Good Morning!!! It's 18 degrees outside and windy as ever, but I've got my first (ok, second) cup of coffee and I'm ready to go! When we saw that salmon was on sale at Stew Leonard's this week, we decided to do a summer-like break from this bitter winter and create a nice, light meal that was sure to satisfy.
Cocktail - Pear and Lemongrass Saketini
So Jennifer got a juicer. Which pretty much means that every cocktail going forward is going to use a juicer - which is no problem by us! So we juiced fresh pear and a cut up stalk of lemongrass and added it to some Black&Gold sake with a little vodka. Shake it up, garnish with some lemongrass and voila! The fresh fruit made all the difference!
Appetizer - Mandarin Orange Japanese Salad
So you know that ginger salad dressing you get at sushi restaurants? We wanted to re-create that. The recipe above is for the dressing, however a couple changes I'd like to point out. First, we subbed some of the peanut oil with sesame oil. (I could dab sesame oil on my wrists as perfume - just saying.) Also - way too much onion. We also used a standard white onion, which may have been the problem. I'd highly suggest reducing it and swapping it out for green onion or red onion. Otherwise - spot on! We chopped up some iceberg lettuce, added cucumber, crispy noodles, carrots, mandarin oranges and topped with dressing. Super light and super delicious!
Entree - Salmon with Sesame and Orange-Ginger Relish
Stop the presses. Damn. Wow. Yes! This salmon was perfection! If you are ever looking for the dish to serve your "constantly on a diet" mother-in-law, or anyone who may be on the "picky" side - this is it! Let me walk you through a few minor changes. The marinate itself seemed a little so I added about a teaspoon of minced ginger and two smashed cloves of garlic. I also had some extra green onions in the fridge, so chopped up those as well. I don't know if it made much of a difference, but hey, can you ever go wrong with ginger and garlic? We also skipped the navel oranges and used mandarin oranges - do this. It's easier, it saves time, no one will judge you. And because we bought the fish in individual portions - I would suggest watching the clock. This fish would have probably been done around the 15 minute mark, not 20, but it really didn't matter. The taste was clean, fresh, and packed full of flavor!
Side Dish - Israeli Couscous with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
Okay, I've never had Israeli couscous, and I can't believe I've been missing out this whole time! These little morsels were awesome! And the asparagus and snow peas gave a fantastic crunch of flavor. This was the perfect side dish - it had its own flavor but didn't steal the show from the exotic salmon. Also - this would be great served room temp for lunch.
Final Plate
Wine - 2011 Alta Vista Torrontes
Robert Parker - 90/100
The perfect white wine! On the nose, there were exploding aromas of apricot and stone fruits. It had a good structure with great tropical fruit flavors that ended up with smooth notes of vanilla and melon. Fresh and crisp - this wine blew us away. (Also, we matched it ourselves! High five to us!)
Dessert - Ginger and Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
Okay, so we understand the concept of a vanilla creme brulee. (FYI - didn't have vanilla bean, so used a solid teaspoon of vanilla extract.) But to add ginger? DO IT! The flavor was incredible. There was that slight spice of the ginger mixed with the rich creaminess of the custard. One of our favorite desserts that we've made! Take the plunge, take the risk, and give it a shot!
So all in all, a fantastic meal. Relatively light and healthy, exploding with exotic flavors and beautiful colors. None of these dishes will steer you wrong for a nice dinner party, but make sure you make that dessert!
Next Week - TBD
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