and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly. In a separate, smaller bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
4. When the pumpkin filling is ready, set aside to cool and take out the crust dough to prep. Separate the dough in to 12 even pieces. Roll thin and cut into circles approx 4" in diameter. Put a spoonful of the cool pumpkin mixture towards one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly crimp the edges closed with a fork. Slice three small slits in the top for venting, place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake only until crust is a light golden-brown (10-15 mins at 350F/175C). While that's baking, whip up the butterbeer in the next steps!
5. Put the soda in a pan to boil. In a separate small pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the butter and sugar mixture into the pan of boiling cream soda (make sure the soda is boiling, or the butter and sugar will solidify). Add 2/3 of the can of soy cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add the butterscotch schnapps and spiced rum to your preferred strengths/flavors. Turn heat to low, just to keep warm. Don't forget to check on your pumpkin pasties - they should be done or close to done around this point. 
6. Whip up the remaining 1/3 can of soy cream. Slowly add the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla extract until foamy. Note: it's hard to "whip" soy cream, hence a non-dairy whipped "cream" would be handy for the butterbeer foam.
7. Ladle the warm butterbeer in to a mug and spoon the foam on top. Sprinkle with a little salt to bring out the flavors and enjoy with a pumpkin pasty!

Harry Potter marathon snacks :]

Pumpkin Pasties

Butterbeer

Sources: Perfect Pumpkin Pie Recipe, Grandma Ruth's Pie Crust Recipe, Britta's Hogwarts Recipes, Top 5 Butterbeer Recipes. 

Subnote: I really want to try this butterbeer recipe next (traditional British style a la Harry Potter)...but add the foamy whipped top to it. 

Fried Pumpkin w/ Vanilla Sugar Glaze

Oh heck, lets add some chocolate! This was a successful dessert that the bf surprised me with (due to the recent pumpkin obsession)...and it was perfectly fried and cooked through! I've never had fried pumpkin until now, and I must say....I might start looking like Paula Deen, but I could eat fried pumpkin for the rest of my life.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

• Pumpkin, cut into approximately 3cm cubes (as close as you can get it)
• Egg wash
• 1 part Panko bread crumbs
• 1 part all purpose flour
• 1/4 part powdered sugar
• 2-3 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (always freshly grate your nutmeg!)
• 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tsp ground mace
• 2-3 tsp ground clove
• 2-3 tsp allspice
• 1-2 tsp ground fennel (optional)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• an additional 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Prepare a large deep fryer on slightly more than medium heat.
2. Take all the dry ingredients (everything from the Panko to the fennel, inclusive) and thoroughly mix together in a large bowl and then spread out onto a large plate.
3. Take the pumpkin pieces (making sure they are room temperature to start) and place them in the egg wash, coating all surfaces. Dredge through the flour mixture until coated, and then place in the egg wash again, and dredge one more time (this makes for an extra crispy crust).
4. Once the oil is hot, add the pieces in, just a few at a time (the more oil you have the more you can do at a time - they key is to make sure the oil doesn't get too cold from adding in too many pieces).
5. Remove, letting the oil drain, and set aside on a paper towel covered plate.
6. In a small bowl add the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.
7. Plate the pumpkin, adding a piece of chocolate if you like, and drizzle with the sour cream mixture.
8. Bon ap!

The vanilla sugar glaze is a must here!

Pancetta-Wrapped Shrimp w/ Brussel Sprouts

This was an easy dish that is just so tasty we had to do it. The shrimp were frozen and thawed, the pancetta sliced thin from the local (awesome!) Italian deli. The brussel sprouts offered a little greenery since we decided to make this a main since we are such fat kids :-)

Serves 2 as a main, but can be used as an excellent hors d'œuvre for your next dinner party.

Ingredients

• Brussel sprouts, halved
• 1 small onion, julienned
• 18 shrimp, deveined (about 1 lb of jumbo shrimp)
• 250 grams thinly slice pancetta (which came out to 39 slices)
• Cracked black pepper
• Canola oil

Directions

1. Wrap the shrimp in the pancetta, two slices per shrimp, so that the whole shrimp is completely covered and the fat/meat ratio is pretty even throughout (this is just a bit of trial and error and not critical). Retain those few extra slices of pancetta (if you have them) and julienne them. Save till later
2. Lay them down on the flap side (i.e. the side where the pancetta has a free edge) in a medium-high preheated cast iron skillet
3. Cook until well brown on one side and then flip, cooking until well browned on the other side (about 3ish minutes per side)
4. Remove and drip off as much fat as you can, retaining it in the skillet, and place on a paper towel covered plate. Add some cracked black pepper right away so it sticks to the hot pancetta
5. Add a splash of canola oil to the pan and then toss in the brussel sprouts, cut side down, until browned
6. Then toss in the onion and julienned pancetta and toss around in the pan until the onions are just cooked through and the pancetta is a little crispy. Add some salt and pepper to taste (but be light on the salt since the pancetta is really salty stuff!)
7. Plate, pour yourself a nice glass of red (the gf would say Cab Sauv with hints of black cherry), and serve!
8. Bon ap!

Tofu Phở (Vietnamese Soup)

Phở may be one of my favorite soups! It's a flavor bomb of deliciousness and you can crank up the heat with as much Sri Racha as you like :) Once again, adapted from our friends over at The Food Republic, this is a "cheater Phở" - easy and quick to make!

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients

• 4oz of Asian rice noodles
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion
• 1/2 bell pepper, julienne
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• Cilantro
• Tofu, fried crispy
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1-2 tbsp Nước mắm
• 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• Dried shrimp
• Sriracha
• Hoisin Sauce

Directions

1. Prep the rice noodles by placing them in hot (not boiling water) until soft. Then set aside
2. In a medium saucepan, add the broth, Nước mắm, bay leaf, and 5 spice simmer for 5-10 minutes.
3. Remove the bay leaf, and add in the mushrooms, and let simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Ladle into a bowl and add the rice noodles, forming a bed. Then add all the vegetables and tofu on top. Garnish with the cilantro and dried shrimp.
5. Add Sriracha and hoisin to tase.
6. Bon ap!

Finished! :)