When you feel neglected, think of the female salmon, who lays 3,000,000 eggs but no one remembers her on Mother's Day” ~ Sam Ewing

I remember getting the really crummy cooking jobs when I was a kid helping my mother in the kitchen. With seven hungry mouths to feed, the crummy jobs seemed endless: peeling potatoes, cutting onions, picking the bones and skin from the canned salmon. Crummy jobs abound in the kitchen, even as an adult, but now with only two people to feed I can either do them quickly myself or hand them off to Tom.

This week's crummy job was picking the bones and skin from the canned salmon. I hated this job in particular when I was a kid. The bones were soft and would crush under the pressure of my young fingers. The skin was slimy and would stick to the flesh of the salmon and the icky silver and black residue from the skin would get under my fingernails. Ewww.

I haven't made salmon loaf, patties or croquettes for so many years, I really can't even remember the last time. But, when I was looking for something for dinner that was not too heavy and at the same time comforting, I came across the recipe for the Crab Bites that I mentioned here. I didn't have any crab on hand, but I did have a couple of cans of salmon that I decided to use instead and decided on Salmon Patties.



I made Andrea's Roasted Red Pepper & Chive Aioli first. I make this aioli often and I've served it with Andrea's Crab Bites, grilled salmon and grilled tuna and it was delicious, so why not salmon cakes. Why not, indeed. It was the perfect accompaniment.



While the flavors of the aioli were melding, I made the Salmon Patties. I intended to use Panko Bread Crumbs, but didn't have any and I didn't want to make a trip to the store, so I used regular bread crumbs. I used two 14.75 oz cans of salmon and it made 10 patties. I served them with a pasta salad made with orzo pasta.

Salmon Patties
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

2 - 14.75 oz cans of pink salmon
2 eggs
3/4 cup of plain bread crumbs
1/2 of an onion, finely diced
1 rib of celery, finely diced
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Open and drain the cans of salmon and pick the flesh clean of bones and skin.

Beat the eggs and add to the salmon. Add remaining ingredients, mix well and form into 10 patties.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with vegetable oil. Fry the patties on medium high heat until brown on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Andrea's Roasted Red Pepper-Chive Aioli
by Andrea @Andreasrecipes.com
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped drained canned roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic

In the small bowl, mix all of the ingredients. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.