Eating Down the Fridge Challenge: Day 5 (Thursday)

You may have noticed that there is no Wednesday. We cheated (sort of). When I got home from work, I ran into our upstairs neighbors. It came out that this week was my birthday, also that she had been home all day with her sick (not contagious) son and had spent the day cooking. So she invited CCO and I to dinner with her family. We had delicious Korean food. We did eat food from a fridge, just not ours. And in the spirit of EDF (and being good guests) we brought them a bottle of wine.

To make up for my lapse, though, I promised myself I'd be adventurous for Thursday's dinner. So this can of salmon has been around for awhile (don't worry, it doesn't expire till 2010). I think it was my mother's. She accidentally bought it one time, mistaking it for tuna, then got home and stuck it in the back of her cupboard. When I moved to my new place last summer, she brought me a bag of all this food to help fill my cabinets. It was supposed to be things I requested -- spices I had left with her after moving back from Chicago, important pots and pans like my pressure cooker. Instead I ended up with canned salmon. But never fear. I remembered we had a couple red bliss potatoes sitting around. Also, as used in previous recipes, tons of bread crumbs. So why not salmon croquettes?

Adapted from the New York Times

Eat Rating: Good. CCO commented that the croquettes were a little short on salmon. If I were making it again, I would probably use 2 cans of salmon.
Difficulty: Easy-to-medium (no strange utensils, but does require breading and frying)

3 medium-sized red-skin potatoes
1 can salmon, drained
1 shallot, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup sour cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill (or about 1-1 1/2 tbsp dried dill)
1/2 tsp salt
Oil for frying
Flour

Boil potatoes in medium-sized saucepan until tender. Mash with masher or electric beaters until smooth. Mix in can of salmon, shallot and one egg. Shape into patties and place on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Beat remaining egg in a small bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and spread several tablespoons on a plate. For each patty, cover with flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Set aside. Heat oil in a frying pan until hot, the edges will just begin to bubble. Fry the patties in the oil until brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Dry on a paper towel before serving.

Salmon patties, frying

While patties are cooking, mix sour cream, garlic, salt and dill to create a garlicky cream. Serve salmon croquettes with a dollop of cream.

With a dollop of garlicky dill cream