Thursday Dinner

One of my all-time favorite dinners is fresh salmon, rice, roasted spring asparagus, and homemade hollandaise sauce. Tonight I made sort of a poor-man's, Thursday-night-in-winter version of that, with lemony salmon cakes, asparagus out-of-season, and hollandaise from a mix.

The salmon cakes were the best I've ever made, and a nice substitute for fillets. The fresh lemon made all the difference in the world. I just took 1 can salmon, drained and picked over, and added 2 eggs, the juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon, about 1 tsp. Chef Paul Prud'homme's Magic Salmon Seasoning, and enough breadcrumbs to bind it all together (about 1/2 - 2/3 cup). I pan-fried them in a little oil until brown and crispy, and kept warm in the oven until serving.

Although roasted asparagus is just about my favorite vegetable in the whole wide world, tonight's version was a disappointment. Even though I loved the off-season price ($1.29/lb at Lowes), I didn't love the off-season flavor. The stalks were bitter and strong, as opposed to sweet and mild, as they are in the spring. So I'm going to try to keep this in mind and resist any too-good-to-be-true pricing until the real asparagus season comes around in March and April.

For special occasions, I'll make an honest-to-goodness hollandaise from scratch, using the blender method. But that's just too time-consuming (as well as too rich and calorie-laden) for everyday meals. So I've become very fond of hollandaise from a mix. McCormick and Knorr both make a very decent mix that you can pick up right next to the chili seasoning and gravy packets. Tonight it was a lifesaver because I don't think I'd have been able to eat the asparagus without it (although it just made the salmon cakes and rice that much yummier).

Totals:

$2 - 1 can salmon
.50 - eggs, lemon, breadcrumbs
$1.29 - asparagus
.20 - rice
$1 - hollandaise mix
.25 - butter for hollandaise mix

$5.23 for dinner for 3, with 1 serving of everything left over for lunch tomorrow