Hooked on Salmon

One day while checking out at Whole Foods, the attractive check out guy said, "You like Salmon?" while shoving a salmon recipe book into my reusable bag. I walked out feeling a tad affronted, but when I got home and opened the book up I was pleasantly surprised. I'm one of those people who ends up buying what the store has samples out for - I get moved by simple ideas. Anyway, the Grilled Wild Salmon with Tomato and Basil Cream stood out at me and I resolved to make it for my boyfriend post haste. But laziness kicked in. Luckily laziness kicked out last night in my plans for dinner.

Georgia and I headed to the store. Heirloom tomatoes were on sale, so we bought a bunch, including a large yellow tomato with a surprisingly red inside (see above - yum.) I headed to the fish counter - as fish is one of the few animal products I'm eating right now, its fairly important. They had both Alaskan Coho and Sockeye Salmon. Both are sustainable, excellently flavored fish - the Coho is a bit fattier, so I went with that one. For more information on which fish are sustainable, check out this site.

Grilled Wild Salmon with Tomato and Basil Cream
(borrowed from Whole Foods recipe guide)

1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
12-16 cherry or yellow pear tomatoes, halved (we just chopped up 1 large heirloom tomato)
1/2 cup chopped basil
sea salt and pepper
2-4 salmon fillets

In a saucepan, bring wine to boil. Let it reduce by half, then add the cream. Let simmer about 5 minutes to let cream thicken. I threw in the tomatoes, basil and salt and pepper then and let simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, brush the salmon on both sides with olive oil. The recipe called for grilling, but the grill was acting funny (read close to blowing up the propane tank) so we just broiled the fillets with a light sprinkling of sea salt. (Letting the sauce simmer for so long while we cooked the salmon really intensified the flavor.) I let this broil for about 10 minutes (I wasn't really watching the clock), but I kept checking the middle of the salmon for a medium done-ness.

Remove, plate, spooning sauce over top (make sure to get a bunch of tomatoes, they're the best). We served with mescaline salad and cheese drop biscuits we made - recipe to follow.


Drop Biscuits
(adapted from Cooking Light)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
1 cup milk
1 oz cheddar cheese, diced
1 T chives (dried or fresh)

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt int a bowl. Cut butter into mixture until is resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stir just until moist. Add in cheese and chives.
Coat muffin tin with cooking spray and drop batter into cups.

Bake at 450 for 12 minutes or until golden.

Copying Others' Work: DELICIOUS!

As Georgia and I were just lamenting that we've fallen woefully beyond on blogging, I thought it was about time I blogged about my moving-in dinner. Often during the day I lounge around, thinking about food, and reading my fellow food bloggers' work. Shortly after I moved in, and once the bought of cold weather had passed, I saw an awesome looking recipe for Pan Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi on Jumbo Empanadas, which Brilynn had gotten from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. Two great food bloggers making the same delicious recipe? I knew I had to follow suit and throw a dinner party for my newly close by friends (you can tell they're VERY excited).
As this recipe calls for eggs and a couple of the dinner-eaters are vegan, Georgia whipped up an accompanying orzo-zucchini recipe. I also made a sauteed zucchini and squash with thyme and crumbled feta. These turned out great, though I would say that its not ideal for a large group of people (as we were going to start off with 5, and it expanded to 8), as the rolling out and cutting of the gnocchi is a tad labor intensive. Also, I had to fry up the gnocchi in three batches because there was so much. On the whole, it was delicious and I'd be more than happy to make it for a group of 4. I added a bit more lemon zest than the recipe calls for - that's just my tastes.

Pan-Fried Lemon-Ricotta Gnocchi (copied from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen)

1 cup whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmegiano reggiano (plus extra reserved for garnishing)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon zest (plus extra reserved for garnishing)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (plus extra reserved for garnishing)
1/2 teaspoon finely minced chilli (or red pepper flakes) - adjust chilli based on your tastes
2 tablespoons clarified butter (I used regular, and it turned out just fine :P)
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Combine ricotta, parmegiano, yolk, zest and salt in large bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle half of the flour on the mixture, gently turn with spatula a few times to incorporate. Dump mixture on clean, lightly floured countertop. Sprinkle remaining flour on top of the mixture. Gently knead with your fingertips, just bringing together the mixture until flour is incorporated through. This only should take a minute or two. Any longer and you will be over-kneading. *If you are using skim milk ricotta - you may have to use more flour, as there is more water content in skim ricotta.

2. Divide dough into 4 parts. Take one part and roll into a long, 1" diameter log. Cut gnocchi into 1" pieces.

3. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil. when butter is just lightly browned, add gnocchi in single layer. Fry on one side for 2 minutes, flip. Add chilli. Fry other side for 1-2 minutes. Timing really depends on how big/thick your gnocchi is. Do a taste test - do you taste flour? Not done yet. Does it taste like a beautiful Italian’s luscious lips? Then its done. Serve with a sprinkling of lemon zest, parmegiano and parsley.

Yum Yum.