Mini Shrimp Fish Cake Sliders with Wasabi Mayo & Japanese Mayo

Comment: These sliders turned out fabulous. The fish cakes were warm and crispy, the mayo had good flavor with some heat, & the bread was soft and fresh. I made homemade buns for the first time to go with the shrimp fish cakes. I have always thought sliders make a cute appetizer, but I think they would be fun for kids too. Next time I make them I will try using Chipotle Mayo as a condiment, because I think it would go well with these mini cakes too.

Bun Recipe
I doubled the amount of yeast that the recipe called for and added brown sugar.
   
    Fish Cakes
    12 shrimp (medium sized)
    2 Tilapia Fillets
    1 clove garlic, chopped
    2 Tbsp onion, chopped
    salt/pepper to taste
    1 Tbsp Mayo
    1/2 tsp mustard
    dash lemon juice
    2 dashes Worcestershire
    1/2 an egg
    Pinch lemon pepper
    1/2 tsp smoked paprika 
    Pinch dried dill
    1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Heat oil in pan and cook onions for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 minutes before adding shrimp and fish. Break fish up into chunks while cooking. Season with salt and pepper. When the meat has finished cooking, take it off the heat and cut it up into smaller pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients in with your meat mixture. Shape each ball using 2 Tbsp of filling. With your hand press down so the top and bottom of the ball are flattened. Cook in oil over medium heat on each side for about 2 minutes.

    Wasabi Mayo Recipe

    Japanese Mayo Recipe
    2 Tbsp mayo
    Sriracha chili sauce to taste (adds heat)

Assembly: Bun, Fish Cake, Mayo, Tomato

 

Shrimp Gnocchi with Preserved Lemon

Comment – This recipe comes from  the restaurant Paley’s Place in Portland, OR. I had heard a lot about gnocchi and wanted to try making it. I made a few changes and thought the dish turned out great. The gnocchi were full of cheesy flavor and paired nicely with the seafood and preserved lemon. I really liked the presentation of the dish too.


Note:
I added 1/4 cup Parmesan to the gnocchi mixture giving it a more cheesy flavor and texture. The herbs will turn the gnocchi mixture green if they are blended and not stirred in. I used fresh thyme instead of summer savory and low fat ricotta instead of regular. I also baked the gnocchi at 500 degrees F in lemon butter (4 Tbsp butter to 1 Tbsp lemon juice) after I boiled them. The result was a soft center with a chewy outside layer.  If you bake them at the same temperature I did you will have to watch them carefully because they brown easily. I flipped them after a few minutes so they would brown evenly. I didn’t really like the butter sauce around the plate and will omit it next time.

Recipe link

Spicy Shrimp Pizza

Comment – I know it sounds kind of funny to put Shrimp on pizza, but they serve it that way at the Pizzicato restaurant and it is really good. I recreated it at home and it turned out excellent. I used the Olive garden pizza crust recipe along with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese like the Pizzicato restaurant.

Pizza Dough – Olive Garden Recipe

Sauce -
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 TBSP Parmesan cheese

Toppings -
Mozzarella
Parmesan
shrimp (saute in oil with 1 clove garlic chopped)
Onion – long thin slices
Chili Pepper flakes
Salt
Garlic salt

Directions for Pizza sauce and toppings -

1. cook oil over medium heat. Test to see if it’s ready by dropping a piece of garlic in it. Once it sizzles add 1 garlic clove. Cook for 30 seconds before adding the shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked remove them and set aside. For the sauce go through the process of cooking another garlic clove in oil and this time add 1/4 cup heavy cream to the pan. Once the cream is heated through add 1 TBSP of cheese. Continue to add cheese if the sauce is to thin. Add a little salt to the sauce and spread it out over the pizza dough. If there is not enough sauce to cover the dough make more. Sprinkle shrimp pieces, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese over the sauce. Add onion slices and sprinkle garlic salt and chili flakes across the pizza. Bake.

Creamy bacon carbonara

 

Comment – In Venice I tried a dish similar to this recipe, but it had pancetta. I wouldn’t have thought to combine pork with cream before, but I like the smokey flavor it adds to the sauce. I found this recipe online and love it. I use 2 cups cream, 1 tsp salt, and 1 cup parmesan with a pound of pasta. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. Chopped pasley is a nice garnish for this dish.

 

Recipe

 

The picture below is a variation of the recipe with shrimp instead of bacon.

 

Shrimp with Thai Rice Stuffed in a Pineapple

Comment – This recipe has a really good sweet and spicy flavor. You could easily substitute chicken instead of shrimp. I don’t like cilantro so I omitted that from the recipe and I used soy sauce instead of fish sauce. I sprinkled in a little chili powder since I didn’t have a red chili pepper.
Recipe link