Pasta Salmone

It's actually quite amazing that I've never posted this recipe! This was made a long long time ago - Christmas Eve Dinner 2010 to be exact! I had noted down the recipe as a draft and even uploaded the pictures but never got round to doing the writeup.

Salmon Pasta has always been something I've wanted to try and make. In restaurants, Salmon Pasta is not only rather expensive but they are often stingy with the Salmon. So when making it at home, I made sure I wasn't going to be stingy with anything!

Salmon with Cream Cheese rollups

I'm still very late and trying to play catch up! It's a good thing that I haven't been that busy in the kitchen so I don't have a whole lot of backlog as catching up is bad enough as it is!

So, what do you make for an appetiser when you have some smoked salmon in your fridge? I got a package of smoked salmon from my mom. Someone had given it to her and she thought I would put it to better use as well as enjoy it more. The Lovely Wife and the kids enjoyed one package with some Pasta I threw together and then I used the next package for this appetiser when Lynn and Ms Lor Siak Por came over for dinner back in January (Yes, I'm that Late! Late I tell you, Late! )

Ms LSP had heard about the Roast Pork I made for Christmas and 'demanded' that I make her the same. Now Ms LSP makes a wicked Roast Pork herself albeit the Chinese type (Siew Yoke) so I had to make sure that at least the appetiser would be something special. Smoked Salmon is always special in itself but when rolled with cream cheese and dill - ah, even more special!




This appetiser is really easy to do although the rolling can be a little cumbersome. Not that difficult really. This is what I did:

Ingredients
200g Smoked Salmon slices
125g Cream Cheese
75ml Whipping Cream
Two large handfulls Dill
Black Pepper
Capers
Method
Whip Cheese till soft. Add in the whipping cream and continue beating till light and fluffy. Season with dill and black pepper. Spread the salmon with the cheese mix and then roll up. Cut into bit size pieces and place on a plate. Pipe in remaining cheese mixture into the salmon rollups till full. Place a caper on top. Sprinkle with more black pepper and keep in fridge till ready to serve.

Once cut, plated and sprinkled with pepper, the Salmon Rolls actually looked very presentable. They were bite size and very easy to eat and the creamy cheese offset the smoked saltiness of the Salmon.





As I said, a very easy yet delicious dessert and something that tastes as good as it looks!

Breakfast for lunch?

My daughter is a great fan of Scrambled Eggs. It all started some time ago when we had gone out grocery shopping rather early, both she and my son were famished so to acquiesce their hunger, we had a late breakfast at Coffee Bean. We ordered the Scrambled Eggs with Salmon for her and my son to share and they really enjoyed it. So…Daddy of course had to do it better!

As a child, I was never treated to such a nice breakfast. My childhood memories of breakfast are still very clear in my mind. Each morning, mum would serve us each a half-boiled egg and a glass of milk or Milo. Sometimes, especially on weekends, there would be a treat of cereal. What I really hated about breakfast though was the fact that we had to take one cod liver oil tablet right after. I would end up burping just as I got to school and the nasty taste of cod liver oil would linger in my mouth until recess!

To be fair though the kids usually have have cereal or bread for breakfast. Scrambled Eggs with Salmon is definitely not the norm! My daughter likes her scrambled eggs so much that one day, when we were at home and wondering what to have for lunch, she asked if we could have Scrambled Eggs. No issue there but to spruce the meal up a bit, I decided to pop down to the local super and get a teeny bit of smoked salmon as well as some mushrooms.

So lunch that day was scrambled eggs with salmon, a side of garlic mushrooms and toasted bread. I dont think I need to give you a recipe for scrambled eggs but if you insist, this is how I make my eggs. 2 eggs per serving.

2 eggs
a little milk
salt
pepper
a little oil or butter

Beat the eggs with the milk. The milk makes the eggs a little lighter and fluffier. Season with a little salt and pepper and if you like some herbs like oregano, basil or rosemary. Heat oil or butter in a pan and pour the egg mixture in. Allow the bottom to cook a little and then stir the mixture, scraping the bottom and lifting with a spatula. The liquid egg will then run under the lifted part lifted. Keep moving the egg around as you repeat the scraping and lifiting. The egg will start to form curds. Depending on whether you like your scrambled eggs moist or dry and also depending on whether you prefer the curds small or large will determine how long you cook the eggs for.



Some people may thumb their noses at having scrambled eggs with salmon for lunch.
To me, as long as the food is good and wholesome, it doesn't matter if you eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner - Especially when the children love it!