.salmon w/ cheesy crumb topping.

I have a very easy, delicious recipe for you.  Salmon with a cheesy, crumb topping.  I received this month's issue of Woman's Day a week ago and while flipping through it came across this recipe.  I tweaked it a little because I didn't have everything they listed, but it was very good and something I will be making again.

I realized I don't make nearly enough fish and that's something I want to fix.  Paige isn't quite excited about the plan though, but she did eat the salmon, and picked off the cheesy topping.  Go figure.

In a mixing bowl, put 1 8oz package cream cheese (I used low fat), 1 cup bread crumbs (fresh preferred), 1 tsp dill, 1 tsp thyme, 1 clove minced garlic, and a little salt and pepper.

Cut a salmon fillet into individual pieces and put in a baking dish that has been drizzled with olive oil.  Make sure you put the skin side down.

Spoon the cream cheese topping on top of the salmon.  Use your finger to push around if you need to.  Pop in a 350* oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  When the flesh is a light pink the salmon is done. 

So super easy and healthy, and delicious.  While the salmon was in the oven, I sauteed some fresh spinach leaves with a little olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.  I put a spoonful on the plate and rested some salmon right on top.  Delicious!

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_1443bjqm8cb

.salmon asparagus lasagna.

A couple weeks ago, I had a little food challenge here where I had people leave the three ingredients they'd like to see used in a dish. The winning ingredients were salmon-asparagus-fresh mozzarella. I thought about it awhile and decided to try making a spin on lasagna. Here's the dish I came up with!



CHEESE FILLING:

Ricotta cheese. Don't use this big of a container. I had tons leftover.
Put it in a bowl.

Break in one egg.
Add salt and pepper.

Grate 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese. Add to bowl.

Cut up about 4-5 asparagus spears. I cut them at a diagonal for visual interest.
We need to blanch these so put a pot of water on to boil.

Dump the asparagus into the hot water and let boil for about 3 minutes. Pull out using a serrated spoon and dumping them immediately into a bowl of ice water. This will stop them from cooking.

Add the asparagus to the cheese mixture. Stir everything together.
Set aside.

I wasn't sure how the sauce would cook these noodles (when I make normal lasagna I don't pre-boil my pasta). Go ahead and cook them according to the package and set aside.



LEMON DILL SAUCE:

Mince a few cloves of garlic.

In a saucepan, heat some olive oil. Add the garlic and 1 tsp dill weed. Saute for a minute to release the flavors.

Add 1/4 cup lemon juice.

In a bowl, mix together 4 cups milk and 1/2 cup flour. Whisk well to get rid of all the lumps.

Pour the milk/flour mixture into the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until the sauce begins to thicken.

It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add 1 Tbsp butter and stir in. This will give the sauce a little richness in flavor.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.

Take salmon fillets and using your knife, cut at a 45 degree angle. We want really thin slices of salmon here. Set all the salmon slices on a plate. We're ready to start putting everything together!

Take your baking pan and put some of the sauce on the bottom.

Put down some lasagna noodles.

Put down a layer of thinly sliced salmon.

Use a spoon to spread out some of the ricotta cheese/asparagus mix.
Repeat the process until your pan is full. SAUCE - PASTA - SALMON - RICOTTA

Take 1 lb of fresh mozzarella cheese and grate. If you're working with a cheese like this that is really soft, put it in the freezer for about half hour. This will firm it up a little, making it easier to grate.

Top the lasagna off with the cheese.
Put this in the oven at 350* for about half hour or so.

What you're looking for is a wonderful golden top. Pull from the oven and let sit for about 5-10 minutes before serving. This will help everything firm up a little.
Cut and serve. I made caesar salad to go with this.
A wonderful variation! I made enough lasagna to make two so one is in the freezer waiting to be cooked at a later date. Enjoy!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_59ffssq5ck

.grilled cumin salmon with chipotle blackberry sauce.

I'm on my kick again to find a signature dish to prepare for Chef Gordon Ramsey when and if I ever decide to go on Hell's Kitchen. Since I am a native Seattle-ite, I thought I would try creating something that screams "Pacific Northwest" but put my own creative spin on it.

So what could be more Seattle-ish than salmon (KING salmon.. not that Atlantic salmon stuff) and blackberries?

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

• Salmon fillets
• Fresh blackberries
• Chipotle pepper
• Cumin
• Shallot
• Lemon
• Chardonnay
• Cilantro
• Salt and Pepper

Let's make the sauce, shall we?

Begin by mincing finely one shallot. I made a little extra because I made a risotto to go with the salmon.

In a blender, put 2 cups blackberries, 1 cup chardonnay wine, and 1 chipotle pepper.

Puree.

Pour the puree into a sieve and strain. You'll need to move the liquid around with a rubber spatula or something because it's thick. The seeds like to clog up the sieve.

In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil. Saute the shallot for about 30 seconds before pouring in the strained blackberry puree.

Cook over medium heat until the sauce has been reduced and is thick like bbq sauce.

While the sauce is reducing, cut one lemon in half and rub on the salmon. This will give the cumin something to stick to. Rub cumin on top.

Put on the BBQ grill, skin side down. Cook on that side for about 7-8 minutes. Flip and grill the top. Don't do it the other way around because the flames from the grill will burn it to a crisp. The skin helps protect the fish. If the skin is charred, that's okay! You're not going to eat it anyway.

Man my husband does a great job on the grill. Look at these beauties! The salmon will be firm but not hard. If it's spongy, your salmon is going to be raw in the center.

Do a rough chop on the cilantro.

This will be the garnish.

Plate your salmon . Spoon on some of the blackberry sauce. Garnish with fresh blackberries and cilantro.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_39c5ztz2cc