salmon again?! YUP! this is prob my fave way to make salmon. the crunch of the crust, mixed with the sweet sauce- it's heaven! and that's just the salmon... then there's the salad- the sweetness of the peaches and the acidity of the oranges along with the crunch from the green beans, the brininess of the olives... not only does it look like a party on the plate, but it tastes like a party in your mouth! [yes, that's what she said...] for the record, the salmon dish below is a variation on a recipe by sunny anderson of food network's "cooking for real." and the salad is a variation on a recipe i found in my "real simple" magazine... remember, i said i can't follow recipes- i start to change everything around... but i wouldn't trade it for the world- this version rocks!
for the salad:
1 cup green beans, cut into 1" pieces
handful grape tomatoes, cut in 1/2
2/3 peach, diced into 1" pieces
1 orange, cut into segments, then cut in 1/2+ juice- see pics below
2 tbsp sliced olives w/ pimento
splash of lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
s+p to taste
cut the skin & rind of orange, then cut the segments our from b/w the membranes
first thing's first- put a small pot of water to boil. when the water comes to a boil, add the green beans. cook for 2 minutes. remove quickly and place in a medium bowl full of ice water for 2 minutes. [this is called shocking the veggies- it stops the cooking process.] drain water and ice. add the rest of the salad ingredients to the bowl and toss. you're done! now just put the bowl in the fridge so the salad gets nice and cold!
for the salmon:
2 salmon fillets, skinless
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup mango sorbet
1/3 peach, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
s+p to taste
in a shallow dish, mix the brown sugar, corn meal, and flower. set aside.
in a small sauce pan, melt the sorbet over med low heat and add the left over peach pieces. after a few minutes, mash the peaches with a potato masher. turn the heat to low and continue simmering until the sauce thickens. turn the heat off.
s+p the salmon liberally. drip a little of the sauce over the salmon and rub in with your hands [make sure not to let the spoon touch the fish, or you'll contaminate the rest of the sauce!] lightly press the salmon into the corn meal mixture. preheat a large saute pan with the olive oil over medium high heat. put the 2 fillets into the pan [you might want to use a splatter screen]cook about 3 minutes on each side- only flipping once. done!
now all you have to do is assemble- put half of the salad on the plate and place the salmon on top. drizzle with 1/2 the sauce.
enjoy! ;)
ok, so justin was here for the long weekend! YEY! =] we did something very different from the last couple of times we've seen each other- WE DIDN'T HAVE EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF THE TRIP PLANNED OUT!!!!! =]
we did make a sweet dinner on friday night- garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and pan-seared salmon w/ a garlic vinaigrette. YUM!
ok, so now for the recipe-like list of ingredients and what to do with them... i say it that way because i cannot follow a recipe to save my life- i don't even like measuring ingredients, so be prepared to add a dash of this and a pinch of that! i will attempt to give you measurements, but i will write them like this "~ 1 tbsp"- this means "about 1 tablespoon"... let me know how this works out!
[please note that 95% of the time my recipes will be for 2 portions, even when justin isn't here- i always take my yummy left-overs to work for lunch]
garlic mashed potatoes:
4 med red skinned potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/4s
~ 1/4 cup 2% milk
~ 1 tbsp reduced fat butter
~ 1 tbsp garlic, pasted [sprinkle minced garlic w/ a little kosher salt. crush with back of knife blade]
s+p to taste
bring large pot with water and potatoes to a boil. salt liberally [adding salt now will save you from adding a ton later! ;)] boil for ~20 min. drain and return to hot pot [will evaporate excess water]. add milk, butter, and garlic. mash to your heart's delight. add s+p to taste.
roasted asparagus
~ 1 lb asparagus
~ 1 tbsp olive oil
~ 1 tsp garlic, pasted
s+p to taste
preheat oven to 400. trim asparagus by holding each end of 1 stalk in each hand and bend the stalk so that it's arching upward- it'll snap where the stalk is dry. use this stalk as a guide when cutting the rest of the asparagus. rinse & dry. place on a baking sheet. add olive oil, garlic, s+p. toss with your hands. roast for about 30 min, tossing once or twice.
pan-seared salmon w. garlic vinaigrette
2 salmon fillets, skinless
~ 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
~ 4 tbsp olive oil
~ 1 tbsp garlic, minced
~ 1 tbsp dijon mustard
~ 1 tbsp lt brown sugar
dash chili powder
s+p to taste
whisk all ingredients, except salmon, in a shallow dish until emulsified [make sure there are no oily bubbles- it'll start to look a little creamy]. reserve a little vinaigrette for later. place salmon fillets in dish, turn once so that both sides are covered. let sit ~ 30 min, turning once. preheat grill pan over med high heat w/ a little olive. gently shake off excess marinade from fillets and grill for about 4 min on each side. remove from pan & drizzle a little of the reserved vinaigrette over top. [i also drizzled a little over the asparagus]
garlic, s+p... what could possible go wrong?! this could be a little boring if done incorrectly. however, the little hint of acid from the vinegar and the sweetness from the brown sugar in the vinaigrette really wake up the tastebuds and prevent them from getting bored.
ENJOY! ;)
happy new year everyone!
while in south FL for the holidays, i happened to watch the movie "julie & julia" with my sister and bf, and an interesting thing happened- i got inspired! if you haven't seen the movie, you should... it's about julie, a 20-something in nyc who decides that she needs to do something creative to keep herself sane, so she decides to cook her way through julia child's first cookbook- all 500+ recipes in one year- and write a blog about it. she considered quitting a few times, but what kept her going was the readers she was inspiring.
this got me thinking... everyone makes resolutions for the new year, but most people fail... epically. this year, like most, i too have resolutions. but, unlike most, i also have a plan to not fail. my plan is to blog about the changes in my life in hopes that positive feedback will keep me motivated!
so, now for my resolutions... they all have to do with taking care of myself so that i'm less stressed and happier:
1. i will not work 6 am-8 pm anymore, the stress that schedule caused me at the end of the year is rediculous. that's not to say i won't be a good employee. instead, i will find ways to work more efficiently. so far, so good- no early mornings, and only one 6pm night. =]
2. i will eat foods that are better for me- this means no more nacho cheese chicken chalupas for me! [le sigh]... this is not to say i'll be eating like a rabbit... none of that for me! i'm still eating pasta- but, i'm eating whole grain instead of white... i'm actually working my way over to whole wheat, but i'm a little scared... AND, i'm actually measuring out what a serving is! did you know that a serving of penne pasta is a 1/4 cup of dry pasta?! the first time i measured it out i had a panic attack- "THAT'S IT?!?!" but, the trick is to use lots of veggies and lean protein in your dish in order to bulk it up! also, part of this resolution is to try new recipes so that i don't get bored.
3. i will go back to my salsa classes. PERIOD. unfortunately, when you work late, the first thing that automatically falls off your schedule is the 6:30 salsa classes. those are wayyyy too much fun to give up! i've only been to 1 since getting back from the holidays, but i WILL get back into it!
4. i will go back to working out. now, the funny thing is that i plan to get out of my contract with Bally's! but, i plan to use the gym at my apt complex, and do pilates and yoga with exercise tv on demand. in fact, i bought an exercise ball and a yoga block to supplement my mat and my resistance band. so far so good, until this weekend- but that's for my next blog. also, keep in mind that i'm going back to salsa, which is great cardio and toning!
5. finish decorating my apt... a little bit at a time. first project to tackle- wall art for behind my sofa. i already have an idea, so now i just have to execute it.
6. see justin more often than we saw each other last year. we ended the year on a great note- we saw each other 5 times in 4 months! =] the unfortunate truth is that we will have to do the long-distance thing for quite a while longer, so we're just going to have to make it work for us. part of this plan, is for us to go to vacation in july to hawaii! we've finally decided on an island- kauai here we come! =]
7. stay in touch with all things design- so i'll be scoping out websites and stores that inspire me.
8. save a little bit of money so that i can do some fun things!
ok, so this entry has been rediculously long, but i figured that i owe ya'll an explanation to my blog. in reality, i'll be posting about once a week and each post could consist of a picture of what i had for dinner + the recipe [i use that term loosely- you'll see why], or a link to something i found on notcot along with my commentary... who knows... i'll figure it out as i go..
ENJOY! ;)
