I was so excited about this past weekend. It was a 3 day weekend. The boys didn’t have any soccer games and Jeffrey had Monday off. It had such promise. Friday, I had car trouble and although it wasn’t major it did cause us to start looking more seriously into trading vehicles. We have been talking about getting a mini-van for several months now. So Saturday, we actually bought one. GASP! Even though the van is something we will enjoy and have been planning on getting for a while, I still second guess the decision. I wondered if we did the right thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve asked Jeffrey about it three or four times already.
When I get into these moods, the best thing for me is to take time to regroup and find something relaxing. The kitchen is my place of refuge. I spent Monday morning working on making homemade hamburger buns. YUM! (Recipe to come shortly.) We had friends joining us for an early dinner and I didn’t want to serve regular hamburgers (although we did grill some for the kiddos). I had some salmon in the freezer that needed to be used so I decided on Salmon burgers. They come together and cook very quickly. (I cook them on a grill pan on the stove instead of the grill because they are a little delicate and can fall apart if you aren’t careful.)
I think they were a hit. Everyone seemed to enjoy them. I served them with a garlic-basil mayo that I threw together, sweet potato fries, and a fresh fruit salad. We had plenty and we didn’t feel the least bit guilty for the large helping of dessert we enjoyed after our meal (compliments of our guests).
Salmon Burgers
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Tabasco (I have used both green and red and either will do nicely)
1 egg
1 6 oz. can boneless skinless salmon, drained (I find that this helps bind the patties together better than using only fresh.)
12-16 oz fresh salmon, skinned and chopped (I chop mine into 1/4 inch – 1/2 inch cubes)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
Combine onion, basil, black pepper, Tabasco, and egg in a large bowl. (I use a fork to stir everything together.) Add your canned salmon and fresh salmon and stir until everything is blended nicely. I then pour in the bread crumbs and stir until everything is together and the mixture will form patties. (Sometimes you may need to add more bread crumbs to help everything stick together nicely.) Form into about 6 patties. (I base my patty size on the bun or bread I am using.) Coat a grill pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add patties and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with garlic-basil mayonnaise.
To make the mayonnaise combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 clove garlic minced, and 4-5 chopped basil leaves.
The mixture ready to patty.
The patties on my grill pan due to delicate nature.
Ready to dig in!
For those of you who have never had the privilege to sit at Dinah’s table as I have, this is a special (my favorite) recipe. You see Dinah married our oldest son twelve years ago and every since it has been a treat to experience her cooking. She comes by it genetically though I think, because her mom and dad could lay down a feast too. Her creativity and loving care make each dinning experience wonderful.
My love for salmon goes back to my mom making salmon patties for us as a kid. I always thought it was a special treat (something other than the usual meat served) and I remember smothering them with ketchup. Now, I would refrain from the smothering part and choose her mayo mixture. Humm….we have some salmon in the freezer so guess what’s on the menu tonight in Norman, OK. Thanks Dinah
I make lots of burgers, and lots of “alternative burgers”. I’ve been trying to perfect turkey burgers for a while, which can be really dry, but always end up putting more fat back into the meat, which kind of defeats the purpose of using ground turkey.
Ever do burgers with ground chicken? I hear they’re better… I’ll keep an eye on the blog for chicken burgers in the near future. 🙂
I have a couple of recipes that I want to try with ground chicken but I really haven’t used it in the past. I will definitely let you know as I try them. Thanks for the suggestions!
Hey John and I made these the other day and they were delicious! I had to make mine smaller because they were falling apart but they were still yummy. We couldn’t eat them all so we reheated them the next day and they were still tasty! thanks for a great recipe, Dinah 🙂