Pesto Roasted Wild Sockeye Salmon w/ Cauli-Mash & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This evening I made one of my favorite meals because each of the 3 items I prepared are my faves (Pesto Roasted Salmon, Cauliflower Mash, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts). I picked up a couple of large wild sockeye salmon fillets at Costco this weekend ($9.99/lb). Each was a little over 1-1/2 lbs. I cut one fillet up into portions, wrapped them and froze. The other one I prepared and roasted as a large fillet that I coated first with pesto. I usually use Mezzetta's pesto that comes in a small jar, but Costco had a large jar of their fresh pesto on sale so I decided to pick up a jar to try. It was really good and I would definitely purchase it again. Now, to be honest, I have never really been a big pesto fan. I find the taste to be too intense most of the time, but when you baste the salmon with it before roasting, the pesto cooks and goes from brilliant green to a more muted color and a delicate milder flavor. I do think that the pesto in its fresh state would overpower the mild salmon flavor but it mellows out perfectly when roasted atop the salmon. I typically roast smaller individual portions of salmon for 12 minutes but since I roasted the large fillet intact, I added 3 minutes for a total of 15 minutes which was perfect. You simply brush the salmon fillet with pesto (as much or as little as you like), place it on a foil covered sheet pan and into a preheated 450 degree oven that you immediately reduce to 425 degrees after placing the salmon inside. I roasted it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, removed it from the oven and then immediately covered it with heavy duty foil and allowed it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. It turned out tender, moist and so delicately flavored by the pesto that roasted along with the fillet.

I roasted quartered brussels sprouts tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper on another sheet pan at the same time and they were done at about the same time. I had a large head of fresh cauliflower that I cut up into florets and cooked in 1 cup of water with about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt. I cooked it until tender and then uncovered the pan and turned up the heat and cooked until all the water evaporated. I then added a couple tablespoons half-and-half, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 to 3 ounces of brick style cream cheese and then pureed it with my immersion stick blender in the pan. I absolutely love my stick blender for things like this. I seasoned the mashed cauliflower with salt and pepper to taste. Hubby couldn't stop oohing and awing over how delicious tonight's meal was. It was so good to cook again. Our a/c has been giving us problems over the last 2 weeks (4 service calls and 9 days without a/c in a 2 week period). That is part of the reason I haven't posted much because I haven't wanted to turn the oven on and we've had so much rain that we didn't get to grill other than maybe once I believe! I snapped a few photos our tonight's meal and included the link to the Pesto Roasted Salmon. Enjoy!

        

Grilled Wild Alaskan Salmon w/ Orange Tamari Butter

This weekend we found fresh Wild Alaskan Salmon on our Costco trip. I was so excited to see it again. I picked up a single large 2-pound fillet. This time it was priced at $9.99/lb which is a GREAT price, considering several weeks ago I paid $16.99/lb at Costco. I decided to cook it on the grill since it was so hot here today. It helped to keep the house cool without having to turn the oven on (although you can also roast this salmon in the oven). I whisked together a quick and easy Orange Tamari Butter to brush the salmon with. It was so delicious and mild and did not detract from the delicate flavor of the salmon. I served it with steamed fresh broccoli.

Since we've got quite a bit of rain in our forecast this week, I pounded some boneless chicken breasts and whisked together a quick herby marinade and marinated the chicken all afternoon and went ahead and grilled that alongside tonight's salmon to get a head start on a few meals for the week. I like to cut grilled marinated chicken into chunks and add it on top of a big fresh green salad for a quick and cool weeknight meal. I snapped several photos of tonight's beautiful, fresh and easy meal below. Enjoy!

Grill-Roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon with Orange Tamari Butter

Ingredients:

2 pounds wild salmon fillets (rinsed and patted dry)

3 to 4 tablespoons butter

3 to 4 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1 to 2 tablespoons organic Tamari sauce

Directions:

Preheat grill (or oven) to 425-450 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in orange juice, orange zest, and Tamari sauce. Allow to set for a few minutes until the butter cools a bit and begins to thicken slightly so when you brush it on your salmon fillet, it doesn't roll off.

Place salmon fillets in center of large sheet of foil. Gently crimp and form foil into a packet around salmon fillet to hold butter and juices as it grills (keep packet open on top while roasting). Brush salmon fillets with orange Tamari butter. Carefully place foil packet of salmon on hot grill and close lid. Try and maintain grill temperature between 425 and 450 degrees F. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets. Carefully remove and transfer foil packet to a platter or baking sheet. Crimp and close packet tightly to allow salmon to continue cooking gently off the heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon and drizzle salmon with orange butter juices when serving.

            

Roasted Sweet Mustard Glazed Salmon - Wild Alaskan Salmon

This evening I made the most delicious roasted salmon (yeah, I know I've said that many times before), but it really was! We went to Costco again this past Friday evening and low and behold they had another shipment of Wild Alaskan Salmon! This time they only put 1 fillet per package which I actually prefer. It was $14.99/lb this week, down from the $16.99 last week! I could eat salmon simply roasted with some salt and butter every day, but to keep my hubby and visiting grown salmon loving son from rolling their "salmon again" eyes, I like to keep changing it up a bit. Not enough to overpower the fresh salmon, but rather enhance it. This dish worked like a charm! And it was so very simple to make. I love to take advantage of having fresh wild salmon available since the season is so short. Even though I like using the salmon I've frozen...I prefer it fresh. I have a confession to make...even though I usually do not add any type of sugar to anything, I am going to confess that I did add 1 slightly rounded tablespoon of brown sugar to this glaze. I've made a sugar-free brown sugar substitute in the past using Swerve and a tiny bit of molasses but since I was only using 1 tablespoon to add to glaze for about 2-1/4 pounds of salmon, I decided not to bother and just use the real deal. I hoped it would be enough to help it brown and be "glazey" and it was. You could easily add your favorite sugar substitute in place of the brown sugar or a tiny bit of stevia. You can make it as sweet or as mustardy as you like. Just taste it as you go. Also, this recipe can be easily halved (I used 2 large salmon fillets, but if you only use 1 fillet, simply cut the glaze in half). It turned out AMAZING! I served mine alongside a salad, but for hubby and son, I baked potatoes and made peas to go with theirs. They LOVED it! I snapped a few photos below and included the easy peasy glaze recipe. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Mustard Glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon

Ingredients:

2 large salmon fillets (preferably wild salmon, about 1 to 1-1/4 lbs each)
3 to 4 tablespoons Dijon Mustard (or any good spicy brown mustard)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or substitute your favorite non-sugar sweetener)
Dash of garlic powder
2 or 3 generous dashes of ground Ceylon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse salmon fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Place fillets skin side down on a foil lined baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Taste and make any necessary adjustments to your own taste; if desired add more or less sweetener. Brush or spoon glaze over salmon, spreading and smoothing with back of spoon. Roast at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes. Turn oven to broil and move closer to broiler. Broil 3 to 5 minutes or until glaze is hot and bubbly and just begins to brown. Let salmon sit for a few minutes before serving to allow glaze to set.

*Note: If using only 1 salmon fillet, halve the glaze ingredients.

        

Poached Salmon w/ Pink Moscato Butter Sauce - Wild Alaskan Salmon

This evening I made Poached Salmon with Pink Moscato Butter Sauce. It was absolutely delicious and so very simple to make. If you don't have that particular wine, you can use whatever wine you have on hand or swap it out with fresh orange juice if you don't want any alcohol in the sauce.

The salmon only took 7 minutes to poach (I used about 1 cup of liquid; half water and half wine). I moved the salmon to a platter, then covered it and poured off the poaching liquid. I then used the same skillet to make the easy peasy sauce wine-butter sauce. Hubby and I really enjoyed it and the sauce enhanced the salmon without covering up its delicate flavor. I served our salmon alongside crispy roasted brussels sprouts tossed in oil and seasoned with salt before roasting at 425 for about 12 minutes (tossing once).

I snapped a few photos and included the recipe below. For those of you that have The Fresh Market in your area, they now have fresh Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon available for $16.99/lb which is the same that I paid at Costco. Enjoy!

Poached Salmon w/ Pink Moscato Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds of salmon fillets (approximately 4 6-ounce servings)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Sea salt, to taste
4 tablespoons butter, divided
3 green spring onions (scallions), sliced
1/2 cup Pink Moscato wine (or preferred white or pink wine; or orange juice can be used instead)

Directions:

Arrange salmon fillets in a single layer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Pour water in skillet; season salmon with thyme and salt, to taste. Cover pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, turn heat down and simmer covered over medium heat for approximately 7 minutes. Remove salmon to a platter and cover. Discard poaching liquid.

In same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over low-medium heat. Add scallions and sauté until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour wine into skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking in until melted. Season with salt, to taste. Continue to simmer uncovered for 3 or 4 minutes until sauce reduces and thickens slightly; taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Spoon sauce over top of salmon fillets.

        

Grill Roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon w/ Herb Butter & Greek Yogurt Lemon Dill Sauce

Friday afternoon, I found the first fresh wild Alaskan Salmon at Costco. I was so excited because its the first I've seen it in our area this season. It's definitely coming in later than usual this year. My youngest son, who also happens to love salmon, came for dinner last night. I whisked together a simple herb butter to brush on the salmon before cooking and then roasted the salmon on the grill in open foil packets which only takes about 10 minutes or so to do. I wanted to make a fresh and cool lemon dill sauce to top our salmon with. Most of the dill sauces had either mayonnaise or sour cream, neither of which my son likes so I made one using Fage 5% plain Greek yogurt. It was SO good and fresh tasting and was so easy to stir together and put in the fridge for a bit before preparing dinner. If you like tzatziki, you will love this. It's very much like tzatziki, without cucumbers but you could add cucumber too, if desired. See the easy recipe for salmon below and my Yogurt-Lemon-Dill Sauce in the next paragraph.

My easy recipe for the Greek Yogurt Lemon Dill Sauce is here. In a small bowl, combine the following ingredients: 1 cup plain Greek yogurt; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, 1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sea salt, few generous grinds of black pepper, and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Test taste and adjust seasoning, to taste. Refrigerate and allow flavors to blend.

I hope you are fortunate enough to find yourself some wild Alaskan salmon near you. Check out the photos and easy salmon recipe below. Enjoy!

Grill-Roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter

Ingredients:

2 pounds wild salmon fillets (rinsed and patted dry)

3 to 4 tablespoons butter

1 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoons chopped flat Italian leaf parsley

1 medium lemon, zested and juiced (squeezed juice)

1/4 - 1/2 sea salt, or to taste

1 medium lemon, sliced

Directions:

Preheat grill (or oven) to 425-450 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt 3 to 4 tablespoons butter over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in dill, parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and sea salt, to taste.

Place salmon fillets in center of large sheet of foil. Gently crimp and form foil into a packet around salmon fillet to hold butter and juices as it roasts (keep packet open on top while roasting). Brush salmon fillets with herb butter and place lemon slices on top. Carefully put foil packets of salmon on hot grill and close lid. Try and maintain grill temperature between 425 and 450 degrees F. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets. Carefully remove and transfer foil packet to a platter or baking sheet. Crimp and close packet tightly to allow salmon to continue cooking gently off the heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

            

Easy Poached Wild Copper River Salmon

Tonight we enjoyed poached Wild Alaskan Copper River Salmon for dinner (these are what I had frozen last year). I placed sliced Vidalia Onions and lemon slices in the bottom of a large nonstick skillet, then placed my beautiful “mostly thawed” fillets on top. I seasoned them with sea salt and a bit of dried dill (I didn't have any fresh), then poured 1 cup of white wine over top (you can use half wine, half water or just water if preferred). I covered the pan and placed it on the stovetop over medium-high heat until it began to simmer and then cooked/poached them covered over medium heat for about 7 minutes or until opaque and it flaked easily when pressed with a fork. I served it topped with a pat of butter melting on top. Note that you will never see this brilliant color in any farmed salmon. My motto is eat wild salmon or eat no salmon at all (#justsayNOtofarmedsalmon)! 

I can't wait for this season's fresh salmon to reach our markets here in Atlanta. I called all over the place multiple times last weekend and this past week. I will begin my search for it yet again this weekend! I think that Costco, The Fresh Market, and Whole Foods probably recognize my voice at this point and I'm sure there's a major eye roll that occurs when they hear it. No worries...I just roll my eyes back and sweetly ask if they've received their shipment of wild Alaskan Copper River Salmon yet! Check out my skillet of salmon before I placed it on the stove to cook! Enjoy!

        

Pan Seared Halibut in Brown Butter & Creamed Dijon Spinach

This evening I was looking forward to preparing the remaining 3 fillets of fresh Wild Pacific Halibut. First of all, I really, REALLY love halibut; second of all, it only took 6 minutes to cook (how great is that)! I wanted to change it up a bit from last night so I kept the halibut very simply. I heated 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet until it just began to brown (it was deep golden). I added the 3 fillets that had been seasoned with a pinch of sea salt and few grinds of black pepper and cooked them over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, and then flipped them over and cooked for an additional 3 minutes before transferring them to a plate and covering for about 3 minutes to sit.

Before I cooked the halibut, I prepared the most delicious and easy Creamed Dijon Spinach with the pound of organic baby spinach I had in the fridge (I only cooked about 10 ounces of it). It served as both a delicious side dish to our halibut as well as an amazing creamy Dijon sauce for the fish. The best part is that it required no flour to thicken...only creamed cheese. I used the creamed spinach as a base to place the halibut atop of and then added another spoon of it over the fish, too. You'd be amazed at how great cream cheese substitutes for flour in creamy sauces. I included the easy peasy recipe for the Creamed Dijon Spinach below. Enjoy!

Creamed Dijon Spinach

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 ounces brick style cream cheese
3/4 cup of half-n-half, cream or milk
Pinch of salt, to taste
Few generous grinds of black pepper, to taste
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Dash of garlic powder
1 rounded tablespoon Dijon Mustard (add more if desired)
10 ounces of lightly sautéed baby spinach

Directions:

In a small saucepan over low heat, add butter and cream cheese to soften and melt, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it has softened, whisk it together until smooth; add milk or cream, whisking to blend. Increase heat to low-medium until sauce is hot, then turn back to low. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and Dijon mustard. Whisk together over low heat and heat until hot. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired; add more milk for a thinner sauce or more mustard for a stronger mustard flavor. Stir spinach into sauce and heat through.

*Note: If desired increase amount of spinach to 16 ounces.

        

Pan Seared Wild Pacific Halibut & Oven Fried Vidalia Onion Rings

This evening I prepared the beautiful piece of wild Pacific halibut that I picked up at Costco on Saturday. I went there looking for wild Copper River Salmon but sadly, they had not received a shipment of it yet. I'm hoping they will soon! However, I was excited because they had 3 packages with single large halibut fillets. I picked up the largest 2-pound package and cut it into 6 nice sized fillets. I prepared 3 tonight (the third one is for tomorrow's lunch for me). I kept it simple and pan seared it in butter (with a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning) and fresh lemon juice near the end of cooking. You can find the easy recipe for the pan seared halibut here (it only takes about 7 minutes total, depending on thickness) ---> Pan Seared Wild Halibut.

To go along with our halibut, I made French style green beans and my Oven Fried Onion Rings made with sliced Vidalia onions. I doubled my recipe and made 2 large baking sheets of onion rings; one for tonight and I didn't brown the 2nd tray of onion rings as much so I could just pop the tray of them in the oven to heat to go with tomorrow's dinner. I make a seasoned "breading" using almond flour and a few spices and dip them in an egg/cream wash before coating. This evening I used buttermilk (because I had it on hand) in place of the cream or milk and it made a much thicker "egg wash" that clinged a bit better to the onion rings. They are so delicious...even hubby who isn't an onion lover will eat these. Vidalia's are a sweet onion grown in Vidalia, Georgia. It was a delicious meal and I realized how much I've missed FRESH (not frozen) wild fish. My two favorites are Copper River Salmon (King, Sockeye and Coho) and wild Alaskan and Pacific halibut. Even Spike, our Bichon loves it! He kept sneaking tastes from my plate. I've copied and pasted my recipe for the Oven Fried Onion Rings below. Enjoy!

Oven Baked Onion Rings

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium to large sweet onion, sliced into 1/4" rings (I used Vidalia)

1 or 2 eggs

3-4 Tablespoons half-n-half (or cream, buttermilk or almond milk)

1/2 cup (slightly heaped) almond flour

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika (or enough to give color to the almond flour coating)

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil (I used Reynold's non-stick foil) or you can use parchment paper; brush lightly with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil (no need to use your good Extra Virgin olive oil; I used my light "non-virgin" olive oil for this).  In a small bowl, beat egg and half and half together; season with salt and pepper to taste; add onion rings to the egg mixture, toss and let sit to soak while you make the coating/breading.

In a shallow bowl or plate, mix almond flour, salt and pepper to taste, onion powder, paprika and mix well with a whisk to remove any lumps. 

Take onion rings out, one or two at a time and place in the flour mixture, pressing and turning over with a fork until well coated on both sides.  Place on lightly oiled foil covered baking sheet in a single layer, not touching each other.  Place in oven and bake 7-8 minutes; flip and continue baking another 7-8 minutes or until golden brown and done.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt, if desired.