Grilled Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes

• Grilled salmon fillet*
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes**
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced, white and light green parts
• 1 egg
• fresh lemon juice
• capers and caper juice
• breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper

* I usually have about 1 1/2 cups or so, it's not the whole fillet but just a few inches left after dinner.

** You can of course use a regular potato

1. Flake salmon by breaking apart with your fingers.

2. Boil sweet potato until soft and mushable, but not falling apart. Rinse with cold water.

3. When potato is cool, add to salmon and mix together until incorporated.

4. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, approx. a teaspoon of caper juice, and a teaspoon of capers, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

5. Add one egg and mix everything together.

6. Form mixture into cakes, it will be a little loose so handle carefully.

7. Heat skillet with some butter.

8. When pan is hot, coat both sides of cakes with breadcrumbs and place in pan. Cook until browned and firm.

Serve with a side of mayonnaise mixed with a little lemon juice, capers, and caper juice.

from Megnut

Shortcakes for Strawberries and Other Fruit

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 mashed hard-cooked large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly butter a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter pieces. Using your fingertips, work the butter quickly and lightly into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of very fine crumbs or sand. Add the cream and egg yolks and stir with a fork until the dough just holds together.

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead briefly, just until it forms a smooth dough. Do not overwork. Pat or roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/4 inch. Using a floured 2 1/2- or 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 4 rounds of dough. Gather up dough scraps, reroll, and cut out 2 more rounds.

Put the rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and firm to the touch.

Transfer the biscuits to a rack and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before splitting and serving with berries and fresh whipped cream.

This recipe comes from the An American Place cookbook by Larry Forgione. It is my favorite recipe for biscuits to have with strawberry (or any berry or fruit) shortcake. The biscuits are best day of but are ok the next day too. Day three, not so much. I suppose you could try freezing them, but leaving them out, they just turned too mushy.

from Megnut

Orange and Almond Oatmeal Cookies

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened but still firm
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons minced orange zest
• 1 cup toasted chopped almonds

1. Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time.

2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together, then stir them into butter-sugar mixture with wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Remove orange zest with peeler, being careful to leave behind any white pith. Toast almonds in 350-degree oven for 5 minutes and chop. Stir in oats, almonds, and orange zest.

3. Form dough into sixteen to twenty 2-inch balls, placing each dough round onto one of two parchment paper-covered, large cookie sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. (Halfway during baking, turn cookie sheets from front to back and also switch them from top to bottom.) Slide cookies on parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

If you prefer a less sweet cookie, you can reduce the white sugar by one-quarter cup, but you will lose some crispness. Do not overbake these cookies. The edges should be brown but the rest of the cookie should still be very light in color. Parchment makes for easy cookie removal and cleanup, but it's not a necessity. If you don't use parchment, let the cookies cool directly on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Makes 16 to 20 large cookies.

Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

Delicious on grilled beef steaks and lamb chops, or as a topping for baked potatoes.

• 6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon dried, crushed rosemary
• 1/4 cup (about 1 ounce) toasted walnuts
• salt, if needed

Combine cheese, butter, parsley, and rosemary in a medium nonreactive bowl. Stir to blend well. Mix in walnuts. Taste and add salt, if needed (the blue cheese is quite salty). Can be prepared 2 days in ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring butter to room temperature before using.

Makes 2 cups

from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking

Sirloin Steaks with Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

• 6 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons papper
• 3 1-pound boneless sirloin steaks, 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
• vegetable oil for oiling grill rack
• Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

Combine garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender and process several seconds until mixture resembles a thick paste. Pat steaks dry and rub each side with some of the garlic paste. Place steaks on a platter and let stand at cool room temperature for 30 minutes.

When ready to grill steaks, oil a grill rack and arrange 4 to 5 inches from heat source. Prepare grill for a hot fire. Grill steaks 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare (internal temp 145F). Remove and let stand for 3 minute.

Halve each steak and top each portion with some of the Blue Cheese Walnut Butter.

Serves 6

from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking

Red and Yellow Pepper Relish

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• salt
• pepper

Combine butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add bell peppers and saute, stirring, until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add olives, mustard, and garlic and stir 1 minutes. Remove from heat, taste, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer relish to a bowl and cool. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving. (Relish can be prepared 2 days ahead.)

Makes 2 cups

from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking

Garlic-Scented Sirloins with Red and Yellow Pepper Relish

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled
• 4 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 4 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 1-pound boneless sirloin steaks, 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
• salt
• pepper
• Red and Yellow Pepper Relish

Combine 1/3 cup of olive oil, garlic, thyme, and rosemary in a food processor or blender and process, pulsing several times, until garlic and herbs are finely minced. Brush this mixture on both sides of each steak. Salt and pepper steaks and let stand at cool room temperature 15 to 20 minutes.

Oil a grill rack and arrange 4 to 5 inches from heat source. Prepare grill for hot fire (high temperature). Grill steaks 4 to 6 minutes per side until rosy-pink inside for medium rare. (Internal temp should be 145F). Halve each steak and top with relish.

Serves 6

from The Big Book of Backyard Cooking