Recipe Review | Coconut-Curry Salmon + Snow Peas

According to my family, this dinner was a "home run."  The salmon was tender and flavorful, the sauce had just enough of a spicy kick, and the snow peas added a delicious crunch to the dish. We all agreed that the fresh cilantro really added the final touch--so don't think about skipping that part. I served my salmon over coconut rice. Though, now that I've had the sauce, I might skip the coconut in the rice next time and just have jasmine rice. If you're interested in making coconut rice, simply substitute a can of light coconut milk for an equal portion of the water you would otherwise use when cooking your rice--it's that simple. 

Coconut-Curry Salmon + Snow Peas 

(via Cooking Light, October 2014)

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What you need (Salmon):

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste

1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk

4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets, skinned (about 1 inch thick)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

About 2-3 cups of cooked basmati or jasmine rice (You can get this going on the stovetop when you begin to prepare the fish.)

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What you need (Snow Peas):

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

12 ounces snow peas, trimmed

1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted (toast these in advance)

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What to do:

1. Start your rice.
2. Place brown sugar, lime juice, red curry paste, and coconut milk in a large skillet (use a skillet that has a lid), stirring to combine. Add fish to pan; bring to a simmer over medium-hith heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 9 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once after 5 minutes. (My fish kind of fell apart a little when I tried turning it over. Don't worry if yours does too--it will still taste great!) Place fish on a plate; sprinkle with salt. 
   
3. Bring remaining sauce to a boil in skillet; boil vigorously 6 minutes or until reduced to about half.
4. While your sauce is reducing, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add snow peas; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in rice vinegar and sesame seeds.
5. Serve fish over the rice with snow peas on the side. Drizzle sauce over the fish; garnish with cilantro. 
   
   

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Recipe Review | Poached Salmon Spinach Salad

This dinner was a huge success and everyone loved the salad. I had never poached anything other than an egg before and I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. It was so easy and the salmon was incredibly moist and tender ("creamy" even). The saltiness of the sunflower seeds were a nice contrast to the grapes and the dressing added another layer of mild spice that gave the dish some zip. I find my favorite recipes and "bites" come from dishes that offer salty, sweet, sour (zippy), crunchy (crispy), and creamy elements. This one has it all.

The recipe is from a past issue of Family Circle that I came across. The original recipe calls for Kale as the salad green. At the time I made it, my local grocer's kale did not look especially tender so I opted for baby spinach. I'm sure kale would be tasty too--or arugula. Use what you like.

Ingredients

• For the Poached Salmon:
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 small onion, halved
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 pounds salmon fillets
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• For the Dressing and Salad:
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I like Sriracha)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces baby spinach leaves (8 packed cups)
• 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1/4 cup roasted, salted sunflower seed kernels 

Instructions

Salad

1. Combine broth, onion, garlic, peppercorns and red pepper flakes in a straight-sized saute pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove fish to a plate with a large spatula and refrigerate at least one hour.

Dressing and Salad

1. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the hot sauce. While whisking, add olive oil in a thin stream.
2. Combine spinach, grapes and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Remove salmon skin. Flake salmon into bite-size pieces and add to bowl. Pour dressing over salad and season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently toss to combine.

Make Ahead Tip

Poach salmon the night before and refrigerate, tightly wrapped in plastic, until serving.

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Recipe Review | Maple-Glazed Salmon

I started making this recipe several months ago. It is WAY overdue for some Blog Props. 

It's one of our favorites. Not only is it delicious (melt-in-your-mouth-delicious), it's super easy to prepare and very quick from the fridge to the plate. In fact, if you take my advice and double (or triple) the spice mixture, saving some for future usage, you'll cut your prep time down even further: approximately 10 minutes start to finish. Pair that with a simple salad and quick-cooking polenta and you have a delicious, healthy, impressive, dinner in about 15 minutes.

The recipe is from an older issue of Cooking Light (September, 2010). I keep all of my issues and enjoy looking through them for new recipe ideas. I'm really glad I keyed-in on this one recently after overlooking it the first time through my issue.

What you need:

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1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 (6-ounce) Alaskan salmon fillets

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

What to do:

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1. Preheat broiler

2. Combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over flesh side of fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan (or lined baking sheet) coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with syrup; broil 1 minute more.

Alaskan Salmon from Costco

 I like to buy my Alaskan salmon from Costco. It's fresh, flavorful, boneless and skinless. I can cut my steaks as wide as I choose and if I don't want to cook all of it, the rest freezes really nicely.

Tucked-under

 I find that with Alaskan salmon especially, there tends to be an edge and/or end of the fillet that is much thinner than the rest of the steak. I always tuck this part under the steak so that the overall thickness of the piece of fish is uniform. That way, the fish is cooked more evenly throughout--so don't be shy about bending and folding your fish!

Gettin' Spicy!

 Most of the spices required for this recipe are already in your spice rack, I'm sure. If you find you cannot locate "Ancho Chile" powder in your grocery store, feel free to substitute it for more of the regular chile powder. 

I happened to have an amazing Moroccan spice blend from a local company, Dulcet, in my spice cupboard. Many of the ingredients in the Moroccan blend are also found in this recipe (chile, paprika, sugar, cumin, salt). In addition, the Moroccan has ginger, cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, garlic, and coriander. I have had this recipe with and without the addition of the Dulcet Moroccan spice mixture--both are delicious... But I have to say that the addition of the saffron, ginger, and cinnamon flavors from the Moroccan blend add to the outcome. I highly recommend you get your own HERE ($6).

Add caption

 Generously sprinkle the top side of the fish with your seasoning mixture and pop it under your well-heated broiler. I move my broiler rack down a bit so that the top of the fish is approximately 5-6 inches from the broiler coils.

Do NOT flip your fish. They only need to cook on the one side to be evenly done throughout.

After exactly 6 minutes, take your fish out and brush on the maple syrup. Please, learn the difference between pancake syrup and real maple syrup before you ruin your fish!

Use the one on the RIGHT

 Once coated, it's back under the broiler for 60 seconds more.

The spices get "frisky" and the maple syrup gets crispy and caramely (I just made that word up) under the heat. The fish is perfectly done in the 7 minutes: tender, medium, rich in texture. 

This night, with Spinach Salad and Creamy Polenta.

Although every member of my family flips for this salmon, we usually only go through 4-5 steaks during dinner. The typical fillet from Costco will make between 5-8 steaks, depending on the size of the piece of fish you buy. I suggest you prepare ALL of your salmon and save the extras in the fridge. We always follow-up with Salmon Caesar Salad later in the week and the leftovers are delicious!

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Recipe Review | Salmon and Spinach in Parchment

I tried a new recipe this past week from my latest issue of Everyday FOOD (April 2012).

The cover recipe, Salmon and Spinach in Parchment. All four of us love salmon so I thought I'd give it a go.

Overall, the prep was about 20 minutes. There are only 5 ingredients to shop for: baby spinach, oranges, salmon, fresh ginger, and shallots.

The following serves 4 (Compliments of Everyday FOOD):

• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 Tbsp grated orange zest (I didn’t measure, just used the zest of 2 oranges)
• 2 medium-large orange peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (use same orange that you zested)
• 4 skinless salmon fillets (mine had skin, which I removed before serving)
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips (matchsticks)
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• Course salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Divide spinach among four, 16-inch long pieces of parchment paper. Top with orange slices, salmon, ginger and shallots. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.

Bring long ends of paper together and fold down 3 times to make a seam. Tuck ends underneath to secure.

Place packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until packets are puffed and salmon is cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer packets to plates, pull open and serve immediately.

I substituted Citrus infused olive oil because I have it! 

Get your own Citrus Olive Oil from the Temecula Olive Oil Company.

 Don't fuss too much over your wrapping job. Do be sure to use parchment paper and NOT waxed paper.

The result was scrumptious!

(And I do say so, myself.)

I served this up with creamy polenta.

We all ate every bite--well, maybe not each piece of ginger.

When I make this again...

1. I will use more spinach in the pouches or sauté some on the side. There was not enough to be considered a "side dish," which was how I envisioned it (based on the photos from the magazine).

2. I will grate the ginger. The matchsticks were a bit stringy and overpowered the other flavors when you had too big a piece in your bite. 

3. I will make extra. The leftover salmon on a bed of fresh spinach would make a lovely salad (citrus vinaigrette) the following day.

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