Grilled Salmon with a Mustard-Horseradish Sauce

Back in June, the cover of Food and Wine had this yummy looking grilled salmon, and ever since then, I've wanted to make it.  Harris Teeter had salmon on sale earlier this week so I picked up a pound fillet and decided to give it a whirl.  I've never done any glazes on the grill, and in the end, I did overcook it a bit (but you know me, if it isn't twitching, it's overcooked).  Rick stayed at home tonight so that he could pack for his weekend at his parents' house which left me, the salmon, the grill, and some Project Runway.  The recipe for the salmon is on the Food and Wine website. 

For the side, I decided to make a simple cucumber salad (which was one cucumber peeled and deseeded with my trusty melon baller; 1/4 of a sweet onion thinly, thinly, thinly sliced; dill; cider vinegar; salt; pepper; and a little sugar) to go with the salmon.  For something that I just threw together, it turned out really well! I love it when that happens.  

I did have one panic moment during my meal prep. I was getting everything together, and I realized that I didn't have any prepared horseradish!  The bottle that I thought that I had was a Rick's place.  Luckily, the new Harris Teeter is so close!  I was able to grab some (and a bottle of wine happened to jump in my hands on the way to the seafood counter where I found the horseradish) and be home before dark!

The final result was really good even though the glaze didn't turn out as well for me as it did for magazine cover, but it was still delicious.  I added a little dill to the salmon when I was adding the salt and pepper prior to grilling.  I definitely want to make the sandwich that was in the magazine for Rick and I, too!  I had a realization about this meal just now...I think that this is first thing that I've made without garlic in forever!

Here's what I did.

Grilled Salmon with a Mustard-Horseradish Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 

1/4 cup prepared horseradish, drained 

2 tablespoons honey 

1 pound salmon fillet, cut into 3 pieces

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Dill (either dried or fresh)

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

In bowl, mix mustard, horseradish, and honey together.  

Rub extra virgin olive oil on both sides of the salmon.  Season the top of the salmon with salt, pepper, and dill.  

Grill the salmon over moderate heat, skinned side down, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and grill for 3 minutes longer, until the salmon is almost cooked through.  Flip salmon and spread some of the mustard sauce over the fish.  Turn and grill until glazed (about 30 seconds).  Remove from grill and serve with remaining mustard sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish

For the past few weeks, I've actually been working out and trying to do something about the weight that I've put on since I went to nursing school.  Last week, I told Rick that we were going on a diet, and he wasn't too thrilled.  He told me that diets never worked, but I'm not talking about some fad diet.  I'm talking about eating better.  One of the good things about living in the Lowcountry is that the warm weather allows us to grill for more months than some of my more Northern friends.  Unfortunately, though, we are now entering what I like to call the "Oppressively Hot" time of the year.  It starts around my birthday (which is next week, btw) and goes until some time toward the end of August.  Luckily, the evenings aren't so bad which makes it a little bit easier to eat healthier!

For dinner last night, I was browsing the Cooking Light recipes on myrecipes.com when I came across this recipe.  Ever since I made that chicken with corn salsa, I'm a sucker for anything with a corn salsa or relish or whatever the recipe wants to call the corn goodness on top! I actually used the chicken with corn salsa recipe to help me out a bit because I didn't have the Anaheim peppers like the original recipe called for (and I also decided to add a minced garlic clove, too...I can't help it!!!). I did end up using the leftover relish on chicken tonight (it makes a lot!), and it was quite yummy!!  

Here's what I did...

Grilled Salmon with Roasted Corn Relish

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon, seeded jalapenos, chopped

Butter

3  shucked ears corn

1 can diced tomato, drained

1/4  cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice from 2 limes
1 clove of garlic, minced

1  teaspoon  salt, divided

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided

1  teaspoon  ground cumin

1 pound skinless salmon fillets

Directions

Butter corn.  Place corn on grill rack (I used a grill basket that I use for all the veggies that we do all our veggies on) ; grill  until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Cool and cut kernels from cobs.

Combine jalapenos, corn, garlic, tomato, cilantro, and juice; toss gently. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cumin, stirring well. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of salmon. Place salmon on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with relish.

Enjoy!

Crispy Skin Salmon with Fiery Asian Slaw

I have to apologize again for being somewhat MIA this past week, but a business trip took me to Chicago for several days and away from our kitchen.  Something kinda amusing happened, though. This seafood place near the hotel where I was staying was featuring catfish from my hometown, Hickory, North Carolina one night.  Since I've moved to the coast, I rarely eat seafood away from home except for the occasional trip to a one of the local fish camps when I head inland to visit my parents in Hickory.  Anyway, I had to laugh a little bit to myself when I saw that they were featuring catfish from Hickory, and I immediately emailed my mom to let her know and ask her about it.  Where did these catfish come from?  Lake Hickory?  Umm, yuck.  She said that she thought they were probably farm raised which would make sense (and sound much more appealing to me).  

Anyway, when I returned from Chicago, Rick and I planned our meals for the weekend.  I headed to Publix to get the groceries while he headed to his place to clean up the mess that the people who had come to view his place earlier that day.  One of the meals that we planned on doing was from a recipe on myrecipes.com from the September 2009 issue of Cooking Light.  It was another one featuring and Asian style slaw, and this one added a little heat to it.  Once again, myrecipes.com didn't let us down, and the meal turned out great!  Rick wants to add it to our repertoire because it was delicious and good for us, too!  I really liked the orange juice with the fish.  I can't wait to make it.  Now, just gotta figure out what to go with the extra cole slaw!  I did up the vinegars and chili sauce in the slaw, and I added a little bit of sesame oil to it. The piece of salmon that I used was smaller than the original recipe required, and it turned out to be perfect for the two of us!  All in all, a very yummy and super quick meal...perfect for the week nights!

Here's what we did...

Crispy Skin Salmon with Fiery Asian Slaw

Ingredients

1 piece 12 oz of salmon

Cooking spray

1/4  cup  fresh orange juice

2  tablespoons  rice vinegar

2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar

1  tablespoon  olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2  teaspoons  Sriracha (hot chile sauce)

1  teaspoon  ground ginger

1/2  teaspoon  honey

1/2  cup  chopped fresh cilantro

1  16 oz package cole slaw

1  tablespoon  toasted sesame seeds

Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine rice vinegar and next 6 ingredients (through honey) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add  1/2 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and coleslaw; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Place in the refrigerator while cooking the fish.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon fillets evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add salmon to pan, skin side down; cook 4 minutes. Turn salmon over; cook 3 minutes. Add orange juice to pan; cook until liquid almost evaporates and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Enjoy!