Salmon with Asparagus

We enjoy fish dinners that's no secret. 

Salmon is one of our favorite types of fish  to prepare largely due to its versatility and taste, not to mention health benefits. A favorite vegetable we enjoy is asparagus, especially when readily available in local markets. 

Finding a recipe that combined both of these favorite foods and was also (very) easy made this a perfect meal. And, it's really very good as well.

This recipe is from Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen and as the title states, it serves 2 people.

Salmon with Asparagus and Herb Dressing

• 2 (4 to 8 oz.) skin-on salmon fillets, 1-1/2 in. thick
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1 TBSP unsalted butter
• 8 oz. thick asparagus, trimmed
• 4 tsps lemon juice
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 2 tsp minced fresh parsley, basil or mint
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1. Pat salmon dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay fillets skin side up in skillet, cook about 5 minutes until well browned on first side. Use tongs and gently flip over, reduce heat to medium and cook until center of fish is still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife. Transfer to serving plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil.
2. Wipe skillet clean. Add butter and 1 teaspoon olive oil and heat over medium heat until butter melts. Add half of asparagus to skillet with tips pointed in one direction and other half with tips pointed in opposite direction. Sprinkle with salt and shake into even layer.
3. Cover and cook about 5 minutes until spears are bright green and still crisp. Uncover, increase heat to high and continue cooking, 5 to 7 minutes, until spears are tender and well-browned on one side. use tong to move spears from center of skillet to edge of pan to ensure that all are browned.
4. Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, parsley, and mustard in small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer asparagus to plate and add fillets then drizzle with dressing and serve.
   

Both Grenville and myself gave this dish a forks up. It will definitely be on a future dinner menu.

When asparagus are no longer available, I will substitute fresh green beans.

Smoked Salmon Scramble

Smoked salmon and cream cheese are a classic combo that's usually served on a bagel. This recipe has the combo warmed up with the addition of scrambled eggs for a delicious and healthful breakfast treat!

We are both salmon fans so this South Beach recipe was a great "find." The only "problem" is that smoked salmon can be costly, so it won't be a regular breakfast meal — but it's a wonderful and (did I mention) delicious weekend treat. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Smoked Salmon Scramble

• 1 tsp canola oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 oz smoked salmon cut into thin strips
• 1 oz reduced fat cream cheese, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 TBSP finely chopped chives
• Freshly ground peppercorns (optional)

1. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add eggs and allow to set (10 seconds).
3. Sprinkle salmon, cream cheese and chives over eggs.
4. Scramble until just cooked, about 1 minute. Season to taste with pepper.

Photo courtesy of South Beach Quick and Easy Cookbook (because we ate ours too quickly).

Cod Cakes with Scallions and Herbs

THANKS to all for comments left on Grenville’s recent post  recounting our first date. It was a very memorable date and one which bears annual celebration, which we do as Grenville & Beatrice and also as Pat & Dorothy.

Chicken is a dinner meal favorite at The Frog & PenguINN because of its versatility. Fish is a close second for meals so when I came across this recipe in a Food & Wine Cookbook, Quick from Scratch, last week we added cod fillets to our weekend shopping list and tonight these were the main dinner course.
Cod Cakes with Scallions and Herbs
This recipe was easy once all the chopping prep work was done. Prepare the Lemon Mayonnaise (see below) ahead of time. I used 1 lb. of cod fillet, but this recipe calls for 2 lbs., so if using less, adjust as necessary. Serves 4 as presented here.

• 2 lbs. cod fillet
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1-1/2 C bread crumbs
• ¼ C mayonnaise
• ¼ C lemon juice (best with fresh lemons)
• 1 egg, beaten to mix
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped fine
• 4 scallions, including green tops, chopped
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil (substituted dry)
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne

1. Put 1 inch of water in large frying pan. Add ¼ tsp of the salt and bring to simmer. Place cop in pan, cover and cook 6 minutes, until just done. Remove cod from water and cool. Pour out water and wipe pan.
2. Flake cod into a large bowl, removing any bones. Add ¾ C of bread crumbs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, egg, red pepper, scallions, basil, parsley, bail, cayenne and black pepper. Mix well until combined.
3. Divide cod mixture into 12 portions (fewer if you want larger cod cakes) and shape into patties. Coat them with remaining ¾ C of bread crumbs and pat off excess.
4. In frying pan, heat about ¼ inch of oil over moderate heat. Working in batches, if needed, fry cakes until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Turn over and fry on other side, about 2 minutes longer. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon mayonnaise.

Lemon Mayonnaise
Stir ingredients together in small bowl and put on cod cakes.

• ½ C mayonnaise
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper

ENJOY ! (we did)

Salmon Dinner

Salmon was on the Frog & PenguINN menu last week and here’s an easy dry rub courtesy of Tammy who posted it on Simple Southern Happiness. Check out her blog and click on the Good Eats section for mouth-watering recipes. But don’t look if you’re hungry because Tammy also posts awesome photos that look good enough to eat!

Note that for this dry rub, I estimated the amount of seasonings needed. Also I used smoked paprika and substituted dried nutmeg.

Prepare dry rub of dried garlic, paprika, dash of fresh nutmeg, and pinch of salt. Rub ingredients on salmon, wrap in plastic wrap, and marinate overnight in fridge.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on salmon and bake until done. Cooking time varies depending on the size and thickness of the fish; ours took about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with dill and pour pan juices on salmon before serving.

While we often serve salmon with a side of wild rice and vegetable, this meal was enjoyed with fresh beets from friends (thanks Matt and Grace) and green beans from last year’s harvest (thanks Grenville).

AND, a big thanks to Tammy for posting this wonderfully easy salmon rub. We’re planning a repeat soon.

Salmon with Horseradish Topping

A couple of weeks ago, Grenville and I resolved to stop the problem of our shrinking attire and returned to eating foods recommended on the South Beach Diet®. We already had the assorted recipe books from previous melt-downs.

Of course, we could have just stopped putting clothes in the dryer as Grammie G had suggested, and even though of putting ourselves on spin dry.

Results to date – 18 pounds down (combined) with Grenville being the winner, so far.  And, Grenville announced that he’s nearly ready to pull out his Speedos – a frightening thought that won’t be shown in this blog, nor will my bikini.

We’re been eating seafood, chicken, beef – all allowed, but no grains, starches, or fruit (at least for the first 2 weeks). Here’s a favorite recipe using 2 things we enjoy: salmon and horseradish – delicious when combined.

Salmon with Horseradish Sauce

• 2 salmon pieces (about 10 oz.)
• ¼ C dry white wine
• 2 TBSP chopped onion
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 C water
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 2 tsp sour cream
• 1 tsp flour
• 1 tsp chopped fresh mint (use dill or parsley as a substitute)

1. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, combine white wine, water, onion, lemon juice, peppercorns. Cook over med-high heat until comes to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to med-low, add salmon, cover & simmer until salmon flakes easily when tested with fork (about 5-6 min.)
3. While salmon cooks, prepare horseradish sauce. In small bowl combine sour cream, horseradish, flour, mint, white pepper. Stir to combine & set aside.
4. Transfer salmon to serving platter and keep warm.
5. Pour cooking liquid through sieve into bowl, discard solids.
6. Return to skillet and cook over med-high heat until comes to a boil. Stir in horseradish sauce.
7. Reduce heat and cook, stirring often, until mixture thickens. Pour over salmon & serve.

This is really simple to prepare and wonderful served with a side vegetable of fresh wilted spinach or steamed broccoli.

Bon Appétit

– From your shrinking (we hope) fellow bloggers –

So what did i see at the Aquarium????

Most folks don’t believe that i do take pictures some times, even me. BUT i did take some pictures on our adventure, of course not nearly as great as the Princess’ Photo Art. Like Beatrice said, my interest is in marine science but not necessarily in fish (unless they are breaded and deep fried). I’m one of those guys that is caught between the estuary and the deep blue sea. Or to put it another way, in water that is not more than waist deep and nice and muddy. And the critters i like the best usually have no backbone (Invertebrates), and live in the mud.

So here are some pictures of critters that i found interesting.

When i saw this ‘Moon Jelly’ i remembered that we skipped lunch, but i couldn’t find any ‘Peanut Bunkers’ to make a quick sandwich (a fish joke)

This guy was supposed to be in ‘Casablanca’ to say “Here’s looking at you sweetheart”. The director felt he looked down; another fish joke. He is a ‘Look Down’; Sorry!!!

Next time there will be lots of Marsh scenes.