Semi-Blackened Honey Salmon served alongside Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion

For dinner tonight, I was really in the mood to cook something fierce. I found some salmon on sale at Kroger, and with the help of my new cookbook from Alton Brown ("I'm Just Here for the Food"), I made an attempt to sear the salmon steak. I'm happy to say it was a success. A little sweet, perhaps, but I thought it rocked. I served it with some killer grits, which I made for the first time this last trip to Baton Rouge with Liz. She found it out of a Martha Stewart magazine (I think it was Barefoot Contessa's becipe...but I could be wrong).


Yes this is an odd combo. Sue me. I found the salmon on sale, and have been wanting to make the grits myself since I got back to Athens.

First the grits, which take much longer, and are better to start making first. The recipe Liz found was pretty stellar, except a few of the ingredients seemed a little difficult to obtain (unnecessarily so...typical Contessa if it's hers). For example, it calls for kernels freshly scraped from 2 ears sweet corn. Not everyone has time for this (we sure didn't), so I've used canned corn both times and it tastes just fine (just make sure it's not the creamed kind). Also, Auaker instant grits work fine, but try to get the 15 minute kind versus the 5 minute kind. Gives them more time to "meld" with the rest of the stuff...plus I'm not convinced as to how genuine the 5 minute ones are.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, grated (yes, grated)
  
• 1 cup corn kernels
  
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups water
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup stone‐ground or coarse‐ground grits
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano‐Reggiano cheese
  
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat‐leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Method:

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan
• Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 mins. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally until the kernels become soft, about 2 mins (longer for fresh kernels right off the cob - 5 mins).
• Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over
  high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking
  occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes (has always been shorter for me...you'll know when they're the desired thickness).
  
• Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley, and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
  

And now, for the Salmon. Alton had a recipe for a seared blackened tuna steak. This sounded awesome, and I know that tuna and salmon can be cooked similarly. However, salmon also tastes awesome with a honey glaze, and I wasn't in the mood for a lot of spice, so I modified his spices quite a bit and added a dabble of honey and some chives (leftover from the grits). Whatev. It turned out great. Also, note that there aren't really any measurements for the ingredients. I just sprinkled here and there. It's a spice blend...doesn't have to be exact. I did add more salt than anything else, though (blame Alton, but it worked).

Ingredients

• Salmon steak, 1 inch thick
  
• Coarse black pepper
• Kosher salt
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Dried thyme
• Ground cumin
• Chives
  
• Vegetable oil
• Honey
  

Method:

• Combine all spices and the chives in a container with a lid, and shake to mix thoroughly.
  
• Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it's hot enough to make a drop of water jump (not just sizzle).
• Rub vegetable oil over the sides of the salmon steak, then sprinkle spice mix over both sides, rub in a bit and shake off excess. Drizzle some honey on either side (easiest to put on one side, drop in skillet, and add to the other side while the first one cooks).
• Spritz the skillet with oil just before adding the salmon (I just used some Pam...Alton says it's to ensure even heating as a crust forms). Add the salmon (honey side down, lol) to the pan, and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip, and repeat. This should cook it where it's still a little pink in the middle, so if you want to cook a little longer that's okay (I cooked it longer, and after it rested it was cooked all the way through, so I think the 2 minutes for each is perfectly okay).
  

So that was all well and good. Until I realized there was some awesome juicy bits/sauce in the bottom of the cast-iron skillet. I wondered how I could get those tasty morsels out to pour over my salmon...and then I got a great idea. Fish goes great with white wine, right? Bingo. I poured some white wine into the skillet, scraped up some bits with my wooden spoon, let it reduce about a minute or two, and then poured that over the top of the salmon. Win.

Roasted Red Pepper Rotini Caesar (AKA Three-Color Pasta Salad)

This is a recipe I pulled out last fall for tailgating, and made it again tonight to bring over to Claire's pool for a cookout with her, Crystal, Lauren, and Antoine. I found it on the back of a Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Rotini box, after deciding I wanted to make an easy pasta salad, but one that wasn't so typical. This fit the bill very nicely, and is quite pretty too.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg rotini
• 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, sliced
• 4 cups frozen spinach
• 1 cup Caesar dressing
• Shredded Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper, and salt (to taste)

Method:

• Boil pasta until al dente. Drain.
• Cook spinach according to microwave directions, let cool.
  
• Combine pasta with sliced red pepper and spinach. Toss in Caesar dressing and mix thoroughly.
• Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese (I was a little heavy-handed on the parmesan...but what else is new?) and serve.

Overall this was pretty tasty, looked great, and was one of the easiest sides I've ever made. Definitely will make it again in a pinch.

Whole Wheat Gnocchi with Wild Mushroom Sauce

So I actually made this the same night as the arancini - Jack (my roommate) was grilling some chicken and I had some awesome gnocchi I picked up (DeLallo Whole Wheat Gnocchi) and wanted to try. The recipe I got was from the back of the box, basically. And I modified it a little bit, mostly with addition of beech mushrooms, and some butter. I actually thought it was a mushroom cream sauce, so I was disappointed to discover it wasn't and added extra butter at the end to make it "creamy" (sort of). It worked, though, and turned out quite nicely.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Whole Wheat Gnocchi (16 oz)
  
• 2 tbsp butter (1/4 stick)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (I used one pkg each of baby portobello, beech, and shiitake)
• 1/2 cup diced shallots (I just used a regular onion)
  
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• Grated Parmesan Cheese (to taste)
  

Method:

• Cook gnocchi according to package directions and drain.
• Heat butter and olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  
• Add stock and sage; simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. (Here is where I added another 2 tbsp butter to make it a little more creamy).
  
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add hot gnocchi to sauce in skillet and toss to coat.
• Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

Arancini - "Little Oranges" (AKA Fried Risotto Balls)

So, this isn't really my first thing to make ever, just the first thing I was able to record on this blog. Mom and I discovered this recipe in Rachael Ray's "Big Orange Book" when we were looking to make appetizer's for New Year's Eve. They were a big hit, and I decided to make them again for a friend's housewarming/appetizer party this past Thursday. I think I made them slightly too big, though, but they turned out well anyways.


I followed the recipe as-is, but needed more eggs than suggested (I think that's probably normal with frying). Also, I decided not to make the dipping sauce but instead used a can of Di Milano Classico pasta sauce with sauteed onions and roasted garlic. It worked quite well and saved me a lot of trouble. Finally, I used Italian bread crumbs (because that's what I had on hand) which also gave me a bit more seasoning on the arancini, and I didn't garnish with basil (already in the bread crumb mix and dipping sauce...adding more would have been overkill).

Introduction to Blog

Welcome readers, to a new installment of my adventures in blogging. As a random idea today, I decided to start one on my cooking escapades. Many of you know that I love to cook, and love to try to cook new things. So, to honor that, I'm going to keep record of my cooking escapades so I can look back and remember the great dishes I've made. Also, this lets me share my recipes with those of you unfortunate enough to share in their deliciousness.

I will post the actual recipes for the ones I pretty much make up, or pick out of an obscure magazine/book. The ones that you can basically find on foodnetwork.com or through a mainstream cookbook I'll just describe my deviations (if any). If you really really can't find a recipe I didn't post, I'll give it to you. Just ask!

You're more than welcome to leave comments, suggestions, etc. If you want me to try to make something, send me a link or give me an idea and I'll be happy to try. Enjoy!