Guest Griller!

           

           Welcome back dear reader!  I apologize for the seeming sabbatical I took from cooking last week.  I began Monday with all the new school year resolve I could muster, but found being alone in the evenings and cooking for one was, well, downright depressing.  Not only that, but when you do cook for one, it seems you can live off of leftovers for quite some time.  This, of course, is what I did until my mother arrived on Thursday to take me out for a proper meal.

            By Saturday, I was ready to celebrate a serious rare fall occurrence…Chris had Sunday off!  So off to the Farmer’s market and store I went in search of ingredients for our celebratory dinner.  While both outings were successful in their own right, I must admit that I had to laugh at myself when taking stock of my Farmer’s market finds which included fresh honey, some butternut squash, fresh cut flowers, and a headband.  This alerted me that I have not yet arrived in my quest for culinary stardom. Maybe some things will never change.  Perhaps a Farmer’s market will always be to me an equal opportunity environment for picking up not just produce, but art and jewelry as well.

             Armed with all the necessary ingredients and supplies, I enlisted my partner in crime to aid in the preparation of “Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Mustard Glaze.”  When I say enlisted, I should really say that I recruited my husband to turn on the grill and give me a brief tutorial on its proper use.  This is indeed the same man who knows how to run our complex coffee pot, which I have not yet began to wrap my brain around…but that for another day.

            While the meal sounds complex, I assure you that it was not!  I honestly had a more difficult time locating some of the ingredients at the grocery store as I did combining them for this meal.  The result was delicious salmon served with orzo and pineapple which earned not only a two thumbs up from Chris, but moved him in such a way that he cleaned up the kitchen afterwards! 

            The recipe was taken from a cookbook I purchased called Cooking Light-the essential dinner tonight cookbook.  Not only does this cookbook provide healthier meal options, but it solves my “what not to pair” dilemma by giving a recipe and suggesting appropriate sides.  Were you honestly thinking I had come up with the orzo and pineapple? 

            Below is a step-by-step account of how to try this for your self.  I highly recommend enlisting the help of a good-looking man/grill master…

Slainte!

Recipe:

Salmon:

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)

1½ teaspoons minced garlic

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:

¼ cup apricot nectar (I could not locate this at the store and omitted and it turned out great!)

¼ cup apricot preserves (I did more than this due to not being able to locate the nectar)

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1-½ teaspoons white wine vinegar

1-½ teaspoons honey

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Spray

Steps:

1. Prepare grill
2. To prepare fish, sprinkle fillets with garlic, kosher salt, and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. To prepare glaze, combine nectar and the next 6 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to ¼ cup (about 10 minutes).  Remove from heat; set aside.
4. Place fillets, skin side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray.  (Also have good-looking man explain how to spray on the cooking spray without letting the can catch fire).  Grill 2 minutes; carefully turn over, and grill 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.  Brush each fillet with the glaze; grill 30 seconds.

Sides:

-Orzo; cook orzo as instructed while the glaze for the salmon is simmering.  After draining, combine with fresh spinach, butter, kosher salt, and black pepper.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

-Freshly cut pineapple; do I really need to expand here?

*Serving with St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale (found at the Still) was the cherry or should I say apricot on top of this delicious meal!

Enjoy!