Coriander-Encrusted Salmon

This recipe from the previously maligned Modern Indian Cooking was for salmon with a sort of cucumber salsa on the side. The salsa was okay -- cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and peppers tossed with lime juice, oil, salt, and a little honey. But the salmon preparation was so excellent and simple that I intend to ditch the salsa and try a variety of salmon accompaniments and versions in the future.

I used two 1/2-lb filets of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon. The recipe is just:

Crush roughly in a mortar and pestle:

3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala

Salt and pepper the fish and then coat it on one side with the coriander-garam masala mixture. Then spray the encrusted fish lightly with olive oil cooking spray on both sides. This last step wasn't in the original recipe, but I think it was essential. The recipe called for a pan-searing, but I cooked it on a hot grill and it worked great. The spray kept it from sticking to the grate.

On grill, cook coriander side down until the seeds are toasty and not yet burnt. Flip the fish and cook until done.

Anything with cilantro in it will work nicely with the coriander seeds.

Making Menus

I love making menus. I feel so happy when the balance is just right, using ingredients I have on hand—menu-making is not a success if I have to run to the store. Yet I don’t care to do too much meal-planning in advance, preferring to await inspiration as I get hungry or the important guest meal approaches.

I have a friend who wanted a menu cookbook, because she could never decide what to serve with anything. Wow. I like menu suggestions, they’re fun, but of course I always change them.

Katherine told me about an extended-family backyard picnic she served a few weeks ago. This seemed just perfect for that kind of summer occasion:

Pulled pork
Ciabatta rolls
Green chili macaroni and cheese
Baked beans
Pea and peanut cole slaw
Cucumbers and onions in sour cream dressing
Brownies and a heaping bowl of fresh, cleaned strawberries

I was pleased with last night’s dinner menu:

Cold Poached Salmon with Mustard Sauce
White Bean Salad
Cucumbers in Vinegar
Blueberry Tart

White Bean Salad

1/2 pound dried white beans (or canned cannelini beans)
1 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves

Soak beans in water to cover overnight. Drain and rinse. Add fresh water and cook beans with bay leaves until tender. Drain; discard bay leaves; salt to taste.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
1 white onion, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Heat olive oil in large skillet and sauté onions and garlic until brown and very tender, about 30 minutes.

4 plum tomatoes, cubed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Gently combine beans and onion mixture with tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.

Salmon, Red Potatoes, Chard--and Aioli

I took the shortcut tonight and made an aioli-type sauce based on mayonnaise, mixed with yogurt to make it lighter--after all, farmed salmon is fatty enough already, no point in adding an extra cup or two of olive oil. The menu tonight was roasted salmon with basil aioli, roasted red potatoes, swiss chard with onions and garlic, and fresh raspberries.

Over the last couple of days we've had red chile enchiladas with chorizo, guacamole salad; tofu with red curry sauce on a bed of cabbage; and many beautiful cherry tomatoes from the garden.

Basil Aioli Sauce for Salmon

Chop finely, or use food processor:

2 tablespoons fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

2 anchovy fillets

Juice and rind of 1/2 lemon

Several dashes hot pepper sauce

Stir into:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Salt and pepper to taste

(Con)Fusion Cuisine

I failed to come up with a unified menu last night. Various things in the refrigerator cried out to be used NOW. I ended up with Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and Iowa foods: Teriyaki Salmon; pasta with pesto; a pico de gallo with garden cherry tomatoes, olives, jalapeno, cilantro, yellow bell pepper and possibly something else; and corn on the cob.

Teriyaki marinade transforms the most mundane farmed salmon, and it's so easy!

Teriyaki Salmon

Salmon fillets

Soy sauce

White vermouth
Chopped ginger
Garlic
Brown sugar or honey

Mix ingredients and marinate salmon for about a half hour. Drain and reserve marinade. Boil it or nuke the liquid for a couple of minutes to make it safe from the raw fish, strain, and serve as a sauce.

Broil, grill, or roast the salmon until just cooked through. Serve with teriyaki sauce and rice.

Grilled Salmon with Winter Tomato Relish

I'm calling this "winter tomato relish" because it contains only fresh things which you can reliably find at most grocery stores in early March and that don't taste insipid and awful: cherry tomatoes, red onions, garlic, parsley, and fresh lime juice, plus salt and pepper and olive oil. I can think of a whole lot of fresh herbs I'd like to put in there, but I didn't have any, because it's early March.

As fresh dinners go, this was really easy. An hour before dinner I made the relish and started the grits. If you keep the heat quite low, after the first five minutes you only have to stir slow-cooking grits every 10 or 15 minutes to incorporate the skin that forms on the top. An hour was just long enough for the relish flavors to blend well (at room temperature, of course). I finished the grits up with a little parmesan cheese and half-and-half. Then I grilled the salmon, sliced up an avocado, and assembled the plates.

Birthday Dinner Party

We had some friends over Thursday for a pretty simple meal: grilled salmon, ginger-scallion noodles, and steamed sesame broccolini. And because it was a birthday dinner, and the birthday boy (what's the adult equivalent of that term? Birthdayed one? Birthdayee?) can't eat dairy, for dessert we had a dairy-free chocolate mousse cake with lemon sorbet and raspberries.

I made the cake the night before, and everything else was pretty easy to fix after work, so it was a good stress-free night. I wish the food had been a little more interesting, but we had fun. It went well with beer and Jameson.

Every time I take a picture of food, Lawson tries to stick his finger in the frame. So I'll give him this one. Let's hope it doesn't encourage him to greater heights of interference.

And as promised, Mom, here is the beautiful platter you and Dad gave me piled high with noodles. I love it.

Food Day

Today was food-filled. I took Grandma shopping to our local Sprouts market, which was packed with beautiful, inexpensive produce as usual: strawberries, 4 quarts for $5; leeks, 99 cents a pound; peaches, 69 cents, Bartlett pears, 59 cents. Wild, fresh Alaska salmon has been plentiful this summer, and once was even as low as $6 a pound. I also hit the supermarket to complete my list (I got reduced-price farmed salmon for Emily--after all she is a dog).

Since I was going out to an evening meeting, I decided on a cold supper. I poached the salmon and chilled it, and boiled Yukon Gold potatoes to slice and serve cold. With both I served this sauce:

Mustard-Dill Sauce

2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh snipped dill

This time I used fresh tarragon, fresh parsley, and dried dill, and I added chopped cucumbers.

We also had Katherine's Caprese Salad with Corn, and fresh strawberries. And homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Caprese Salad with Corn

Small fresh mozzarella balls
Cherry tomatoes
Basil leaves
Corn kernels scraped from an ear of roasted corn

Dress with a little olive oil, wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

While fiddling with dinner, I baked cookies; cooked a batch of barley in the crockpot outside (to use in dog food); and started the dough for a loaf of slow bread.

Today is a much lazier food day. We're eating out for lunch, watching a baseball game, and possibly eating some pasta for supper if we can find room.

Recovery

We had commercial take-out pizza Saturday night, and it made me rededicate myself to cooking fresh, unsalty things. It was horrible. Rubbery cheese, doughy crust, and salt—help, I’m obsessing about this pizza! I’m going to have nightmares!

Now, on to the antidotes. Tonight we had a little fillet of fresh silver salmon from Alaska, caught by our neighbor on a fishing expedition. I prepped it with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then spread on a mixture of sambal and brown sugar before broiling. With it we had a thoroughly baked sweet potato—soft, unctuous—and this wonderful green bean salad from the Jack Bishop cookbook.

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

Lightly cook enough fresh young green beans for 2 to 4 people. Drain and cool.

Then mix:

2 ripe tomatoes, cut in ½ inch dice
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Black olives
Minced parsley
Chopped walnuts

Add green beans and top with
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

The night immediately following the pizza incident we had the vegetable curry pictured above, with a cucumber/green onion/rice vinegar salad and brown rice, followed by champagne grapes. We’re feeling better now.

More Dog Food

Some of my most successful cooking lately has been for Emily. After she got sick from commercial dog food, we decided we would take the trouble to make homemade food for the rest of her life. It has been rewarding--Emily thinks I am a fabulous cook! She eats with obvious relish and admires everything I do in the kitchen.

I often make ground turkey/brown rice/frozen mixed vegetables; yesterday it was chicken/bulgur/peas/corn; but today's dinner reached new heights: salmon/oatmeal/grated carrots.

I make a batch of several meals and freeze it in pint Ziploc bags.

Tomato Toast

Here is this morning’s version of Tomato Toast, a breakfast I make almost weekly with whatever is in the house. Today’s layers: whole wheat toast, Brie, sliced tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and Parmesan—all broiled until melty and brown.

Last night we had a simple meal of salmon, baked potatoes, and home-grown Swiss chard with garlic and jalapenos, followed by fresh strawberries and a piece of dark chocolate. Fresh wild fish is getting more rare and expensive every day. I have concerns about farmed fish and I don't know where to get any accurate information about safety--everything on the web about it seems to be written either by industry advocates or fringe food alarmists.

Tonight I’m going to experiment with a rolled, boned, and stuffed turkey breast. The stuffing will have bread and spinach, and I think it’s roasted on a bed of vegetables which are then used to make gravy. I’ll let you know how it is.

Lucky dog Emily will also get a turkey meal tonight. I’m sort of enjoying making dog food, since she so obviously relishes it. Bon appetit, Emily.