Smoked Salmon on Toast Points

Gosh I'm a lazy writer.  It is terrible how long it's been since I've posted a post.  But  I want to tell you about this little snack I make and I don't feel a few quips on facebook will do the trick so I'm going to put it here where I can be a little more ... verbose. 

As I made my little snack this afternoon, it occurred to me that it very much exemplified how I like to eat.  It is just simple and kinda healthy, and it feels like a treat but is really quite effortless.

Firstly, I very much like to keep smoked salmon in the house.  It has about a month on the expiration date, so you can have it on hand for a quick lunch or a cocktail snack.   With that on hand, I use just a regular hearty wheat bread and some greek yogurt and sliced scallions.  Toast the bread on the dark side, lay the thin sliced salmon over the top (just a single layer will do,) spread on some thick, plain greek yogurt and the sliced scallions.  Voile! You have a fancy lunch that is almost champagne worthy!

A few last words (see...about the verbosity,)  You can take the bread so many places here.  Baguette toasts or brioche (oh my) or even crackers for goodness' sake.  And of course you can do sour cream instead of yogurt and sliced red onion instead of scallion.  You can add capers too.  Or crumbled hard boiled egg.

Spring on a Plate

This one is as much for my benefit than for yours. I clipped this from the Food Section of one of our local papers, either the Trib or the Times, I can't remember anymore. It is from a couple weeks ago. Chances are highly likely that I will lose this clipping, as I do all clippings. So I figured it would be a good idea to type it in here so I have it for posterity. It's a really good recipe. Restaurant quality in taste and appearance, but easy to execute.

The reason I say restaurant quality is that I've had dishes like this in restaurants before. Chefs being seasonal and and playing off the pink of salmon and green of peas. It a classic combo: salmon, peas, mint, bacon. It all goes together to create beauty and goodness. Everything is light, but then you get a little taste of bacon for richness and a hit of smoky/salty/chewy to make you want another bite. The recipe calls for sugar snaps but I used both those and regular frozen peas. It is adapted from the book Olives and Oranges; which is a delightful name for a cookbook, isn't it?

Salmon with Sugar Snap Peas and Bacon

6 servings (I played around with the proportions when I did this. Used 3/4 lb. salmon for two and 1 slice of bacon) The rest I just eyeballed. If you don't like mint, I think tarragon would work well too.

2 lbs. salmon fillets

1/2 t sea salt

coarsely ground pepper

2 T olive oil

3 slices, thick-cut bacon, cut into slivers

1/2 onion, minced (make sure to keep it small here, you don't want big pieces of onion)

1/2 c water or white wine

1 lb. sugar snaps, trimmed (I used about 1/2 c sugar snaps, and 1/2 cup frozen peas)

1 T unsalted butter

1/4 c chopped fresh mint

Place salmon skin side up on a foil-covered baking sheet. Brush skin with oil, season with 1/4 t salt and pepper to taste.

Place bacon in large skillet, cook, stirring over med. heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to paper-towel lined plate. Add onion to skillet, cook over med. heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add water, increase heat to high. Heat to a simmer; cook 2 minutes. Add peas and remaining 1/4 t salt. Cook until peas are tender and water has evaporated, about 5 mintes. Add butter and mint, stir. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, heat broiler, broil fish until skin is crispy and fresh is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plates. Spoon peas and bacon of fish.

(Note: I cooked the fish using the sear and roast method. Basically searing on top of the stove, flipping and finishing in a preheated 400+ oven.) I don't like to broil. I think direct contact with the hot pan gives a much better finish to your meat or fish.

Salmon with Thai Flavors

This salmon recipe is dynamite! I mean literally smoking, explosively hot! I got this from James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish and in the preface to the recipe he recommends a stronger flavored fish so as to stand up to the bold flavors. The basis of the sauce is red curry paste and coconut milk. It also has some peanut butter and basil, mint and cilantro. The combination of herbs make this dish. And weird, I had all three fresh and available this night. That's why I decided to make it.

After coating the salmon with the sauce, the fillet is wrapped in foil (or a banana leaf (next time, I going to try this)) and steamed. There aren't any vegetables in the packet but I was thinking you could probably add some to make it a complete meal. Maybe some sliced bok choy and red pepper under the salmon... some sprigs of cilantro and a slice of lime... Serve with steamed rice.

Thai Steamed Salmon Fillet Packets

For 6 servings: (I made 1/3 recipe, for two)

2 1/2 lbs. of center-cut salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed

3 T homemade or jarred red curry paste

3 T finely chopped fresh basil

3 T finely chopped fresh mint

2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro

1 T creamy peanut butter

3 T unsweetened coconut milk (I used light)

1 T thai fish sauce

salt and pepper

2 cups water

six 12-inch banana leaves

Making the salmon packets:

Work the curry paste, herbs, peanut butter, coconut milk and fish sauce into a paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread the banana leaf (I used heavy-duty foil) squares on a work surface and spread some of the paste mixture on each leaf. Set a piece of salmon on top and spread the top of the salmon with more of the paste. Think ahead to be sure to distribute the paste among each of the packets. Fold the leaves over so they completely wrap the salmon. If they don't hold together, tie loosely with cooking twine.

Bring the water to a boil in the bottom of a steamer and steam the packets for about 8 minutes per inch of thickness of the salmon squares.

When the packets are done - you may have to sneak into one and cut into the fish to judge doneness. Arrange them in hot soup plates. Serve immediately.

Two from Bobby

I know he's not new or anything and I've enjoyed his shows. But ever since eating at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, I've been kind of enamored with him and his style of cooking. Our brunch was so over-the-top delicious that it propelled me into an infatuation with modern tex-mex. He uses all the familiar mexican ingredients but the combinations are bright and fresh and just a little different. I bought the Mesa Grill Cookbook and have been spending a lot of time with it. The photography in the book is gorgoeous and all the dishes sound so enticing. But the recipes are complicated. There are a number of garnishes and sauces to be made before you can get on with the making of the actual dish. This is the kind of cooking you do for fun, not when you're under pressure to get dinner on the table. So I've started with probably a couple of the least complicated and time-consuming dishes in the book. A Roasted Cauliflower and Green Chile Soup and a Honey and Chile Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema.

If you've made a Cauliflower Soup, you'll find no surprises with this one. Instead of steaming the cauliflower, you roast it and then it gets pureed with chicken broth and reheated with a little cream. The twist is that you make a roasted poblano puree and swirl that into the soup. This give it some heat and a little interest. There also what he dubs "goat cheese taquito" you float on top for a little garnish. These are really just a warm goat cheese nacho but the crunch of the chip and the tang of the goat cheese lend a lot to the simple bowl of soup. I searched the web but could not find a link to recipe for you. Let me know if you really want it and I'll get it to you.


Next up is the Honey-Ancho Chile Glazed Salmon with Black Bean Sauce and Jalapeno Crema. But first I wanted to show you the lovely wild coho salmon I had to work with. 'Tis perfect, I think. Okay, so the title of thi recipe pretty much says it all and actually the dish is pretty simple to execute. The glaze is just honey, dijon mustard and ancho chile powder. The black bean sauce is black beans, chicken broth, onion, garlic, cumin, and a chipotle whirred up in a blender to a smooth sauce. And the jalapeno crema is sour cream blended with a roasted, jalapeno puree. Instead I used some of the poblano puree that I had leftover from the soup prep. And I spiked it with some green chile tobasco. I also adapted the recipe by using a can of black beans instead of cooking my own. You can find the exact recipe and a detailed description of the preparation here.

The black bean sauce goes down on the plate and the glazed salmon sits on top. Then you dollop some of the jalapeno cream around. My picture isn't as pretty as the one in the book. If you put the cream in a squeeze bottle you could be really fancy. I had some pineapple salsa in the fridge so I put a little on top of the salmon too. The star of the show is the black bean sauce. Really delicious, smooth and creamy. I ate the leftover beans with eggs, salsa and tortillas this morning. .... doesn't get better than that.

Two from Ellie

I'm a big fan of Ellie Krieger and her book The Food You Crave. I've had some great success with the recipes and I tend to go to the book when I'm looking for a not-too-evil meal. One afternoon at lunch, when I found myself with none of my usual lunch foods available, I went to her book looking for a healthy little meal. I came up with Salmon Cakes with Creamy Ginger Sauce. A recipe using canned salmon and water chestnuts which I had in my cupboard.




If you have cats or ever owned a cat, you might have trouble with canned fish. I do. I can't get over the 9-Lives smell when I open the can. But I knew I'd be combining the fish with cilantro, whole wheat bread crumbs and green onions and making a dipping sauce. So I hoped the finished product would not be too fishy. These asian salmon cakes turned out really well. They have good flavor from the onions and the water chestnuts give them some textural interest. The sauce is made up of mostly yogurt, but a little mayo, sesame oil, soy and ginger that combine to make a nice compliment to the cakes. I used a small 7 1/2 oz can and made a quarter recipe. It produced 4 little cakes. I ate two for lunch and my husband ate the other two (with gusto!) This is also a really inexpensive dish that could easily make an economical dinner for two.

The second recipe is another cost-friendly dish that comes from Fine Cooking's latest issue #97. Ellie Krieger did an article on how to make a nutritious and tasty fried rice using brown rice. I was so happy to see her in my favorite magazine! The great thing about this Five Treasure Fried Rice is you can use up bits of things you might have hanging around in your vegetable drawer, freezer or fridge. She recommends using peeled, broccoli stems. You might also use a half a red pepper, a few carrots, some frozen corn, peas or edamame. If you had some pea pods or sugar snap peas, they would work great too. This recipe isn't vegetarian because it uses a little canadian bacon, but you could easily leave that out. There's also some egg in here for protein. But some leftover cooked chicken, pork or some cubes of firm tofu could be thrown in at the end and warmed through.

I think this rice is best served as a one-dish meal. It is filling and satisfying and has everything you need in a meal. However, today I served it as a side dish to some tilapia. The rice is a breeze to make, but some prep work is involved. There's a lot of chopping (small dice) so it isn't quick to put together. And you need to use cold rice; so it needs to be made well in advance, preferably the day before. And brown rice takes a lot of time to cook, don't forget. Also you absolutely need a 12-inch non-stick pan. If you only have a 10-inch, I'd recommend halving it. But if you make the whole recipe, you'll have a great healthy lunch for the next day.

Jalapeno Salmon Burgers

From the Chicago Tribune's Best Recipes of 2008 list, these are Jalapeno Salmon Burgers (scroll way down for the recipe) from the book, Fish Without a Doubt, by Rick Moonen. Since I already owned the book, I thought I should give these a try posthaste. And we really liked the way these little burger/patties came out. They tasted great.

BUT they were a pain in the a** to make. There's salmon to be chilled, skinned (if you forget to ask the market to do it) and diced, vegetables to be finely diced, and egg whites to be whipped to soft peaks. Everything is mixed together and the egg whites are folded in. Moonen said the mixture would be loose, so I was prepared for that. But it was so loose that I couldn't shape burgers with my hands and took more of a pancake batter approach, which worked fine. Initially they held together. Then when it came time to flip them, well, the first one sort of flipped and shattered. I quickly smooshed everything back together and in the end I did get an almost complete patty. My second was a little better. (These would be a train wreck on the grill. They need a flat pan to work.)

There's a steep learning curve though. My second batch worked much better because I knew how delicately I needed to be. I ended up lifting the patty with one spatula, carefully turning over onto another spatula and sliding it back into the pan. And I suggest you do the same, unless to like salmon hash. Salmon Hash ain't bad.

Chef Moonen recommends a pita as the bread for your burger, but I think these Brownberry Sandwich Thins are a better choice. These are 100% whole wheat (they also make a multi-grain) and are little softer than a whole wheat pita, more like a burger bun. I use them for everything. Should you have a disaster and the burger break apart, just heap it all on the bun for a loose-meat sandwich - or heap it into a pita. It will still taste good.

So in the end, for a salmon burger, I was left with quite a few dirty pans. But my what a tasty, spicy burger. The burger didn't really need any toppings because it is filled with flavors, but you could add whatever you like. It occurred to me that honey-mustard would be good. I served the salmon burger with Fine Cooking's Cilantro-Lime slaw (from 96). This tangy, crunchy slaw is a great match. I will make these again despite everything. And I think things will go better the next time because I know what to expect.

Leftovers reheat well in the oven, covered loosely with foil.

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/dec/10/food/chi-best-books-burger-recipe-10dec10

Spicy orange salmon

Over the years I've learned the hard way to read a recipe completely through from the get go. You never want to start working through a recipe and then come to a direction like "Refrigerate overnight." or "bring to boil and then cool" when you need to have dinner on the table in half an hour. So I'm giving you a little warning with this recipe. The salmon needs to sit in the marinade for 1/2 hour. It really benefits from the whole time because, with the orange juice, soy sauce, chiles and ginger, there's some good flavors to soak in. After you remove the salmon from the marinade, you reserve it and boil it down with some honey for a spicy citrus sauce that's great on the fish and on rice too. You'll be pleased with this simple, tasty salmon preparation. This recipe can easily be halved.

Crispy Orange-glazed Salmon

The sweetness of orange juice tempers the heat of the chile pepper and red pepper flakes in this Thai-inspired dish, but it still has quite a kick.

Prep: 15 minutes; Stand: 30 minutes; Cook: 9 minutes.

2/3 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
1 small red Thai chile pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated
4 (4- to 6-ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons honey
Hot cooked rice

Garnishes: sprouts, fresh cilantro, carrot and pepper strips, and edamame

1. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a glass baking dish or shallow bowl. Add salmon, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, turning to coat evenly. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Remove salmon, reserving marinade, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook salmon 3 to 4 minutes per side or until fish begins to flake with fork; remove from pan. Pour reserved marinade into skillet, and add honey. Heat about 3 minutes or until syrupy. Serve salmon warm over a mound of rice, topped with sauce. Garnish, if desired.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Cottage Living, MARCH 2007

Brochettes of Salmon & Mushrooms in a Velvety Asian Marinade

Since dinner was running late, I decided to skip the brochette aspect of this recipe from FC 57. Instead I just marinated the salmon fillets and the mushrooms and roasted them together in a really hot oven. At the end, I stuck them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish things off. Reviews of this recipe said the marinade was really good. We thought it was pretty much just your average asian marinade, nothing special. I did like the way the mushrooms absorbed the marinade flavor though. Mushrooms, vinegar and high heat are a match made in heaven. (think: portabellas, balsamic and the grill.)

Brochettes of Salmon & Mushrooms in a Velvety Asian Marinade

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 Tbs. seeded and minced fresh jalapeño
1/3 cup fruity olive oil
2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
3 to 6 drops Tabasco sauce
2-1/2 lb. skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1-1/4-inch cubes
48 small shiitake or cremini mushroom caps
1/2 medium white onion, peeled and cut into 1-1/4-inch squares
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roughly chopped cilantro for garnish

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, and jalapeño in a medium bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, sesame oil, and Tabasco. Add the salmon cubes and mushroom caps. Toss to coat evenly, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate for 1-hour in-the refrigerator, tossing occasionally.

While the salmon is marinating, soak a dozen 12-inch wooden skewers in water.
Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to medium high. (If your grill tends to be very hot, use medium heat, as the brochettes will cook unevenly if the heat is too high.) Remove the salmon from the marinade and loosely thread four salmon cubes alternating with four mushroom caps and four thin pieces of onion on each skewer. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and grill or broil in batches until browned and the salmon is almost opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Test by removing one piece of salmon and checking it for doneness; it should still be somewhat translucent in the center. Transfer the brochettes to warm dinner plates and garnish with cilantro.

Roasted Trout with Lemon & Walnut-Browned Butter

Steelhead has been frequenting the Whole Foods fish counter lately. It looks exactly like salmon. I asked the fish guy about it: "Steelhead is trout, right?" He gave me this vague answer that in 48 of the 50 states it is considered a salmon and that it tastes like salmon. "But it's trout, isn't it" He couldn't give me a definitive answer. Since I like both salmon and trout, I decided to give it a try, whatever it was. When I got home, a quick google told me a little more. Steelhead Trout is closely related to a Rainbow Trout. The difference is that Steelhead is born in a stream but makes its way to the ocean for its adult life (there's a fancy term for this fishy behavior: anadromous) whereas Rainbow Trout stays in the fresh water stream. Steelhead, Rainbow, Salmon and Char (as in Arctic Char) and all part of the Salmonidea family and closely related in texture, flavor and nutritional qualities. These aren't those little, whole lake trout (or as Jack calls them the gray ones with the heads) that you often see in the fish counter. This is a big, meaty pink-fleshed fillet and it would substitute nicely in any salmon recipe. In terms of flavor, you might describe it as salmon-light. Some people (not me) object to the oily, strong flavor of salmon compared to other fish. Rainbow and Steelhead Trout are a little less like that, but yet retain some salmon-like flavor. They're delicious.

That said, I decided to work with a Rainbow Trout recipe from the Fine Cooking database, one from issue 78. The fish gets a very simple treatment roasted in the oven with some herbs and lemon slices. As it cooks, you prepare a brown butter sauce with walnuts to drizzle over the cooked fish. This is a classy recipe and you get to practice your butter browning skills, which is always good. Don't walk away from your butter.

Roasted Trout with Lemon & Walnut-Browned Butter

by Molly Stevens (Fine Cooking 78)

This recipe serves 4-6. You can easily scale it down for 2. To lighten it up a little, you can brush the uncooked fish with olive oil (instead of butter) and then just finish with the butter sauce.

8 rainbow trout fillets (2 to 2-1/2 lb.)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh tarragon

24 1/8-inch-thick lemon slices (2 to 3 lemons)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450ºF.

Arrange the trout skin side down on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper evenly over the trout. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and drizzle 4 Tbs. of it evenly over the fillets. Sprinkle the trout evenly with the parsley and the tarragon. Arrange 3 lemon slices over each fillet. Roast until the fillets flake easily when pricked with a fork, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, set the saucepan with the remaining melted butter over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in the walnuts; keep warm.

When the trout is done, use a large spatula to transfer the fillets to dinner plates—if the skin sticks to the foil, lift up only the flesh. Swirl the walnut butter around and then spoon it over the trout.

serving suggestions: Serve with buttered baby red potatoes tossed with chopped fresh dill.

I served mine with roasted brussels sprouts. The walnut butter sauce drizzled over them as well. Yum.

Fancy Pants Salmon

Fine Cooking magazine offers many recipes, most from the editors and writers on staff and sometimes from chefs. The chefs recipes tend to be a little "fancier," maybe with an extra garnish or sauce to embellish the plate. I like to try the chef's recipes because, as a cook, I tend to pick up something new from preparing these dishes. Sometimes it is a cooking technique; other times it might be a new flavor combination. The chef's recipes tend to push me a little out of my cooking comfort zone and that's good because I want to keep learning. So tonight with a little extra time on my hands, a breather from the dreaded 6th grade homework, the laundry done, and dear husband home at a reasonable hour, I ventured upon a recipe from Tom Douglas, a chef and frequent contributor to FC. I've made his recipes before and I knew I could expect some big flavors.

This one is Spice-Rubbed and Sear-Roasted Salmon with Honey-Glazed Fennel. It's from an article from FC 92 on the technique of searing fish and then finishing it in a really hot oven. I'm happy to report that I have now made all the recipes from this article. And they're all very good and worth making. In fact, I have to say that there's really no better way to cook a fish fillet in the house. You get a nice crust from the sear and then flip and put it in the oven to finish.

For the rub in this recipe, I was introduced to a new spice called Sumac, often used in middle eastern cooking. The taste is not too strong. It has a sweet spiciness to it with a bit of musky cumin scent. You could substitute sweet paprika if you can't find it. Many Thanks to my blogger friend Amy for sending me some because I couldn't find it that easily.

Ok, so the salmon is rubbed with a spice mix and it gets sear-roasted with some sliced fennel in the pan. And when the salmon is done, you remove it, and glaze the roasted fennel with a honey lemon sauce. Here's where the chef stuff comes in. I've had fennel paired with sweet things, like orange. But mostly this has been raw fennel. I had never had fennel cooked tender and then glazed with a sweet/sour taste. The licorice taste of the fennel is still there. But the fennel gets all melty textured and when glazed with the melty sweetness of honey and you get a soft, sweet, savory taste. You top the cooked salmon with the this fennel and THEN you top the fennel with a salad of matchstick apples and fennel fronds tossed with lemon, salt and pepper. Pepper on apples was a revelation. If you haven't tried it, you must. Now.

So here's your fancy pants dish: a rich piece of spicy salmon topped with melty sweet soft fennel and garnished with a crunchy tart apple salad. It is a tasty and unique combination of flavors that really isn't too much trouble and is a restaurant-caliber dish you can make at home.

I won't bother to type this one out. If you can't get the recipe through the link but would like to try it, you can drop me a line and I'll be glad to send it to you.

Salmon/Salad

Salmon and salad is a frequent summer dinner at the Donahue household. Dear husband grills up some salmon fillets and I toss together some salad stuff and we call it dinner. It is a great way to accomplish dinner on a summer night when there's more important things to do, like catching fireflies or riding bicycles. So when I received the current issue of Fine Cooking (95), I was happy to see a salmon/salad dish on the back cover. The interesting take on this recipe is that it nudges the salmon/salad into fall. Here salmon, rubbed with lemon zest, is roasted with mushrooms and leeks. The vegetables are then tossed with arugula to make an earthy salad to serve alongside your fish. A squeeze of lemon brightens everything and essentially becomes the dressing, (there's also some oil from when you roast the mushrooms and leeks.) It is a simple, light dish that speaks of the warm days and cool nights leading into fall.

BBQ'd Salmon?

I don't think you can really barbeque salmon. In my world, you can only grill salmon. BBQ'd salmon would be overcooked salmon; don't you think?; (unless maybe you did a whole fish.) But whatever, the original title of this recipe was BBQ salmon and that is what I'm sticking with for now. This is a nice, easy sauce to glaze over your almost finished grilled salmon. It is sticky, sweet and has a little bite from the mustard. I got this from somewhere on the internet, who knows where or when. But I'm glad I finally gave it a try. BTW, the recipe itself says to grill the salmon for 30 minutes. I don't recommend that so I'm just giving you the sauce here. I think some fresh ginger would be a nice addition.

1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs dijon mustard
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
lime wedges for serving (optional)

In small saucepan over medium heat, stir butter with honey and sugar until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add soy sauce, mustard, oil, and garlic; mix well and let cool. Reserve a portion of the glaze. Brush the rest on salmon fillets/steaks near the end of grilling. Brush the reserved glaze on salmon once it is removed from the grill.

Herb & Lemon Roasted Salmon on a Bed of Roasted Potatoes & Sauteed Greens

This dish from Fine Cooking (issue 50) blew me away. It is a bit tedious with both a marinade and a lemon oil drizzle at the end, but the results are worth the effort. I don't really know why I first decided to make it. I guess I was in the mood for potatoes and I had planned to make spinach, so it all just fell into place. The potatoes are sliced thin, layered and cooked in a hot oven. They turn out like crispy, herby home fries. I didn't have the heart to cook the salmon on top of those lovelies (as the recipe says. Hence, the "on a bed" in the title of the recipe) So I just prepared each component of the dish on its own and plated it together. You make a marinade of lemon, garlic and herbs that coats both the potatoes and the salmon before cooking. Its lemony flavor plays against the richness of the salmon. For the greens, the recipe calls for arugula and I'm sure that would be great but I had spinach, so that's what I used. However, I could see how a bitter arugula bite would add even more to the overall result than milder spinach. I do love the bright burst of raisin and a buttery pine nut in the greens too. There's a lot going on here.

This was originally conceived as a restaurant dish and that's the feeling you get when you eat it. The plate feels composed; all the flavors and textures really working together. I will be making this dish again especially now that salmon season is upon us. And the technique of preparing the potatoes is one I'll have to revisit very soon. If I was to drop any part, it would be the lemon oil at the end. I think you could just reserve a little of the marinade for the same effect.

I'm providing the link to the recipe above, but if it doesn't work for you and you want the recipe, just e-mail and I'll send it to you. It is so long; I don't want to put it in the blog.

Teriyaki Salmon

Just looking at my recent posts, it seems like all we cook is fish. That is really not the case. It is just that the most interesting dishes I make usually involve fish. In between these dinners are days when we have roasted chicken breasts or pork chops or pasta in one form or another. Sometimes I can come up with a neat recipe for chicken, but I'm not going to post about plain old chicken. And since I'm feeding children, usually that's how we have it - plain. My kids recoil at the sight of pepper on their chicken. Really we do eat a lot of fish and much less red meat than we used too.

So here goes another salmon dish. The saving grace here is that this glaze can be used on chicken breasts or pork chops. I really like it on roasted chicken wings. It is also fine on shrimp. But my favorite, of course, is with salmon. I love sticky salmon. In a recent post, I discussed a salmon glaze that wasn't so hot. I said I've had better sticky glazes and this is one of them. It is the Ginger Teriyaki Marinade from Nina Simonds' Spices of Life. I love Nina Simonds' books because she is all about asian flavors with a healthful leaning. My favorite of her books is A Spoonful of Ginger. She also has an interesting blog that I need to add to my blog roll. I like that she makes healthy meals but she doesn't sacrifice taste to that end. For example, the following recipe has 7 Tablespoons of sugar in the glaze. That's a lot. But the glaze is for nearly 2 lbs of meat or seafood. I probably only used a tablespoon full of glaze on each portion of salmon, so it probably isn't that horrible for us to have. Dr. Atkins might not approve but I'm not too concerned with what Dr. Atkins thinks.

Her books are loaded with good recipes that are practical for real life, not too fussy or difficult. You do need to have a pantry stocked with asian ingredients though.

Ginger Teriyaki Marinade

1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c water
1/3 c sake
7 T sugar
1 1/2 T minced fresh ginger
1 t dried chile flakes
1 1/2 T corn starch

Mix together all the ingredients in a heavy med. saucepan and heat until thickened, stirring constantly oved med. heat with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Note: you can halve this recipe but you need a really small saucepan. You can save any extra marinade for another day just don't taint it by allowing any utensils that touched the fish or chicken come in contact with the marinade.

Also, don't walk away from this while it is heating. It comes to a boil and thickens very fast.

For the salmon, I don't use it as a marinade but as a glaze. I sear the salmon, flip it, brush it with the glaze and stick it in a hot oven 400' until the salmon is done to my liking. It is good to give it an additional brushing of glaze when it is about halfway cooked.

Sake et al.

When I first read this recipe, Salmon in Crisp Rice Paper with Sweet & Spicy Sake Essence (FC 57), I was intrigued by the idea of wrapping rice paper around fish and pan-frying it crisp. Up till now, my only experience with rice paper has been wrapped around fresh cold ingredients for spring rolls. I had to see what the rice paper did for the fish because, you know, anything that promises added crunch is a must-try. I didn't consider the sake essence until I was elbows deep into the recipe. And that's funny to me now because really, it is the sake essence and not the rice paper that makes this recipe quite good.

The essence is comprised of sake, mirin, rice vinegar and some aromatics like ginger, garlic and green chile. You boil it down to its "essence" and then add some soy sauce and tiny diced veggies for a beautiful sauce. I don't know the first thing about Sake, a Japanese rice wine. I used Trader Joe's brand - hoping, at least, they picked a decent one to put their name on. Mirin is a sweet Japanese wine. Here I was stuck with the only brand available from Jewel, Kikkoman's. I'm sure connoisseurs would frown upon these choices; but everything worked out just fine, so relax. I included the spring roll package in the picture, just for reference.

So you prepare this sauce and then move on to the fish. The rice paper is not difficult to work with. You moisten it very briefly (2 sec.) in water, give it a moment to soften out of the water and then wrap your seasoned salmon fillet up in it like a burrito. These little packets are then pan-fried in a med. hot non-stick skillet to which you've added a little canola oil. By the time both sides are browned, the salmon is cooked through. You can then plate the salmon in a pool of sauce. For the best presentation, a white plate would be best. My Fiestaware did not compliment this dish in the least bit.

The rice paper-wrapped salmon does get a little crispy, especially on the edges. But I really prefer the fish itself to be browned, not the coating. So that part ended up not being all that exciting. But the sauce... the sauce is amazing. It gets sweet from the reduced mirin, and there's some heat from the chile. The little diced veg. makes it gorgeous. I didn't use a yellow pepper in mine but that would've made it even more attractive. There is no detectable booziness to the sauce, although it is comprised mostly of strong wine. I will be making this sauce again, but just serving it with pan-fried or grilled salmon. It is great for guests because it can be make in advance and held warm.

Salmon in Crisp Rice Paper with Sweet & Spicy Sake Essence

Serves four.

For the sake essence:
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. sake
1 cup mirin
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. seeded and minced fresh serrano chile
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. finely diced red bell pepper
2 Tbs. finely diced yellow bell pepper
2 Tbs. finely diced zucchini (skin side only)
2 Tbs. finely diced carrot
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro; more sprigs for garnish

For the salmon:

4 skinless salmon fillets (about 6 oz. each)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
4 rounds rice paper (8 to 10 inches in diameter)
how to make
To make the sake essence:
In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine the sake, mirin, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and serrano. Bring to a boil over high heat, and reduce to about 1/2 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the peppers, zucchini, and carrot until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and vegetables to the sake essence; set aside and keep warm.

To prepare the salmon:

Sprinkle both sides of each salmon fillet with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little of the vegetable oil, using 1 Tbs. total for the four fillets. Completely immerse one round of rice paper in a bowl of warm water for a few seconds. Transfer to a work surface and let stand until pliable, about 30 seconds. Set a salmon fillet in the center of the softened rice paper. Fold the paper over one long side of the fillet, and then fold the paper in over the two short sides. Roll the fillet over until it’s completely enclosed by the rice paper. Set it aside with the seam side down. Repeat with the remaining fillets.

Heat the remaining 3 Tbs. oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it’s hot and shimmering but not smoking. Put the wrapped fillets in the skillet without touching and sauté, turning to brown top and bottom, until the rice paper is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side; don’t overcook. (If the fillets are very thick, you can also brown the sides for 1 minute each, but most fillets will be cooked through—just barely opaque—if just the top and bottom are seared.) Transfer to paper towels and let drain.
Stir the chopped cilantro into the sake essence and spoon some onto each of four warm dinner plates. Put a salmon fillet in the center of each plate, top with a cilantro sprig, and serve at once.

Make Ahead Tips

The sake essence can be made several hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Wait to sauté and add the vegetables until just before serving. The fillets can be wrapped in rice paper up to two hours ahead. Put them on a plate in a single layer without touching. Drape with a damp paper towel, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

drink suggestions
This recipe calls for sake, which would make for delicious sipping with the finished dish, as well. Try Ginyushizuku Samurai Shion or Nigori Takara.

From Fine Cooking 57, pp. 42

I've been enjoying the new and improved Fine Cooking web site. The site offers access (with a subscription) to the recipes from all the issues. There's a fee but it's not bad. And, if you really enjoy Fine Cooking magazine, being able to search and sort through the recipes makes it worth it. That's how this recipe turned up. I had wild mushrooms and salmon and was looking for something interesting to do with them. A quick search gave me Asian-Style Glazed Salmon with Roasted Mushroom Salad from issue 76. (I'm providing the link but I'm not sure if it will work for everybody.)

The glaze for the salmon was OK, but I've had better sweet asian glazes. What was really outstanding about this dinner was the roasted mushroom salad. It has a little asian vinaigrette and a fresh crunch from red bell pepper and scallion. I will definitely make it again. I also like recipes that are a complete composed dish; so that made this salmon prep good too. I served some sauteed baby bok choy on the side. Gotta have the greens.

Leftover Salmon

A simple sammie made with flaked leftover salmon, minimal mayo, celery and a squeeze of a lemon. Red onion and lettuce added crunch.

Thinking Ahead Toward Spring

As the arctic tundra wages on outside our doors, I console myself with thoughts of spring. Salmon with orange butter, Composed salad of Asparagus, Roasted Beets and Blood oranges, served with a Blood orange juice and shallot vinaigrette.

Salmon goes italian

You never see italian recipes using Salmon. The fish just isn't traditionally used. But here I was with a notion for an italian style vegetable saute served over polenta and some Salmon. So I roasted with Salmon with olive oil, rosemary and garlic. It went perfectly fine with my side dishes.

Sweet, Sticky Salmon

If you like your salmon with a touch of sweetness, the Teriyaki glaze on this fillet will please you. It is comprised of soy sauce, ginger, hot pepper flakes and sugar. This is our current favorite way to have salmon. I sear the salmon on one side, flip it, brush it with the glaze and stick it in a hot oven until it is cooked through. The glaze can be made in advance and it tastes great on other things like chicken wings or chicken breasts.