I do poach at a low enough heat that there aren't any bubbles breaking the surface, so I don't think that heat is a factor. I used to buy my salmon at Gelson's the grocery store, but their prices are high and we've been picking it up at Costco. I freeze the leftovers for lunches and really don't like that whitish goop on top. I'll try skimming, I'm using the same 12" skillet that I did before,I can't imagine using a deeper stockpot. Thanks for the tip!

The ones I'm having are pre-made from the fish market. I'm cheating this time around. But this is the recipe I normally use. They're really good. Because it's just my husband and me at home now, I make these, then freeze the leftovers after they're cooked. They re-heat well: Helen's Salmon Fish Cakes Serving Size: 8 Categories: Main, Fish 2 Egg ; lightly beaten 2 cup Day-old seasoned mashed Potatoes 1 Can Salmon ; large, drained and flaked 2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice 2 ds Hot sauce 1/4 tsp Paprika 2 tsp Very finely chopped onions 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup Dried bread crumbs -COATING- 2 Egg ; beaten 1 cup Bread crumbs Combine one beaten egg with the potatoes, salmon, lemon juice, onions, salt, black pepper, hot sauce and paprika in a mixing bowl. Mix gently so as not to mash the salmon. Add about one-fourth cup of the bread crumbs to the mixture and again mix gently. The mixture should be able to hold together so that you can form the mixture into balls or patties. Form the mixture into two-inch patties using metal icecream scoop as measure. Dip the balls in the remaining beaten egg, and then dredge them in the remaining one-half cup of bread crumbs. Chill the croquettes in the rerfrigerator for at least one hour. Heat some oil in a deep frying pan. fry fishcakes for about five minutes, or until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm. Makes six fishcakes. May be kept warm in oven. Excellent! Recipe by H Peagram Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 75 Calories; 1g Fat (10.4% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1744mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat. -- Rec.food.recipes is moderated by Patricia Hill at recipes@swcp.com. Only recipes and recipe requests are accepted for posting. Please allow several days for your submission to appear. Archives: http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr/ http://recipes.alastra.com/

SALMON RISOTTO!!!!! My two favorite foods -- salmon and salmon! I'd go nuts with this ... I'd buy a large salmon filet, about 2 pounds. It's on sale here for $6.99/pound. I'd cut it into three "grades": I'd keep the thickest portion intact and cook that by itself another time. I'd trim off the tapered portions and use most of that for the risotto proper. And I'd trim off the REALLY skinny belly stuff plus skin to make a light stock. The skinniest stuff and skin would go into a pot with 5 cups of water, some fennel frond, a tiny piece of onion, parsley and a thin slice of lemon. I'd simmer it for only 45 minutes. I want a light stock that goes into the risotto and doesn't get too strong when it reduces. Then I'd steam 1/2 pound of asparagus tips, separately. I'd strain the stock, measure out 3-3/4 cups back into the pan and add 1/2 cup white wine (probably a pinot grigio). I've found that the wine and stock can be mixed and you can skip the wine-first stage. Keep this on low-warm. In a wide pan, I'd heat up some light olive oil and cook the salmon (trimmings of the tapered part; maybe 1/2 pound) along with a whole large shallot, thinly sliced. When cooked, out of the pan. A little more oil (maybe plus a touch of butter) and a cup of a risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli, vialoni nano). Toss the rice around to cook and then add a couple ladlefuls of stock. And when that's used up, another ladleful of stock. And so on. Until maybe 1 ladleful of stock is left. When there's just a ladleful left, I'd toss the salmon and shallots back in to the pan with the rice, with the asparagus tips, along with 1/4 to 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese and maybe just a pinch of parmesan for the bit of saltiness. Stir it up well and add the last ladelful of stock JUST before serving. Serve HOT garnished with chopped fennel frond. Joe

The trout I have had has been bland, and I would not want to add sesame oil to it, and so I guess that is out. I also do not want more soy sauce - this is a pomegranate sauce, not a teriyaki sauce, and it has the flavor balance I want as it is. Kevin agreed that chicken thighs would be good, but I forgot to mention shrimp to him. I'm going to see if I can find the shrimp in the freezer, and if I do, I might just use that, as it would take less effort. I'm just not sure about pomegranate with shrimp, whereas I think pomegranate and chicken thighs would be fine.