For Vicci & All – Easy, Fun Party Menu

[cjs]

Since Vicci is usually the one who starts us on entertaining menus, I thought of her yesterday after our company left. We had old friends from California for lunch and so I was free to visit and enjoy them, I wanted to keep it simple. These dishes were so simple and do ahead, but turned out to be one of the most fun meals.

Salmon and Corn Patty Sliders with Mustard Sauce
Chickpea, Couscous & Feta salad


And for dessert – Marshmallow Crème/Cream Cheese Dip with fruit.
I always have trouble with how to serve the dip for this dessert, plopping in a plate just doesn’t cut it. I found these little buckets at the $ store and each of us had our own little bucket of dip and it worked great!


And, I’m happy to say everything was gone!! I’ll be doing this one again for summer parties – perfect for outside, but it was a little too chilly for that yesterday, darn. Anyway, that’s it. It was fun.

[Mare749]

That looks so nice! What a nice summer menu. Did you serve the salmon patties warm? You mentioned that it was all done ahead of time, so I was wondering about that part.

[foodfiend]

Wow, I saw your post yesterday and the sliders and salad caught my attention immediately. Are those recipes online, or were they included in your post? I'm going to find out now!

BTW, ...perfect for outside, but it was a little too chilly for that yesterday, darn. No problem here, the "real-feel" temp right now is 104. :|

I know that we wanted to move here after vacationing in this area for many years, but we never did come here in July or August so I'm kicking myself a bit about not taking that into consideration! When we woke this morning, 80 degrees with 98% humidity-- at 8am! I'm meltiiiiiiing!!!!!


Okay, so where do I find those recipes?

[Harborwitch]

It all looks so good Jean. Are these the corn & salmon patties from Black Beans & Corn?

[cjs]

Yes the sliders were warm. I heated the buns separately and for the patties, the easiest method for me is to brown them up on one side, flip over for maybe a minute then transfer to a baking sheet and chill. Then 375° for about 15 min. heats them up to about 155° I just assemble them and put out.

Yes, Sharon, the patties are from B.B. & Corn, page 110 - the only change this time was I only needed 1 egg (don't know why) and I had some rice krispies crumbs and used 1/2 & 1/2 with saltines. Love the combination and will do again.

Here are the recipes -

Deviled Salmon and Corn Cakes
Black Beans & Corn Cookbook
Fast to put together for an easy weeknight dinner with some oven fries and a slaw.

1 1/2 T. vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 T. fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried)
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) cooked salmon (or 15 oz. can)
1/2 cup corn kernels, canned (drain and rinse) or frozen (thawed)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 T. Dijon mustard
2 tsps. sweet pickle relish
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 dashes of Tabasco
2 eggs, slightly beaten (check consistency after adding 1 egg)
1 1/2 cups Saltine crackers, crushed (or a combination of crushed cereal & Saltines)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat 1 T. oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring often until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from the heat.

Place salmon in a medium bowl and coarsely flake, removing any bones and skin. Add the corn, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, eggs, crackers; mix well. Season with salt & pepper.

Shape into 8 patties and set aside for 30 minutes. Then heat the remaining 1/2 T. oil in a skillet over medium heat. Lightly brown the patties in two batches so they are not crowded and will brown faster. When the patties are browned, turn over and immediately place on the baking sheet and brown the remaining salmon cakes and add to the baking sheet.

Bake the salmon cakes until heated through, 12 to 15 minutes, or to a temperature of 140°F. Serve with lemon wedges and a sauce if desired. 8 patties.

CJ’s tip: so many sauces will go with these cakes: aioli, chimichurri, tartar, Hollandaise, a lemon-butter sauce, or mango ketchup. All would be delicious.

The sauce I used yesterday – not in any book....yet
Mustard Sauce for fish cakes
2/3 mayo
3 T. green onion
3 T. minced red bell pepper
2 T. Creole mustard
Add a couple sprigs of cilantro or parsley, minced

Mix & Chill. Makes about 1 cup

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Mediterranean Chickpea, Couscous and Feta Salad - developed 11/19/12*****
This is a takeoff of a Chickpea Salad from the magazine, Cuisine @ Home – goes with just about any grilled or roasted meat to round out an easy dinner. Made again 8/9/14 - very good and served with Honey - Soy Pork

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup couscous
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
16 Kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Ortega chili, chopped

1. In a small skillet, cook onions and garlic in the olive oil over low heat until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little. While the onion is cooking, in a small saucepan, bring to a boil the 3/4 cup chicken stock, add the coucous, cover tightly and turn heat off and allow to stand 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove lid and with a fork, fluff the couscous and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the chickpeas, cilantro, feta, olives scallions, lime juice and chopped chiles. Add the onion mixture and couscous to the salad and gently combine well. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve. Remove from the refrigerator an hour ahead of serving. Makes 5 cups/5 servings

Tips
Wonderful with Tobin James Ballistic Zin, ‘09 - Try with any Zin or Syrah - also very good with Coppola Chardonnay

This recipe should go in 200 Series book

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MARSHMALLOW/CREAM CHEESE DIP

8 ozs cream cheese
1 jar marshmallow crème -- (7 ozs)
Assorted fruit: strawberries -- pineapple,
grapes -- etc.

Combine softened cream cheese and marshmallow crème; mix till well blended.
Serve w/assorted fruits.

Source
Author: a Chef's Journey via 1970s recipe from somewhere
NOTES : No matter how full people are, this is always completely gone!

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P.S. I put the sliders and dessert both on the larger 'round-about' Roy makes and it was perfect for everyone to reach.

[foodfiend]

Thank you, Jean! I'll put these on my "must try" list for this summer.

[cjs]

I think you'll have fun with these.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Very pretty and sounds super good!

[Harborwitch]

I would probably do them with all rice crispies, since the saltines are off limits.

They sound so good.'