Memorial, Day, Father’s Day, the 4th of July – summer is filled with fun holidays centered around barbecuing. But if you are getting a little tired of the traditional hot dogs and hamburgers routine why not go for something a little more extraordinary? Bring a little Asian flair to your grill with this these tasty Asian Sesame Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayo.   Sound time consuming and complicated?  They’re not!

The salmon burgers are awesome – they go from frozen to perfectly grilled in about 10 minutes (no patty-making required!).  While those are grilling up, mix wasabi paste with a little mayo (light mayo works great in the recipe too!) to make the Wasabi Mayo.  Slice a red onion and lettuce and place on buns. Voila!  Gourmet Asian burgers ready in 10 minutes!  To complete your meal, grill some fresh corn alongside your burgers or toss a side salad with Asian sesame dressing, and serve a few watermelon slices too.  Bonus – you look like the gourmet super star of your family picnic without even breaking a sweat!

If you want to kick up the ambiance and make things really fun, stop by your local home or discount store and pick up a set of fancy-looking wooden chopsticks (which are usually surprisingly cheap), some bamboo placemats, and a few Asian lanterns for lighting. With just these few touches you’ll really feel like you’ve gone to the Far East!

Asian Sesame Salmon Burgers with Wasabi Mayo

1 (12.8 oz) package SeaPak® Salmon Burgers
2 teaspoons wasabi paste
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
4 slices red onion
4 leaves green leaf lettuce
4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat.

COMBINE wasabi paste and mayonnaise, set aside.

GRILL onion slices 5 minutes per side and salmon burgers according to package directions. Remove both from grill. Lightly toast hamburger buns on grill.

PLATE by placing salmon burger on toasted sesame seed bun and topping with grilled onion and lettuce. Spread wasabi mayo on inside of hamburger bun top half. Serve immediately.

Sami here from the Freckled Foodie, with exciting news on the vacation front!  Knowing that I’ll be hitting the sand in a few days for our family’s annual vacation to the beach, I’ve got one thing on the brain … ALL of the amazing seafood that will be consumed over the course of the seven days we are there.

As a nutrition and fitness fanatic, I have pretty much cut out red meat from my diet, leaving seafood and poultry as my main sources of natural protein.  Seafood has always been considered a treat because it’s typically pretty pricey, but at the beach, we throw caution to the wind and indulge in the finest and freshest that the East Coast has to offer.

Thanks to SeaPak, I’ve realized I don’t have to wait the ENTIRE year to enjoy great seafood.  Personally, my favorite product from SeaPak is their Salmon Burgers.  I have YET to find a restaurant that can cook one up that even compares!  The flavor is top notch, and the nutritional value is just icing on the cake.  With 680mg of Omega-3’s per 110 calorie serving, you’ll pack in 18g of protein and just 3g (.5 saturated) fat.  I could honestly eat one of these burgers at every meal and be a happy camper.

Don’t believe me?  Picture this:  Breakfast would consist of a salmon burger cooked and mixed in with a light cheese wedge such as Laughing Cow, spread on a light whole wheat English muffin and topped with a slice of tomato.  For lunch, a salmon burger served on a gourmet bed of arugula, sliced avocado and yellow pepper, drizzled with light Asian dressing.  Dinner would be my favorite meal of the day, salmon burger stir fry with sugar snap peas, onion, broccoli, and carrots.  I think I’ve proved my point!

Finally, a way to bring the beach back home with me for a fraction of the cost!  My Mom, and avid Coconut Shrimp fan, was ecstatic to learn that SeaPak makes her favorite seafood available to cook at home!  My little sisters, who always look forward to the popcorn shrimp at the beach, were also thrilled when I shared the idea of SeaPak’s Firecracker Shrimp, Jumbo Popcorn Shrimp, and Shrimp Poppers with them!

Forget Red Lobster take-out and stop at the grocery store to pick up some SeaPak to bring back a taste of beach life to your own home!  Saving money never tasted so good!

The 4^th of July is the hot summer holiday where friends, family and neighbors gather to commemorate our nation’s independence.  For many, the celebration centers around fireworks, fun and…food, of course!

As I began planning my 4^th of July picnic menu, I found myself wondering where the foods on my list originated from.  I spent a bit of time “Googling” and searching through Wikipedia, and was excited to learn the history about some of my family’s favorite food.  Many of these favorites have meaningful stories, too. Let me share a little bit of what I found with you…Apple pie is about as Americana as it gets.  There’s even the phrase, “As American as Apple Pie!”  But, do you know how that phrase became famous?  I discovered it stems from the answer that soldiers would give journalists when asked why they were serving in WWII…“For mom and apple pie.”  Now those are good American soldiers!

And what is it about the hot dog that makes us feel so American?   After all, the frankfurter came from Germany and the wiener came from Austria.   Come to find out, hot dogs have been served on the streets of St. Louis since the late 1800’s and not long after, made it into the ball parks as the concession of choice.

Then there is one of my favorites, the deviled egg.  They’ve been toted to church suppers and backyard barbecues for years.  Even June Cleaver made them on “Leave it to Beaver!”  Baked beans have a pretty interesting history, too.  They kept our soldiers well fed during the Civil War in the 1860’s. 

While all of these dishes taste like patriotism to me, I can’t help but think of seafood on this day as well.  After all, seafood has been feeding this country since the early days of colonization.  And, nothing says “America” to me more than good, fried seafood.  That’s why on this 4^th, I’ll be serving Popcorn Shrimp Po Boys to my family.   And, Po Boys deserve their share of American pride, too.

Since the early 1900’s, Po Boys were served in Louisiana to fill the bellies of hard working streetcar employees.  They consist of a hollowed out piece of buttered French bread, stuffed with fried seafood of choice and topped with fresh squeezed lemon juice.   I think I’m going to kick mine up a notch with some spicy tartar sauce for some real flavor.   With this recipe, the shrimp po boy is sure to be the hero of our plate this year.  

On that note, we at SeaPak would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all of the heroes of this country.  It is because of you and your sacrifices that we have much to celebrate this Sunday, aside from our tasty plates.  Happy 4^th!!

Shrimp Po’ Boy Sandwich

Prep Time: 2 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Makes: 2 servings

1 package SeaPak® Popcorn Shrimp or SeaPak® Shrimp Poppers or 1 package SeaPak® Light & Crispy Shrimp
4 – 6 leaves of lettuce
1 medium tomato, sliced
mayonnaise, tartar sauce, or your favorite sauce
2 hoagies or sandwich rolls

PREPARE shrimp according to package directions.

PLACE shrimp on the hoagie rolls and top with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, tartar or your favorite sauce.