I generally don’t make a lot of fish dishes because when I cook I like to make a lot of food, and eat leftovers for a few days (till I’m bored with it). Pet peeve is when people bring in leftover fish and heat it up in the work microwaves. Not only does it smell terrible if you aren’t eating it, it REALLY stinks if you are the next person to heat up food in that microwave… ‘Why yes, I really did want fish flavored rice for lunch!’ However, fish has so many good things in it for our bodies and is so refreshing especially in the summertime, plus the flavors can be amazing. I also love cooking with good whiskey or bourbon! I think it adds a lot of dimension to the food, and just the right amount of spunk.
Note to self: when picking through recipes at midnight before a camping trip, make sure to read the actual recipe part. That way when you are skyping with your friend and have already mixed everything you’ll see the part where it states you are supposed to marinate the fish in the sauce for an hour and a half. We let our fish marinate for about 15 minutes, then cooked the marinade and let it simmer to be a glaze for the top of the salmon.
My side dishes were steamed white rice (Nishiki rice, because it’s the BEST), roasted corn rubbed with a honey/lime/orange butter compound, and broccoli. They say you win some and you lose some… I lost some with this meal. Not only did I drop my salmon on the ground (AARRGGG), I *experimented* with my broccoli, and it turned out...let’s just say gross! This recipe is awesome, but it wasn’t my night cooking. Oh well, I now know how NOT to make broccoli, and that if you try to carry your salmon in from the grill on the aluminum foil you cooked it on because you’re lazy and don’t want to grab a plate… beware, consequences may not be to your liking! If Shannon wouldn’t have been two states away, I would have stolen her salmon. It looked delicious!
I’ll let her comment on her sides.
On another note, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my co-blog host Shannon. I get to help her celebrate her B-day by skyping and cooking a big birthday dinner together (in different states) tonight. More to come tomorrow!
Happy Cooking!
Chef Steph
I always thought I hated salmon but guess what - I now love it! Steph I owe you BIG time for "forcing" me to cook salmon. I feel like a whole new world of dishes just opened up. What a great recipe this was; it's definitely a keeper and worthy of being transferred to a recipe card for the ol' recipe box.
ReplyDeleteI talked to the Seafood counter dude about my aversion to salmon on Sunday and he had some good suggestions. He encouraged me to try farm-raised salmon first, since the taste is less intense than wild salmon. Then he told me Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days to buy fresh fish at my market since that's when they get their deliveries. So I left salmon-less and made a special trip back on Tuesday for the extra-fresh salmon. Of course, they STILL didn't have asparagus so I had to go to a 2nd store hunting for asparagus (that is MY pet peeve) - but I was a woman on a mission and had to have asparagus for my side dish. (I can't wait to start my own garden and not be a slave to the Produce department. I'm that crazy lady waiting outside their swinging double doors each week asking, "Any eggplant back there?", "Are you out of basil, again?", and "Seriously, no LEMONS?!?")
I paired the Bourbon-Glazed Salmon with Lemon-Asparagus Risotto: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/rice/risotto/
I just love risotto - it's fun to jazz it up with different add-ins (try substituting different mushrooms) and it doesn't take nearly as long to make as we're led to believe.
Steph's right; it wasn't the most professional or proud cooking session we've ever had but man we had fun! What more could you ask for than a full belly and big laughs with a good friend? Oh, and wine. :)
(But for real Steph, before it was funny that you dropped your salmon on the ground it was soo SAD... Oh well, on to the next one!)
Cheers!
Chef Shannon
Hey... I didn't say ANYTHING about the wine... Don't tell people that.. I'd hate to ruin the impression people have of me... Ha ha ha... Too late! :) Love to all!
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