Salmon Cakes with Bacon

Salmon BLTs got me thinking how good bacon would be into a salmon cake! It really was! It also was a great use for the 2nd portion of salmon after grilling the other piece and wanting something different. I ate it like a burger but it would be great on a salad or fun as sliders.
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cakes with Bacon

Bacony Salmon Cakes with Herb Aoli

Ingredients: (for 2)

~4 oz fresh salmon
2 strips bacon
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 egg
salt & pepper
2 teaspoons mayo
1 teaspoon fresh herbs (mine was chive & thyme or use parsley/oregano/etc)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of dried herbs (mine was a mix of basil/oregano/thyme/rosemary)
2 rolls
sliced tomato & arugula to serve

Directions:

Pan fry the bacon until crisp.
Chop the salmon and add to a bowl with the bacon, garlic, breadcrumbs, mustard, egg, and salt & pepper. (I chopped half the salmon into larger chunks and half into fine chunks.)
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cakes with Bacon
Heat a medium skillet to medium heat (preferably the same pan as the bacon cooked in) with a drizzle of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
Stir gently and form into 2 patties.
Pan fry, covered for about 3 minutes on each side. Then bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
While the patties cook, add the mayo, fresh herbs, garlic powder, lemon juice, and dried herbs to a small bowl.
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cakes with Bacon
Stir the aoli and refrigerate until assembling the sandwiches.
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cakes with Bacon
Let the salmon cakes cool for a few minutes before assembling.
Spread the aoli onto the top bun and serve with greens and tomato.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Salmon Cakes with Bacon

I loooooved the bacon in here! It kept it juicy and was a great compliment to the salmon. Mixing it in was way better than serving it on top. The an herby aoli has that touch of lemon to be a quick condiment for just the zing the salmon needs.

Serving a group: mix up the salmon cakes and bake in the oven for ~15 minutes on a generously oiled pan, flipping once or twice. Then you won’t have to baby-sit them frying in a pan! The aoli can be made ahead of time or double it and use the rest on burgers or sandwiches. I made 2 salmon cakes and froze the other for a treat some night when we grill since it’ll only have to warm through.

Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

These tacos have alllll the flavors you could want: sweet mango & lime slaw & fresh & nutty shrimp. This was seriously the best thing I’ve eaten in awhile. I meant for these to be a his/hers taco night but it was too much without prepping the shrimp in advance on a weeknight at dinner time. That weeknight, Mr. J had steak and I ended up sautéing the shrimp in taco seasoning. I whipped these up for a weekend lunch with some leftover slaw and was ohh-so-happy.
The Three Bite Rule - Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

Make a big batch of the coconut shrimp in advance and freeze and your tacos will thank you later. Reheat in the oven before serving.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa

Ingredients: (for tacos for 2)

6-8 jumbo shrimp (shells removed and deveined)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 egg white, whisked
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons panko
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mayo
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cup slaw mix or shredded cabbage
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup mango (mine was frozen & defrosted)
1/4 cup cucumber, chopped (optional)
1 green onion
4 taco sized flour tortillas

Directions:

Set up the dredging line up of shrimp, cornstarch, egg white, and coconut mixed with panko. Bring oil to medium heat in a small skillet.
Dredge the shrimp into the cornstarch, then egg whites, then coconut mixture. Pan fry for ~3 minutes on each side, then drain onto paper towel.
The Three Bite Rule - Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
While shrimp is cooking, whisk together the slaw dressing of mayo, lime juice, and sugar. Mix in the slaw.
The Three Bite Rule - Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Mix together the salsa, mango, cucumber, and green onion.
The Three Bite Rule - Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Assemble the tacos with slaw on the bottom, shrimp, and salsa.
The Three Bite Rule - Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Enjoy!

The shrimp was amazing. I really loved the flavor and loved how crispy they were. Now I’m wanting to make a big batch. I fried these since there were only a few.  Usually I stay away from frying things so baking them would be good for a hands-off approach, especially for a big batch.

These could be a fun app in wonton cups with mango salsa on the bottom and the shrimp placed on top.

Pomegranate Pear Salsa over Crispy Fish

At the first Pear Party/Iron Chef Pear, there was this pear, pomegranate pearl salsa that I loved, yet hadn’t made in years. It is so addicting with tortilla chips- multigrain scoops are definitely the best for it. I added some avocado and served mine on top of some beer battered fish filets for lunch and used the rest on pork tacos the following night. This is wintry and fresh with such great textures.

The Three Bite Rule - Pomegranate Pear Salsa

Pomegranate & Pear Salsa

Ingredients:

2 pears
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 red onion
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/1-1 avocado

Directions:

Chop the pear, cilantro, and red onion. Mix together with the pomegranate pearls, lime juice & salt.
The Three Bite Rule - Pomegranate Pear Salsa
Gently mix in the avocado.
Serve & enjoy! (If not serving immediately, reserve the pomegranate pearls until serving- they leave a reddish hue on the pears & reserve the avocado- it’ll turn brown.)

So easy! You know what’s even easier? I discovered the grocery store sells the pomegranate pearls already popped out of the pomegranate! That was my hang up to make this until now. This lunch as everything: warm crispy fish, the pop/crunch of the pomegranate pearl, the juicy pear, the creamy avocado. What’s not to love?

The red & green felt super cute and seasonal here. The avocado was a game-time decision. When they’re ripe that window to use it or lose it is brief! Plus, my frozen fish filets seemed tiny. I’ve used them in fish tacos but for size reference, this is a salad plate so I thought the avocado would bulk it up a touch. It did!
The Three Bite Rule - Pomegranate Pear Salsa

Shrimp Cakes

I had another post queued up but was just so psyched by this one so it is cutting the line!  I loooove shrimp and went all out – even pan frying these! Gasp! I tend to get annoyed frying things since they require so much babysitting. These stayed together pretty well and were worth it. The shrimp cakes were full of such great corn & chive flavor! Plus if you’re growing chives, chances are you have tonssss – or sub parsley, or green onion, or whatever herb suits you.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake

These shrimp cakes have a touch of lemon and some sweet corn and shallots provided freshness and crunch. My corn was leftover and I used some frozen shrimp since I like to have them on hand. I’d totally whip a bunch of these up for a group, or as mini appetizers, or they were great to just make 2 servings.

Shrimp Cakes (for 2 entree servings, or 4 appetizer portions)

Ingredients:

1 cup shrimp (shelled, deveined, defrosted, etc as necessary), about 1/4 pound
2 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chives, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
~1 cup corn, off the cob
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt & pepper
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Rough chop the shrimp into approximately thirds – smaller pieces but chunks.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan and oil to medium heat. (I used a small cast iron pan and added oil to be less than a quarter inch deep.)
Add shrimp, mayo, cornstarch, garlic, chives, shallot, corn, lemon juice, egg, and salt & pepper into a bowl and mix well.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake
Test the oil temperature by dropping in a tiny bit of the mixture. If it sizzles, spoon in about 3 tablespoons for each shrimp cake (or your desired size). Pan fry for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Cake

I made these on a weekend afternoon and ate some of the more crumbly ones as lunch then the next night for dinner I just toasted these through and had them on salad for dinner. I looooved that these were full of shrimp and corn. I also really didn’t want them full of filler. I love me a good crabcake but wanted these to be different. The cornstarch makes them puffy and crunchy.

Make sure that oil is hot…otherwise they’ll be greasy and not crisp. I go with the small pan to just do a few at a time. Pop the done ones in an oven to stay warm if making for a crowd! I’d do little bites in advance for an app!

Shrimp Scampi Flatbreads

I was home to make lunch and was thinking about Shrimp Scampi but it seemed a bit much for lunch so I made it into a flatbread with a scampi-like sauce. I loved it and it was the perfect fit for a surprisingly quick lunch with the flavors without messing with dough or even boiling water. Cooking the shrimp and making the sauce in that same pan makes for a lot of flavor and was just so easy.

The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread

Ingredients:

1 garlic naan
5-6 shrimp
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup clam juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic
cracked black pepper & salt
1 teaspoon chopped chives
~2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon thyme

Directions:

Toast the flatbread.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook and flip once and cook for a few minutes per side.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread
Remove the shrimp and add in the clam juice, lemon juice, mustard, & garlic.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread
Whisk and bring to a low simmer. Add in more black pepper and chives.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread
Spread the sauce onto the naan and top with Parmesan and shrimp.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread
Sprinkle with the thyme and return to the oven for another few minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Shrimp Scampi Flatbread
The sauce was veryyy flavorful. The clam juice, lemon juice, dijon, and garlic are fo-real. For pasta I’d probably save a bit of the starchy water to thin it out a little. I was so glad I made this one & got the flavor I was thinking about. It was easy to make a single serving and was a great reminder how quickly some classic flavors can take shape.