CEiMB Thursday - Salmon Cakes with Ginger-Sesame Sauce and a Polynesian Shrimp Salad

I have been to the CEiMB home page about 6 times in the last month. Do I join or don't I? I bought Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave cookbook over 2 months ago and have definitely flipped through the pages and tabbed half the recipes to "try soon" BUT have not tried any to date (except for today's recipe). Several days ago I sat down in front of the computer and knew today was the day I wanted to start. I really enjoy how Ellie puts recipes together, cutting out a large amount of calories, but not taking away the flavor.

My first dinner with CEiMB was a great way to start. Sarah of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures (Gorgeous header photo Sarah) chose Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame-Ginger Sauce. I cut the recipe in half because there were just the two of us eating tonight and used Bumble Bee Salmon in the little 5 oz. cans. A first for me using canned salmon. Great flavor (I was pleasantly surprised) and the chestnuts added a wonderful crunch plus the scallions gave added color. Ellie was absolutely correct about the dipping sauce! I could see dipping veggies or anything else, including my finger, in the sesame-ginger sauce. We loved it.



My only negative point to add is, for some reason, my patties were on the dry side. I had trouble keeping the patties together, especially when flipping them gingerly in the pan. Crazy. =) Thank you Sarah for the wonderful selection and for hosting this week. We really enjoyed our dinner! To get the recipe for the salmon patties, go to Sarah's beautiful blog and/or buy Ellie's Cookbook.



To go with the salmon patties and dipping sauce, we made a Polynesian Shrimp Salad with just a hint of mild yellow curry powder, pineapple chunks and the reserved juice. Summer time and cold salads go hand-and-hand.

Polynesian Shrimp Salad
Serves 6 (20 min. + chilling to Make)

Ingredients:
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups cooked medium pasta shells
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper



Directions:
Drain pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice; set pineapple aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, curry powder, salt, pepper and reserved pineapple juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in mayonnaise and sour cream.

In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, pasta, water chestnuts, red pepper and reserved pineapple. Add dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.