Honey-Soy Salmon with Mango and Kiwi

Here's one to add to the short list of dinners P.J. and I both like! This was so quick to make, very healthy, and it really doesn't even need the rice.

Soy-Ginger Salmon with Bok Choy

The chef at my school makes bok choy with with a soy/ginger sauce that I love so I decided to try it at home with salmon and rice. The meal comes together in about half an hour. P.J. says he would order it in a restaurant every time if someone made it.

Seared Salmon with New Potatoes and Spinach

I'm suddenly addicted to pinterest, which is where I found this recipe (thanks Laura Candeloro), originally from epicurious.com. I made some changes, and the result looks almost nothing like the photo from epicurious, but it was still very good. It's a little bit of work; took me about an hour of leisurely cooking. The good news is that all the steps can be done using just one large pan and one baking dish, so not too much clean up.

The recipe calls for white wine, but I ran out and added about a quarter cup of red, which is why the onions look like shredded beets.

Blackened Fish Tacos

While in Albany this weekend for Dania and Daniel Dobosz's wedding (yay!), I found one of the first cookbooks I ever owned. I think it was a gift from my mom from a Pampered Chef party. It's called The Pampered Chef: It's good for you. The notes in the margins reminded me of some of the recipes I learned to cook from, including an amazing "good for you" cappuccino cheesecake. I remember being stressed out and sending PJ out in Astoria to buy a cup of strong coffee to use for it and feeling very unsure about how it would come out. It was soooo good.

Honey-Mustard Salmon with Potato-Fennel Puree and Garlic Spinach

My husband, P.J., had an idea one evening as we sat and ate our all American, Family Guy style, starch-protein-vegetable divided plates. He stacked his salmon on top of the potatoes, topped it with spinach, and we drizzled some of the pan sauce from the salmon over the top. It was immediately elevated from a boring I-couldn't-think-of-anything-better-to-make-for-dinner dish to an eye-catching presentation worthy of a special occasion. We dove in vertically with our forks, and the three elements combined into one bite created a lovely progression of acidic, sweet, salty, and bitter.

Cutting up or shredding the fennel in the potato puree can take a little longer, but if it is done with just regular mashed potatoes, this meal can easily be made in 20 minutes.

Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Salsa

I was in Albany for my sister's Pre-Wedding Celebration this weekend so I didn't cook, but I thought I'd share this fish recipe that I made and photographed a while ago and never posted.

It was such a fun weekend with lots of friends and family, and I learned that many of them read this blog!  Thanks readers! 

My mom made a salmon dish with peach chutney this weekend (Yum!), which reminded me how much a love fish served with sweet condiments.  This recipe makes 3 cups of mango salsa which is great to eat leftover with chips, or make a smaller amount if you want just enough to eat with the fish.

Baked Halibut with Fennel and Cucumber Raita

Today I decided to ignore the heat, blast the air conditioning, and cook a nice dinner for two.

We've been eating out in air-conditioned restaurants or eating things that don't require cooking for a while now, which has been nice, but with the long weekend I really had an itch to cook.

Salmon with Mixed Greens and Crumbled Bacon

If I'd been served this dish a year ago I probably wouldn't have touched it.  I decided to stop keeping kosher years ago, but changing eating habits takes some effort.  I finally tasted bacon about a year ago and just didn't really care for it, but I gradually started to love it while we were on our honeymoon in Greece where we had bacon and eggs (the "English breakfast" at most hostels) many mornings. 

I had an even greater aversion to fish growing up.  As I remember it, I stopped eating fish because my sister stopped eating it, and I think that was because we had a pet fish who passed away while we were on vacation and was wrapped up and put in the freezer by our pet-sitters.  My sister got over this years before I did and reintroduced fish into her diet but it took me some time to change my habits.

Pan-Roasted Salmon in Mango Nectar

Let me introduce you to one of the easiest yet most elegant salmon recipes I've come across.  The only ingredients are salmon, mango juice, chives, and olive oil for the pan!  I put this meal together on Saturday in the amount of time it took PJ to watch the Kentucky Derby and then we packed it up for a sunset picnic in the park along with some haricots verts and watermelon for dessert.

Most fish recipes depend on some sort of acidic element like citrus, vinegar, or tomatoes, all of which PJ is avoiding.  So I was really excited to find one without any acid that still tastes great!  Even better, I read that mangoes are supposed to be soothing for the stomach and intestines.

Cold-Poached Salmon With Shaved Apple and Fennel Salad

This refreshing salad of shaved apple and fennel with cold-poached salmon is a great quick meal for a warm night.  Shave the apple and fennel with a vegetable peeler while the poaching broth is heating up, and then prepare the vinaigrette while the salmon is poaching and the meal will come together in less than 30 minutes.

I just read an article here about the benefits of eating cold water fish such as salmon, and learned that many nutritionists are recommending eating it twice a week to reduce risk of coronary artery disease and boost the immune system, among other things.  So expect to see some more fish recipes soon!

Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade

According to traditional French cooking, a remoulade should be mayonnaise with mixed herbs (parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon), capers, cornichons, and a few drops of anchovy essence.  So this may not be a traditional remoulade, but it is a healthier version that still ends up with a similar smooth consistency.

My quest to start liking fish started a couple of years ago already, and I still haven't cooked or eaten very much salmon.  I was still afraid that it would taste too fishy, and here is the dish that finally won me over for good.  The remoulade is bursting with citrus and so creamy from the avocado, making a perfect pair for the salmon.

Ginger-Soy Striped Bass with Chinese Vegetables

I went to the fish counter again the other day looking to try something new. If you haven't been following, I'm sort of new to eating and cooking fish so I was excited to try something I hadn't had before.  I told the guy at the counter what I was making and he seemed pretty sure that I should get the striped bass.  It was one of the more expensive fishes, but he convinced me, saying that it was the same exact fish that some great restaurants use for this kind of dish and that it just came in fresh.  So I pretty much instantly caved.

Tilapia over Swiss Chard and Cannelini Beans

I just found this recipe for swiss chard with cannelini beans on the Williams-Sonoma website.  You might not expect it, but they have an amazing recipe collection which I highly recommend.  The author suggested serving it as a sauce for pasta or over polenta, but when I saw it I immediately thought it would be great served under a fillet of fish.  I prepared the tilapia similarly to the meuniere method I used for the sole a few posts ago.  It came out to be a really nice dish.  It reminded me of something very fancy I had in a five course meal at Ten Tables Restaurant in Boston, but this version is really pretty inexpensive and also fairly easy to make.  I prepped all the ingredients before I left for work so it only took about 25 minutes  when I got home.  Feel free to substitute whatever fish looks best at your market.  For an extra special presentation, make some polenta and serve it beneath the bean mixture, but it really is so elegant without it too that it doesn't seem worth the extra effort to me.

Special Occasion Sole Meuniere

Tonight I told PJ to be nice and hungry when I got home because we were having special occasion sole meuniere.  What was the special occasion, he wanted to know?  The fact that we're having sole tonight!

I just started eating fish a couple of years ago and I hadn't tried sole yet.  When I went to the fish counter today I realized why - $17.99 a pound!  But the fish monger convinced me that I would like it so much more than flounder or tilapia so I decided to go for it.  It really was so so good!  The fillets were thick and held together nicely while sauteing, and the finished product was flaky and flavorful, but not at all fishy.  The fish was cooked with a Meuniere sauce, which is classic French sauce of brown butter and lemon and pairs really nicely with sole.  I served it with boiled sliced potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts.

Party H'ors D'oeuvres: Golden Beet Bites with Smoked Trout

My sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law are engaged! I threw a small party last month in their honor and made all the food bite-sized and passable. This was one of the most popular bites, and it was so easy to make! All the prep was done the day before and then I assembled them just before the party. Use golden beets so that the color won't bleed onto the crackers while they are sitting, or if you can't find them just use red beets and try not to let them sit for too long.