Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Say thank you, with salmon!

Welcome to Apron Adventures!

I've been in between homes for the last 3 weeks as I waited for my duplex lease to begin. Move in day is Friday, and I can't wait! In the meantime, I've been staying with friends who were kind enough to take me in. The best way I can think of to say thank y
ou is by cooking for them.

A trend I've noticed amongst my friends (20-somethings) is that they rarely treat themselves to a nice meal, and they also rarely eat seafood. Not because they don't like it, but they either don't know how to prepare it or are unwilling to pay for it. I try to incorporate seafood into my meals at least once a week, if not more. In light of this, I decided to make a thank you dish for my very dear friend Megan for taking me in during my period of "homelessness." This is a salmon dish that became a favorite of my mom and I when I lived at home a few years ago while interning at an agency in downtown Houston.

Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon

This is a Cooking Light recipe that I pretty much don't deviate from. Tonight was an exception since they didn't have pineapple juice at Whole Foods (really?!), so I exchanged it for orange-- equally delicious!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 (6-ounce) can pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 teaspoons
canola oil
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated orange rind (optional)

Preparation

Combine first 4 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of salmon with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes. Turn fish over and place in oven; bake at 400° for 3 minutes. Remove from oven; brush 1 tablespoon sauce over each fillet. Return to oven, and cook 1 minute or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Sprinkle with orange rind, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

I love serving this salmon with another Cooking Light favorite in my household-- Herbed Basmati Rice. My roommate Rachel could easily eat the whole pot! (I could too :)) I like to use the fresh herbs I have on hand- tonight was fresh basil and oregano. Also, I like to really up the garlic amount to 4 or 5 cloves (we're definitely not garlic shy at my house!)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
Cooking spray
1 cup uncooked basmati rice

1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup water
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add rice and garlic to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until rice is lightly toasted. Add 1 cup water, broth, and salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in onions, nuts, Parmesan cheese, basil, thyme, and pepper.

Finally to make this meal nice and balanced, I love serving it with steamed broccoli. In order to spice it up a bit, I go a bit heavy on
the black pepper, add some orange zest that I've saved from the salmon, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese leftover from the rice never hurt anyone ;) Check out the final product of a labor of love-,

and my happy friend!





12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic looking recipe! Salmon is my favorite! Can't wait to try! Thanks Apron Adventures!

Anonymous said...

wow, great writing and great blog idea. Keep it up! -Jay from tennis ;)

Unknown said...

Wow- fancy girl. I'm excited to read more of Apron Adventures in the future- thanks Apron!

Unknown said...

Hey Apron! Love the new blog! I will check in regularly!

Brittney said...

Oh, the herbed basmati rice! Clearly Cooking Light's gift to us all. Can't wait for more Apron Adventures!

Lindsay said...

Thanks for the support guys, what fun! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my boss Emily insisted I try the herbed basmati rice last year, which was the best decision ever! Brittney and I became experts together-- and if SHE can make it, anyone can :)

Brittney said...

Oh God...I'm your best friend, so I can say this...and I'm frankly surprised that none of our other equally astute friends have noticed this...but...

You will hereby be referred to as AA--and that works on so many levels! This will become more evident to your blog readers as you post more and more, and your love for all things booze/wine jumps off the page.

Hugs. I love you. BESTIES--BUI!

Jack said...

You should have mentioned how this recipe works equally as great with chicken! Thanks again for the awesome meal! I could have eaten the whole pot of rice too! ;)

Petes said...

no, THANK YOU for the salmon. it was amazing. :)

Anonymous said...

Lehf! This is so you, I love it. Heck yes you love the Herbed Basmati Rice! Congrats and I can't wait to see what you cook up next.

Brittney said...

How many people think AA should recreate Bun's wedding cake as a fun project??

I DO!!

Chris said...

Yeah! I am so excited about your new blog. Love the salmon, and love the picture! Its cool knowing the girl behind the emails, now. :)