No Meat?? Thats cool...

This past Friday I told my boyfriend that I would make him a pre-birthday dinner. The one caveat was that it must be meat-free (as it was a Lent Friday)...not too much of a setback, as who doesn't love non-meat alternatives?? I haven't been feeling like cooking too much lately, I know, I know, blasphemous! But, I can attribute this to A) getting back from a wedding in Florida and B) not watching my daily doses of Food Network. So, to get back in the swing of things, I tried to gain inspiration from Cooking Light, Gourmet and various food blogs.

As far as non-meat items go, although there are plenty of options, salmon is top on my list. Yum, yum, salmon. Give me those Omega-3s! There were two recipes I happened upon that looked birthday-riffic - Roasted Salmon Steaks on a Bed of Potatoes, Fennel and Leeks from Live to Eat and Salmon with a Creamy Orange Rosemary Sauce from Nami-Nami. Both recipes looked super tasty and decidedly meat-free, so I decided to do the creative thing and combine them.

I used the Salmon with a Creamy Orange Rosemary Sauce recipe for the salmon part and it was mighty tasty. A little heavy, I suggest using light cream. The rosemary/orange combination was great (although I overcooked the salmon a little - oops).

However, not to gloat, but the side dish that I made was superb!

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Leeks

Ingredients

1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes (use organic if possible)
1 leek, chopped and caramelized
1 head garlic, roasted until soft
3 tbsp butter or butter substitute (I used Promise)
1 tbsp cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1) Caramelize leeks over medium-low heat until translucent and golden. Roast garlic in oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees (garlic will start to bubble out of top when done). Dice and boil potatoes until moderately soft.

2) Using mixer, incorporate all ingredients.....yum yum good!

Easy and DELICIOUS!!!