Salmon with Lemony Rice

The other day I Googled, "How has COVID changed grocery shopping?".  I looked at few suggested sites and they basically all said the same thing. It seems that people aren't going shopping as often, but when they do, they stock up. Apparently, frozen food is popular. But not stuff like T.V. dinners or burritos in wrappers! Even though some cooking fatigue is setting in, people are buying frozen ingredients to cook with. In the recipe posted here, the salmon and peas came from the freezer section. I followed the package directions by soaking the still vacuum sealed fish until it was thawed, and I ended up throwing the frozen peas directly into the cooking rice.  It all turned out better than fine - it was yummy! Plus, it was something different!

Ingredients and Directions

Lemony Rice - Yields Four 3/4 Cup Servings

4 garlic cloves, minced or put through a press

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 cup rice

1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth

1/3 cup water

1 carrot, peeled and chopped in small pieces

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup frozen peas

Place oil in pan over medium low heat. When oil is warmed, add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.

Add rice and stir well. Pour in broth and water and scrape up any bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Add carrots, pepper and lemon juice. Bring to boil. Turn heat down to low and cover. 

Follow the cooking time on the rice package, and stir in peas during the last five minutes of cooking. 

 

Grilled or Baked Salmon

For each piece of salmon:

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried dill
1 lemon slice
1 teaspoon olive oil

Sprinkle each piece of salmon with the garlic salt, lemon pepper and dried dill. Place a lemon slice on each. Pour the olive oil over the too. Flip the lemon slice over so the seasoning shows.

Grill over medium high heat or grill at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. The fish is done when it flakes easily and doesn’t look translucent and raw inside. The time needed depends on the thickness of the pieces.

 

To serve, spoon 3/4 cup lemony rice on each plate. Place a cooked piece of salmon on top. 

A Trio of Showstoppers for a Triple Celebration

Shrimp Deviled Eggs, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Blue Cheese, and Planked Salmon

Best Showstopper of All:  Watching Grill Master Adam Cook!

                                                         

     As I'm writing this on Friday of  Memorial Day Weekend, I can hardly believe that it's already been two weeks since we celebrated three events on the same day. Allison graduated from college with flying colors; Jenn, who flew in for the graduation, had a birthday along with her cousin Maddie; and it was Mother's Day. Because Jenn's birthday usually falls on or is close to Mother's Day and we have aunts and a grandma that live close by, I am usually the hostess of the get-together.  This year I felt like a guest at my own party because Caroline's boyfriend Adam showed me how to make  planked salmon ever and his version of roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and blue cheese. Uncle Russell brought over a huge salad and assisted Adam with the salmon. I rounded it out with deluxe deviled eggs with shrimp Dijon filling. It was a fabulous meal but the most wonderful part about the day was catching up with the Yates family and seeing the cousins enjoying each other's company. A house filled with love and laughter is really what it's all about  <3

Deviled Eggs with Shrimp and Dijon

Ingredients:

12 hard boiled eggs

1 cup frozen cooked salad shrimp

1/2 cup mayonnaise

                                       2 tablespoons Frank's Hot Sauce                                   

2 tablespoons sliced green onion

1 generous tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional: salad greens and baby dill for garnish

Directions

     Peel the shell away from the hard boiled eggs and slice each one in half. Remove the yolk from each half, place it in a mixing bowl, and set the halves on a serving platter. With a fork mash each yolk.  Add the mayonnaise, hot sauce, green onions, Dijon mustard, and black pepper.  Combine well and gently stir in the all but a few shrimp.  Spoon a teaspoon of the yolk mixture into the well of each egg half. Top with the remaining shrimp. If desired, garnish with a bit of dill. A nice touch is a bed of few greens on the serving platter.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 pieces bacon (I used turkey bacon)

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola)

Optional: Some really good balsamic vinegar to drizzle before serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse and drain the Brussels sprouts.  Peel off the tough outer leaves and cut the tough stem at the base off.  If they are on the large side, cut each Brussels sprout in half and place in baking pan.  Dice up the bacon and sprinkle it over the Brussels sprouts.  Pour the melted butter over the Brussels sprouts and bacon.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from over and distribute the crumbled blue cheese over the top.  Replace in the oven and bake for another five minutes.  Then place on a serving platter and drizzle with a bit of some really good balsamic vinegar if desired.

Planked Salmon

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of salmon per person is more than enough
Dry rub made for salmon
Cedar planks

  

Directions:

     Submerge the cedar planks in water and let them soak for a couple of hours.  Cut the salmon into serving portions and rub the seasoning into each one.  *Uncle Russell brought over a salmon rub made by Weber Grill and everyone loved it.  Adam likes to take the skin off before cooking, but Uncle Russell and Uncle David say to leave it on. Heat the grill up, then lower the temperature to 350 or low to medium low.  Place the empty planks on the grill for 3 minutes.  Then turn them over and place the salmon pieces on them.  Close the cover and continue to cook for 20 minutes.  Keep a watch on the temperature and try to keep adjusting the heat so it stays close to 350 degrees.  It's best to cook it low and slow.  After 20 minutes, check a piece of salmon to see if it flakes with a fork in the thickest part.  If its not ready, give it more time and keep checking it often - just be careful not to over cook it.  

Jenn & Julia's Salmon & Sauce



      I think its great that Jenn and her close friend Julia like to cook.  It turns out that they are pretty good at it too!  About every other week, they meet, go to the grocery store, go over to one of their apartments, and then cook up a storm. Occasionally, they will go over to Julia's parent's house and cook for them - especially when all the siblings are home!   One of the girls' favorite things to make is baked salmon and Cucumber Dill Sauce that goes so well with it.  This sauce recipe comes from the very first cooking class my mom and I ever went to; it was held at a little shop called The Kitchen Door and was in the basement of Glendale Mall.  The store is long gone, but I still have the typed up hand out which says this says goes great with salmon pie, crab cakes, and shrimp.  The girls bake the salmon with a pinch of seasoning salt, dill, a lemon slice, and just a bit of butter to make it extra delicious. 

Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill

Ingredients:

Salmon pieces, about 4 ounces per person

A lemon slice for each salmon portion

1/8 teaspoon of seasoning salt for each portion

1/8 teaspoon of dried dill or 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill for each portion

1 teaspoon pat of butter for each portion

Directions:

For each piece of fish, sprinkle the seasoning salt and the dill over the top.  Put a lemon slice on each serving, then place the pat of butter on the that.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the salmon is opaque and flaky.

Cucumber Dill Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 of an unpeeled cucumber, seeded and cubed into small pieces

1 tablespoon finely diced white or yellow onion

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh dill

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and then lengthwise again.  Scoop out the seeds and cube the cucumber into small pieces.  Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.