One of my favorite things about cooking is making it up as I go along (aka being creative). Last night was one of those "what's in the pantry" nights that is really good for sparking creativity. Then this morning I asked Shayne, one of our top wine guys, about wine pairings--I didn't have any last night, but I did want some ideas for the next time I made this.

Okay, so I ended up making salmon patties without the help of a recipe--or at least, I looked at a standby recipe for crab cakes (standby recipes are the ones you can go to when you don't have anything but the basic ingredients) and adapted it. Personally, I liked the results, although there are a couple of things I'll probably do differently next time. You know, if I planned it out ahead of time.

With what I had in the pantry, though, this is what I did:

Diced half of a large onion and sauteed it in a little olive oil. Mixed a 14 oz (give or take--tall can) can (drained it first) of salmon with the onion, one lightly beaten egg, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, some yellow mustard (about a teaspoon? I just kind of squirted it on.) and a packet of crystallized lime. Next time I'll probably add more lime; you could also squeeze in about a half of a fresh small lime, but I didn't have one on hand. Notice I skipped bread crumbs, so this was a little gloppy. Oh, and I ground some pepper over it. Didn't add any salt, though--I figured canned salmon probably had enough in it.

I used cooking spray, but definitely you could cook these in a little olive oil. I use it, not other kinds of oil, because I like the flavor, so you can change it to suit yourself. You have to make the patties pretty thin, because without bread crumbs, there's really nothing to pick up the extra moisture. Cook over medium heat--decrease the heat if they're browning too quickly. I think I cooked them for about 3 or 4 minutes each side, but I really was watching the texture more than the clock. Turn them over the first time when they look a little 'set' on top (sort of like cooking a pancake). They're also easier to turn if you make them fairly small--maybe 3 inches across.

I used a little buttermilk ranch dressing and smashed up some nicely ripe avocado into it to make a sort of dip for them. I really liked the way they turned out, but like I said, I'll probably add a little more lime next time. Maybe chill the mix before I cook it and see what that does for the texture.

Wine pairings: for salmon, the instinct is to reach for Pinot Noir, maybe a dry rose. But this salmon was really mild, and I think if I'd served PN with it, all I'd have tasted was the wine. The hint of lime suggested a crisp white--maybe a Sauvignon Blanc, even, or a dry Chenin Blanc, although usually you wouldn't pair those with a big fish like salmon. Shayne suggested a Pinot Gris would be a nice alternative, and one I hadn't thought of. He's probably right--they make some good Pinot Gris up in the Pacific NW, and they make some pretty good salmon up there, too.