We discovered that fresh Hollandaise is unspeakably better than the powdered stuff from the store, and relatively easy to make. My suggestion: make it last.
I'll start with the Cod Cakes recipe:
1 lb Cod Fillets (I'm guessing any white fish will do, that is just what I had on hand)
6 C water with 3 T salt
2 fresh dill sprigs
4 peppercorns
1/2 C cooked diced potatoes
Breadcrumbs (I used the Italian seasoned kind)
2 T grated onion
2 T chopped fresh dill
1/2 C Mayo (I only buy the kind made from olive oil, tastes so much better!)
1 egg
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
Bring water to a boil. Add dill sprigs and peppercorns. Reduce heat and add fillets. Simmer until fish is opaque-about five minutes. Remove w/ slotted spoon, drain all water and then flake fish into large bowl. I flaked it in a metal strainer to be sure to get all the water out and it worked well for me.
Add potatoes, 1/4 C of breadcrumbs, dill and onion.
In another bowl, combine mayo, egg, and mustard, mix well. Fold into fish mixture. I added breadcrumbs until I could form patties. Form into patties, I made 6. Use remaining breadcrumbs to coat patties.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Heat oil and butter in skillet. Cook as many fish cakes as will fit in the pan leaving room to flip. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
Keep warm in a 200 degree oven.
I will admit, I put this recipe together from a few other recipes. Of course, that is how I do things, I rarely follow a recipe completely. There are the times where I just look in the pantry and gain inspiration from whatever is sitting on the shelves.
For the shrimp, I used the teeny tiny ones, I just sauteed them with onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil and then set them aside until I was ready to put our plates together.
I will go ahead and put the technique I used for the Hollandaise here, just in case:
1/2 C butter (trust me, butter makes for a better taste than margarine)
3 beaten egg yolks
1 T lemon juice
1 T water
If you have a double boiler, use it, I don't so I used a medium saucepan and one of my metal mixing bowls.
Add a bit of water to the pan (the bottom one) and bring to a boil.
In top of dbl boiler, or bowl, whichever you use, add water, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Use a whisk and mix it well, then add butter a little bit at a time. I split it up into 3 or 4 pieces, and this seems to work well. Once all the bumps are gone, as you whisk it, it will turn into a nice thick sauce. Now I cannot stress enough to pay attention and as soon as it is the right consistency, take it off the heat! I learned the hard way that if heated for too long it will disassociate and be useless. I had to make it twice on my first attempt.
In the picture of this dish I used rice, though the hubby said he would like it over pasta as well, so do as you will.
Place a fish cake on top of rice or pasta, sprinkle with sauteed shrimp and spoon over with Hollandaise. I served this with asparagus (steamed until just after their color brightens so they are still crisp, steam for too long and they turn floppy, and aren't as tasty.)
This turned out really well and the kids devoured it. Again, I don't really follow recipes verbatim, so I hope I translated well.
Enjoy! And if you come up with an improvement, let me know. We love trying new things.
Feel free to share with your friends
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