Move In Day

Move in day has come and gone without anything (or anyone!) getting broken. I was excited/anxious to use my new kitchen. The appliances are all new and nice, but the space is much smaller than my last, which made me pretty nervous. The test run tonight went well though, so I think it will work out!

I had 6 hungry people to feed tonight (my self and my two roommates, the boys in the other half of the duplex, and Christine's friend Mark whose staying with use for a few weeks), so I wanted to make something special, yet substantial. Central Market had a great coupon for salmon, so I decided to make an Herb Crusted Salmon from Cooking Light April 2008 that I had tried once before with great success. I replaced the parsley with fresh basil, but other than that actually followed the recipe.

Fresh basil, oregano and rosemary- mmmmm
Ingredients
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick), skinned
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation
1. To prepare salmon, combine the first 7 ingredients in a shallow dish or pie plate. Lightly coat both sides of fillets with cooking spray, and sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Dredge both sides of fillets in breadcrumb mixture.










2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fillets to pan; cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; carefully turn fillets over. Cook 4 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

The salmon was very lightly coated giving it the perfect crisp. The fresh herbs filled the house with delicious scents (it was smelling pretty funky in here from the previous tenant...) as well as tons of bright flavor.

Since it was move in day, I made my roommate Rachel's favorite side dish, Herbed Basmati Rice. I realize I posted this recipe last week, but I can't help it if it's her favorite! I served this with a side of steamed broccoli to even out the meal. For dessert there was mango sorbet and/or vanilla ice cream, and some fresh watermelon. It was the perfect meal after a weekend of moving during the heat of August. Be on the lookout for my other culinary adventure this weekend with lamb, coming soon!