In our culture, we describe a meal based on the type of meat, and so I might say, "I had chicken for dinner" or "I had pork for dinner" or "I had fish for dinner". But in Seattle, there is an entire category of meat that most of the country doesn't separately recognize: the category of salmon.

There's a good reason for this - huge amounts of salmon are caught in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Visit the fish ladders at the Chittendon Locks in Ballard between July and September, and you can see entire schools of 2'+ salmon making their way upstream. One summer, the salmon harvest was so large the grocery stores were giving them away for free (limit 2, please).

Nearly all of my family now live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have had salmon many, many ways: poached with dill sauce, baked on a cedar plank, stuffed in puff pasty, made into sushi, or grilled and Rubbed with Love. But my favorite is the humble salmon burger.

I have frequently purchased salmon burgers from my local fishmonger. The problem with those burgers however is that they have so much fat that I find myself popping Tums within a few minutes of the completion of my meal...and personally, as a dessert, Tums leave much to be desired. Plus it seems somewhat ironic to consume my entire day's limit of grease eating an allegedly healthy food like fish.

So while my search for the perfect salmon burger doesn't quite rise to the level of a quest (for example my caramel sauce adventure), it has been an interest for quite a while. And I'm proud to say, I think I've found a winner.

This simple and flexible recipe for salmon burgers can be prepared at least two ways: as full-sized burgers, or as mini-burgers for an unusual but memorable appetizer. For a full sized burger, you can use your hands to shape the mixture, or get an inexpensive single-use kitchen tool: a burger press. For the uninitiated, you fill the press with ground meat and then rotate the handle to release a perfectly-shaped burger into your hand. Although this may seem a bit fancy for some (and anathema to people like me who decry single-use kitchen tools) it actually makes some sense: burgers - whether salmon or any other meat - are prepared quickly and without having to pack down the meat, and it's a lot easier to make them all the same size, ensuring even cooking.

To make mini-burgers, use the smallest cookie scoop (about 2 Tbs), and release a flat-sided scoop directly into a non-stick skillet. Saute on both sides, flattening with your spatula to form a mini-burger. By the time it's browned on one side, the fish will be perfectly cooked. I served mine on Triscuits with a bit of chive on each one for color. In the photo below, I used them to make a salmon salad.

I've often started my posts with stories of cooking disaster; an overcooked turkey, a failed salad made of shredded brussels sprouts, and the time I stuffed a roast chicken with a weed I believed to be sage. But with roast vegetables, I have no failures to share because it is almost impossible to do it incorrectly.

The basic recipe is simple: line a cookie sheet with foil, place evenly cut, clean dry fresh vegetables on the sheet and toss lightly with olive oil and salt. Making sure they are no more than one layer deep, bake at 450 degrees for 12 - 20 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender (i.e. you can pierce them with a fork).

My son (21) attends the Riverview School in Sandwich, MA and in his dorm, they cook dinner together most nights. He recently send me a picture of the roast vegetables he prepared for his dorm. If a bunch of young 20-something men can cook roast vegetables - and enjoy eating them - you can be pretty sure you can cook and enjoy them too.

A word about salt. Salt has a bad name, and part of that is well-deserved. If you look at the back of a can of soup, frozen dinner or many other prepared foods, the amount of salt per serving is shocking; sometimes as much as your entire recommended daily intake. However, when you cook food that is REAL (i.e. not manufactured), adding a bit of salt is often a crucial step for great flavor. So when you make this recipe, add more than a pinch; unless you're on a salt-restricted diet, it's not going to hurt you.

Here is a partial list of vegetables that taste great roasted:

• Asparagus (snap off woody base of stem, usually about 1", and roast whole)
• Beets (boil until the peel slips off and cut to 3/4" cubes)
• Broccoli (break into equal sized florets, about 1")
• Brussels sprouts (trim and halve, also see my recipe for brussels sprouts roasted with bacon)
• Butternut squash (peel and cut into 3/4" cubes)
• Carrots (cut into 1" pieces, peel if desired) 
• Cauliflower (break into equal sized florets, about 1")
• Garlic (peel and trim end but leave bulbs whole)
• Onion (peel and cut into 3/4" pieces)
• Parsnip (peel and cut into 3/4" pieces)
• Potatoes (especially the waxier types such as red, blue or yukon gold; cut into 3/4" cubes)
• Sweet Potatoes (peel and cut into 3/4" - 1" cubes; they cook more quickly than regular potatoes, so cut the sweet potatoes larger if roasting together)

The next step is the rub, a combinations of sugar, salt and spice. You can buy it or make your own. For purchased rub, I like the salmon version of "Rub With Love" for both salmon and pork. Making your own rub is simple and inexpensive, and it keeps for up to a year. The evening before you are going to cook your pork, generously coat the pork on all sides with the rub and refrigerate the pork (uncovered if possible) overnight. 

First thing in the morning, get the pork out of the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature on your counter (this is perfectly safe unless you have a counter-surfing dog in your home). After an hour, preheat your oven to 275 degrees and put the pork in, fattier side up. Depending on the size, it will take several hours to cook - allow a solid 6 hours. This is a very forgiving meat; it needs to reach 200 degrees but if you cook it a bit longer, it will still taste great. Use a meat thermometer to confirm that the meat has reached 200 degrees.

A note about slow cookers (crockpots). There are many good crockpot recipes for pulled pork, and if your oven is otherwise occupied, a crockpot will do the job. The problem with a crockpot is that it's a moist cooking method, and your pork won't develop a crispy exterior if prepared this way. So crockpots are a good backup plan, but an oven is the preferred choice. A grill is a great choice (bonus - it frees up your oven and doesn't heat up the house), but only if you can truly control the heat.

Once the pork reaches 200 degrees, take it out of the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes or so. This is not necessary for the recipe, but will make it much less likely that you will burn yourself when you pull it. When the pork is done, it should smell fabulous and be crispy on the outside; the outside pieces are called the "bark".

On a bitter cold night, there is nothing better than sharing some serious comfort food with a group of friends. The problem with much comfort food however is that it takes a good deal of time and planning to prepare. Now, I have no problem spending two days to make a couple of loaves of sourdough bread or a really intricate chocolate torte, but we are all looking for simpler ways to entertain. For that, I'd like to raise up a child of the 70's, the humble fondue.

I'll bet that most of you could - either by asking your parents or visiting a well-stocked antique store - lay your hands on a fondue pot. If those sources fail you, Amazon will provide. The question is, what can you do with it? I want to share two fondue recipes that will have you swapping stories over bubbling pots of cheese and chocolate in less time than it take to text your friends and invite them over.

A word about fondue forks: you can make do without them. For cheese fondue, you can substitute long toothpicks or thin italian breadsticks, and for chocolate, marshmallows speared on tiny pretzels sticks work much better than a fork, and the long toothpicks work well for dried fruit or poundcake. That said, if you get your hands on some of the wooden handled, color-tipped forks, go wild! Just don't put them in the dishwasher - the 70s were all about hand-washing.

To start your fondue party, serve a salad following my "magic salad" rule of one fruit, one nut and one cheese (suggested combinations are with the recipe). Serve with a simple vinaigrette - given the main course and dessert, you will want to start on a lighter note.

​Now that the holiday rush is over and the decorations put away, isn't it wonderful to spend an evening with friends? I mean seriously, what else is there to do this month? You really don't need a reason; last fall, I invited friends over and we shared a bottle of good wine to celebrate one's job loss, another's awful job and the third quitting her job. It was fabulous.

But when such lovely occasions arise, the question - if you're hosting - is what to serve? My main housekeeping strategy is one I call "lowering my standards" (I got this good advice from my mother), but even I need to clean the place when people are showing up, and this all takes time. This is where a "back pocket dessert" really comes in handy. A true back pocket dessert should be able to be produced in 15 minutes or less including hands-on time and cleanup, made with stuff you already have in the house and taste fabulous. Now my staples may be different than yours, but I'd like to share one of my favorites: Almond Cake. This delicious cake has only 7 ingredients: almond flour, butter, eggs, sugar, almonds, almond extract and flour. Obviously this is not good for anyone with a tree nut allergy, but for the rest of us, it's great! The ingredients mix in one bowl, and aside from the chore of cutting a circle of parchment to put in the bottom of your cake pan, the cake is in the oven in about the time it takes to preheat it - and your friends will swoon over this dessert. It tastes like marzipan made into a crispy, buttery cake; you can even add some liqueur or top it with sliced almonds and sugar (as in the photo above) if you want to take it to the next level.

Crispy. Salty. Sweet.

What more could anyone ask of a food?

These nuts are made with just seven ingredients, and there is nothing from a box or package that tastes this good. They blow packaged nuts out of the water. Destroy them. Eat them for lunch. You get the idea.

Words of caution: if these little nuggets of goodness are anywhere in your home you will not rest until you have eaten them. To guard against overconsumption, consider adding the optional chipotle powder: it adds an afterburn which is not only delightful, but will stop you from finishing the recipe in one sitting.

I could say more, but quite frankly my mouth is full...of nuts. So here is the recipe.

Just three ingredients will make the best mousse you will ever eat.

It's true:  all you need are 9 ounces (by weight) of chocolate, 5 tablespoons of liquid and 1-1/2 cups of cream. 

That's it.  No gelatin.  No powdered mix.  No eggs.  In fact in it's simplest form, the liquid is just water.

Since you only have three ingredients, choose them with care.  For the chocolate, chose milk, dark, or bittersweet sold in bar form.  No chips, no "candy coating" and nothing molded into shapes.  It's all about the flavor.  Chop your delicious chocolate into chip-sized pieces, and place in a microwave-safe bowl.

For the liquid, chose up to 3 tablespoons of liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Amaretto, Rum, Framboise or Frangelico, and add water to make up 5 tablespoons total liquid.  You can also use strong coffee for your liquid.  Pour the liquid over the chocolate.  I know we are breaking some rules here, but trust me on this.

Put the bowl in the microwave, and cook for 2 minutes on 50% power for dark and milk chocolate, and 20% power for white.  Once heated, stir gently until smooth.  Set aside until a small dab on your upper lip feels cool to the touch.

Measure 1-1/2 cups of the best heavy cream you can find.  It must say "Heavy Cream" on the carton. Don't even THINK of using half and half, creamer or <shudder> Cool Whip.  It's not like you eat this stuff every day, so get the real thing!

Pour the cold heavy cream into a large mixing bowl and put the whisk attachment on your mixer. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form.  A "soft peak" means that when you pull the whisk attachment out of the heavy cream, it will leave behind a pointed whipped cream peak which will then droop over slightly.

Once the cream is whipped, use a silicone spatula to gently fold the chocolate mixture into the cream and put immediately in a serving bowl or smaller bowls for individual servings.  Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.  Excellent with fresh fruit or a very thin cookie.