Honey-Balsamic Glazed Salmon

This post doesn't require a lot of explanation. All I really need to say is this: this is probably my favorite dinner. To say that I love it is an understatement. The glaze is unbelievably good--the perfect mix of sweet, spicy, and tangy. It is fast and easy to throw together but tastes incredible--perfect for company or to mix up the weekly dinner rotation. My favorite way to serve the glaze is over salmon, quinoa and pan-fried spinach (it makes for a super healthy and delicious meal!), but it's also fantastic with chicken, rice, roasted potatoes, veggies, spinach...you really can't go wrong here.


A few notes:
1. I have made this with cheap $3/bottle balsamic and it turned out great, and I've also made it with more expensive balsamic and it is even better.
2. I definitely recommend using freshly squeezed orange juice, it punches up the flavor and the glaze thickens a little better, but I've also made it with orange juice from a can and it's still good that way too.
3. I usually use skinless salmon fillets, but I've also used skin-on and removed the skin after cooking (after the salmon is cooked the skin slides off really easily--I definitely don't recommend removing the skin before cooking because it is much more difficult to cut off.) I almost always have salmon in the freezer--they sell Wild Alaskan Salmon at Walmart in the freezer section for something like $5/bag. It has 4 individually frozen pieces all shrink-wrapped so you can pull out just what you need. I just thaw the salmon in the sink in warm water for 15ish minutes, remove it from the plastic, dry it, and cook it. It's super convenient!
4. I usually only cook 2-3 pieces of salmon because that's all we need for a meal, but I make the full amount of glaze so we have extra to drizzle over our quinoa/rice/veggies/etc.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as we do!

Honey-Balsamic Glazed Salmon
from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

4 (6 ounce) boneless salmon fillets
salt and pepper
olive oil cooking spray
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
3 Tb. balsamic vinegar
2 Tb. honey
1 Tb. white vinegar
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. dried rosemary (or 1/4 tsp. fresh, removed from stem, finely chopped)

1. Dry salmon completely with paper towels and salt and pepper to taste. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray, then add salmon fillets. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through (fish should easily flake apart when poked). Remove from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
2. Wipe out skillet with paper towels. Stir remaining ingredients together and pour into skillet. Simmer over medium heat until reduced (it should be slightly thickened and syrupy), 3-5 minutes. Add salmon back to skillet and flip to coat well. Serve salmon over quinoa or rice and drizzle with remaining glaze. Good luck not licking the plate after :)

Clam Chowder

My mom makes fantastic clam chowder, all of us (well, except for my little sister that is allergic to shellfish) love it every time she makes it. I finally learned how to make it on my own. I made a couple of adjustments based on a recipe I found on allrecipes (in italics, feel free to make them without if you want, they just add a little more depth of flavor) but otherwise it it really close to my mom's famous recipe. Enjoy!

Clam Chowder

6 slices bacon
3 cans minced clams (6.5 ounces each)
1 1/4 cups onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, diced
3-4 cups potatoes, diced
6 Tb. butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tb. red wine vinegar

1. Cook bacon in large stockpot until crispy. Remove bacon, but do not drain. In same pan, add onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Drain juice from clams over veggies and add water until veggies are just barely covered. Cook over medium heat until veggies are all tender. Do not drain water.
2. Meanwhile in large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly add half-and-half and stir continually until thick and smooth (mixture will be very thick). Add to veggie/clam juice/water mixture. Heat through, but do not boil. Crumble cooled bacon and add to soup along with clams (if the clams cook too much, they will get tough, so add them right before serving). Add seasoned salt, salt, black pepper and vinegar if desired. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Red Curry Roasted Salmon with Green Beans and Red Peppers

Red Curry Roasted Salmon with Green Beans and Red Peppers
Serves 4

Ingredients-
4 6oz salmon fillets
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise (the polar direction) into strips
1 small onion, cut lengthwise (polar direction) into strips

1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, sliced very thin (aka chiffonaded)
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, sliced very thin (use Thai basil if you can get it)

Directions-
1- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a very large, heavy, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
2- In a small bowl mix 1 tablespoon of olive oil with the lime juice and curry paste until it is a thick liquidy consistency.
3- Place the salmon fillets on one side of the baking sheet, coat them with the curry mixture.
4- Toss the green beans, red peppers and onions in a medium bowl with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil until they are well coated. Put them on the other side of the baking sheet. Sprinkle them with salt.
5- Put the baking sheet in the oven and let it roast until the salmon is just opaque in the center and the vegetables are a little tender. Should take about 12-14 minutes.
6- Plate the fish. Toss the vegetables with the pan juices, the mint and basil and serve alongside. I think it's especially tasty with coconut rice, but go wild and crazy with it. Garnish with lime wedges, and a bit of cilantro.

Teriyaki Swordfish with Orange-Mango-Tomato Salsa

I'd never eaten swordfish before making this, and I have to say that I quite enjoyed it. I think that the recipe would be just as good with tuna, so try it with that if you don't want to eat swordfish. This recipe is my tweaked and adapted version of one from the Bon Appétit cookbook.

Teriyaki Swordfish with Orange-Mango-Tomato Salsa
Serves 6

Ingredients-

Salsa:
3 oranges, peel and pith cut away, seeded and diced
1 mango, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (substitute fresh parsley if you prefer)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons vinegar (I used sherry vinegar, but the original recipe calls for balsamic)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I like it hot, so I quadrupled this)

Marinade and fish:
3/4 cup bottled teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup fruit juice mixed with citrus juice (about a 3/1 ratio)- I used apple/pomegranite/lime juice
4 garlic cloves, mixed
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon seasame oil
6 5- to 6-ounce swordfish steaks (about 1 inch thick)

Directions-
For salsa:

Toss together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Throw some salt and pepper on there to your taste. Put in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. (It can stay in the fridge for up to four hours).

For marinide and fish:

1-Combine the teriyaki sauce and the next four ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring it up to a boil. Set it aside to cool.

2- Arrange the swordfish in a shallow glass baking dish. Pour the marinade over the swordfish, turn and coat evenly. Save out some of the marinade if you want to have some for drizzling on later. Cover the fish and put it in the fridge to marinade for 1 1/2 hours.

3- Preheat the grill (or I used a skillet on the stove) to medium-high heat. Make sure that you've cleaned and oiled the grill before hand.

4- Grill the fish until opaque in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Put it up on a plate with some salsa. (I served it with field greens and rice)

5- Eat pleae.

Caramelized Salmon with Mango Salsa

When this popped up on my google reader, I immediately starred it and decided to make it ASAP. I am SO glad I didn't wait, because it is delicious! I've been wanting to make it again all week. Make it and I'm sure you'll devour it just like we did!


Caramelized Salmon with Mango Salsa
Adapted from Quick Cooking Site

Salmon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lb. salmon (about 6 fillets, 1/4 lb. each)

Mango Salsa
1 mango, peeled and finely diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
2 Tb. finely diced green pepper
1 small jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro, diced
1 Tb. rice vinegar
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. olive oil
dash kosher salt
dash black pepper
dash garlic powder

1. Preheat grill. Combine sugar, salt, and pepper in shallow dish. Rub each salmon fillet in the sugar mixture, being sure to well coat each side. Grill over low heat for about 5-8 minutes on each side, until crispy and cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, combine all salsa ingredients and set aside.
3. Top salmon with salsa and serve with rice and grilled pineapple.