"Some folks you know go fishing. Where it's choppy and people are likely to get seasick. People such as yourself, for example. So you like to stay at home and see what they bring you." A wry cook's answer to the Fish Question.

Scene One:
Some folks you know go fishing. Out in the cold waters off the coast of Washington State. Where it's choppy and people are likely to get seasick. People such as yourself, for example. So you like to stay home and see what they bring you.
They bring you fresh salmon.
It's a big salmon, and since there's nothing much as good as fresh salmon you decide to cook the whole thing.
You decorate it all up with lemon slices and poach the entire thing or toss its scaly self right onto the grille.
The meal is delicious, but you have leftover salmon.
Scene Two:
You have some guests coming who won't eat meat or chicken or shellfish. They will eat things that grow in the ground or creatures that swim.
When you go to the market and see the price of most fish, you buy salmon. It's trustworthy and you can buy huge pieces without bones.
Plus it's a very pretty color. That is called "salmon colored" and will look nicer on your plates than catfish or trout.
You marinate the salmon for an hour with lemon or lime, fresh black pepper and a marinade.
Recommendation: Soy Vay (three varieties, and the story about how the sauce came to be, revealed on the label is funny) http://www.soyvay.com/ Soy Vay Web site with recipes included.
The meal is delicious, but you have leftover salmon.
WHAT TO DO
Be sure the salmon is stripped of its skin. De-bone it, if you've cooked the whole salmon that your erstwhile Hemingway has delivered.
Put all the leftover salmon in a Zip Lock Bag. Mush it all up with your hands outside the bag.
Oddball Observation: Leftovers are better when they don't look like what they were the first time around.
CHOICES
Of course you can make a lovely salmon salad for sandwiches or a luncheon. Add celery, fresh parsley, grated onion. It's a nice change from canned tuna.
For a cold pate or spread, add some vodka or dry vermouth, with cream cheese. Twirl in the food processor with some parsley and refrigerate over night. It's great on crackers.
For a hot appetizer, use the same spread on thin slices of pumpernickel or French bread. Use blue cheese instead of cream cheese. Slip under the broiler for about two minutes.
For a pass-around, easy to eat appetizer, make salmon balls.
Easiest to do if you have served spinach with your initial salmon dinner. It's why I usually boil two large bags of frozen spinach. Those boxy iceberg veggie bricks annoy the cook. Add chopped hard boiled egg, leftover spinach, flavored bread crumbs, and original marinade if needed for texture, to the big bag of mushed up salmon, or switch it all into a bowl because you'll have to get messy now anyway.
Form the mixture into one inch balls and saute in olive oil until browned. Serve on toothpicks.
Dipping Sauce: Mix curry powder into mayonnaise. It turns a pretty yellow and adds a new flavor to that old salmon.
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