Salmon Sliders with Avocado Cream Sauce

Wow! It has been so long since I posted anything on this blog. Sorry if you've missed me, but I'm so happy to be back. So much has happened since my last post almost a year ago. First of all, I got married!!! Woohooo!!! Yep, married. Marriage. Flowers. Party. Honeymoon. Husband. The whole 9 yards. And... to make it official, I became a Baker. Danie Claire Baker. I really hope this gives me all the excuses I need to make wonderful baked goods all of the time, now that I've changed my last name. Here are a couple of wedding photos for any of you that are just dying to see them.

Not only did I get married, but I also moved. So long San Francisco Bay Area! So long California. Hello Washington! My home state. Where I left my heart. Haha :)

Jesse, my husband (I just love saying that), and I moved to Seattle about a month after we got married. And of course, some of the best food to eat in Seattle is Salmon. So today I share with you a fantastic tiny, tasty, little salmon bite... Salmon Sliders. Also, just because we couldn't totally leave the California roots we had begun to plant, I added a simply scrumptious avocado cream sauce to go with!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Ingredients:

Salmon Burgers

1lb Salmon filet - fresh, skinned, and sliced thinly
1/2tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1/2tsp Kosher Salt
1/2tsp Dill
1/3c Onion - Roughly Chopped
2 Cherry Tomatoes sliced
1/2c Arugula
1/2c Panko Bread Crumbs, plus a little more
1 Egg

Avocado Cream Sauce

1 Avocado - sliced
1/4c Mayonnaise
1/4c Sour Cream
1Tbsp Milk
1.5tsp White Wine Vinegar
1/4tsp Kosher Salt
1/2tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1/4tsp Shredded Raw Horseradish
1/2tsp Wundoemus Spice Blend (or Cajun Seasoning)
1/4tsp Tabasco

Directions:

Salmon Burgers

1. Place salmon, onion, arugula, and the cherry tomatoes in a food processor and pulse until mixture is throughly chopped (about 3-4 times)
2. Add salt, freshly cracked pepper, and dill into the food processor and pulse a couple more times until everything is combined
3. Remove salmon mixture and place in a medium size bowl. Add Panko bread crumbs and the egg and mix with a spoon until well incorporated. If the mixture does not hold together well, add more Panko, 1 tablespoon at a time
4. Form small round patties (this should make about 12) and coat in additional Panko bread crumbs. Place on a plate with parchment paper and put in the refridgerator for about 30 minutes, or you can freeze at this step and defrost when you are ready to eat
5. Once the Avocado Cream Sauce is ready, take the salmon sliders out of the freezer and in a skillet with some Olive Oil and Butter on medium heat, fry up the sliders until they are a crispy golden brown

Avocado Cream Sauce

1.  Using a medium sized bowl, mash the avocado with a potato masher and a fork until slightly chunky
2. Stir in remaining items: mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, white wine vinegar, koshar salt, pepper, horseradish, Tabasco, and Cajun Seasoning until incorporated

Spoon the avocado sauce over the sliders (on their cute little slider buns) and top with a fresh slice of avocado. Serve warm and enjoy!!!

Spreading the Love,

Mrs. Baker

Good, Great, Greatest Lasagna

Who doesn't love a great pan of lasagna. Yummy. Cheesy. Utterly Scrumptious. It can be dinner, lunch, and dinner again. Basically, its the most perfect meal. Ever.

My boyfriend, Jesse Baker, decided he wanted to make me dinner one night. And he specifically asked that it appear on my blog. How could I turn him down? He is technically the chef in our house. His mom once owned an italian restaurant, and he was a short-order cook at Ed's Cafe in Platteville, WI. Much more cooking experience than I have ever had. He's awesome.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 mins

Yield: 12 Servings

Level: Medium

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian Sausage (you can use sweet, sage, plain, or spicy)

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 cup minced onion

1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes

2 cans (6oz each) tomato paste

2 cans (6.5oz each) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp white sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

12 lasagna noodles

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

• In a saucepan, or a dutch oven, cook italian sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned
• Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, italian seasoning, 1 tbsp salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Jesse likes to add a bit of "Wundomus" to everything. It is a mixture of seasonings from Wisconsin that adds the most amazing taste to every bite of food. If by chance you stumble across some at your local piggly-wiggly, pick it up and use it liberally... on everything!

• Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna in boiling water for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.
• In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F)
• Spread 1.5 cups of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. 

• Top with a third of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1.5 cups of meat sauce over the mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

• Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil, and to prevent foil from sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray or make sure the foil doesn't touch the cheese

• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Love this recipe!

Working Girl's Birthday Cake

At the beginning of October my manager/coach had her birthday, and I wanted to do something nice for her. What goes perfectly with birthdays? Oh, right, birthday cake! However, her birthday was in the middle of the week, and the last thing I wanted to do after spending time making dinner was to bake a cake from scratch. So then what were my options? A boxed cake!

Who writes about making a boxed cake on a food blog? Well I'm about to. But this particular post isn't necessarily about my ability to bake, but my ability to bake something while working at least 40+ hours a week.

My coach wanted a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. So I chose the betty crocker yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix. This helps the cake to stay moist and fluffy. I also used betty crocker chocolate frosting. Nothing special, but I figured it would be worth a blog post.

I did add a bit of vanilla extract to make it a little more exciting, but that is my only deviation from the recipe on the back of the box. I baked the cake the night before and set the two cake rounds on a cooling rack overnight. This way when I transported the cake I wouldn't worry about messing up the frosting.

Again, this cake is nothing special. But it did the job, and she loved it.

Don't forget the candles.

Vanilla Ice Cream French Toast

Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. Hands down. The doctors say it, mothers say it, grandmothers say it, I've said it. But sometimes it gets forgotten about, and can turn into a boring meal - nothing special. However, it's my favorite meal of everyday, and I have assigned myself the task to jazz it up and keep it interesting.

Bring in the vanilla ice cream. Main purpose - desert, milkshakes, our best friend on a lonely evening. Hardly ever does the thought cross our minds to include it on our breakfast menu. Well nor do I. But when I was 15 years old my friend's mom used it to make french toast. A partial substitute for milk and sugar, the ice cream brings the perfect amount of flavor and difference to this dish. And who doesn't like ice cream?

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Yield: 6 Pieces of French Toast

Level: Easy

I use vanilla ice cream, but any flavor would work. Coffee, chocolate, peanut butter. Imagine the possibilities.

Ingredients:

2 cups melted vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

6 slices fluffy bread (challah, italian or french)

maple syrup

whipped cream

Directions:

Melt 2 cups of ice cream in a microwave safe bowl. Whisk in the milk, sugar, and cinnamon, and let cool. Once cool, whisk in 2 eggs. Preheat a nonstick skillet or pancake griddle over medium heat.

Dredge each slice of bread in the ice cream mixture and place in the skillet. 

Cook until each side is golden brown and fluffy to the touch. Repeat this with all of the pieces of toast. To keep the finished pieces of french toast warm while you cook, stick in a baking dish in the oven at about 200 degrees (just a warm oven).

I served mine with brown sugar and honey sausage links, with a small slice of butter, whipped cream, and maple syrup. However, make this recipe your own, and serve it with whatever your family and friends prefer.

Salmon Chowder Bread Bowl

Salmon... grilled, broiled, sushi style, baked, smoked... it's amazing, any way you cook it. I love salmon. I'm from Seattle, WA, so how could I not love it?

I try to eat salmon, or some other kind of seafood, at least once a week. It is so delicious, and so healthy  that it is a win-win situation. This time, I may not have been thinking of my health, and decided to put this salmon into a chowder, and throw the chowder into a bread bowl. I didn't forget the vegetables though, so hopefully I get a little credit for that.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 Bread Bowls (2 Quarts)

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Onion

1 garlic clove minced

3 tablespoons butter

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth

1 cup peeled potatoes, diced

1 cup peeled carrots, diced

2.5 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 to 3/4 tsp dill  (dried or fresh)

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 can (14.75 oz) cream-style corn

2 cups half-and-half cream

1 lb salmon filet
 4 sourdough bread rounds
fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

Soup:

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add 1.5 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, potatoes, carrots, dill, and broth, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are nearly tender.

While the vegetables simmer, season the salmon filet with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Broil in the oven for about 15 minutes or until flaky.

Break up salmon into small chunks. Add cream-style corn, half-and-half, and the salmon chunks to the saucepan and simmer for another 15 minutes or until heated through. 

Bread:

While the salmon chowder is simmering, carve out the top of the bread rounds and place in a 300 degree oven for about 2 or 3 minutes. Just until the bread is warmed.

Finale:

Spoon salmon chowder into the bread bowl and sprinkle the top with chopped parsley. Serve warm, and ENJOY!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

I live in California, so I feel like summer never really ends, but when I saw this on the food network I had to recreate it.

Strawberries and Rhubarb go perfectly together, and while normally we see the pair in a pie, I thought a crisp would be absolutely scrumptious!

I made this batch in individual ramekins, for one specific reason - it looked cute - but this delectable dish can also be made using a other baking dishes.

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 8 Servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients 

Filling:

4 cups strawberries, quartered and stemmed

4 stalks rhubarb, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Zest and juice of 1 orange

2 tablespoons strawberry balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic is perfectly fine too)

Topping:

1 1/4 cups flour (whole-wheat or all-purpose)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 sticks butter, cut into pea-sized pieces

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling - combine all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until everything is coated and combined. Chill in refrigerator until topping is done.

Topping - using a food processor, combine the flour, oats and brown sugar and pulse. Add the butter, vanilla, and salt, and pulse until the mixture becomes dry and crumbly. Add 1 tablespoon of water bringing the ingredients together.

Finale - Spoon the strawberry-rhubarb mixture into the individual ramekins about 3/4 full, and crumble the topping over the filling. Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the filling starts to bubble, and the topping is light brown in color and looks crispy.

I served this delicious wonder with Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato, courtesy of Sprouts Farmers Market.