I’ve spent the better part of an hour writing, deleting, and rewriting something to accompany this recipe. To be blunt, I’ve got nothing. Heck, I don’t even have a photo of the Paprika Roasted Salmon. But don’t let any of that stop you from trying Paprika Roasted Salmon.
Paprika Roasted Salmon
Adapted from McCormick & Co.
BAH Note: The original recipe, which was an add in Fine Cooking magazine, called for the salmon to first be marinaded for 30 minutes in a mix of orange juice, olive oil, and thyme leaves. I’m sure that would be lovely if you were so inclined to give it a try.
4 salmon fillets
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder (I heart Penzy’s Chili 9000)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
zest of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Combine the sugar, paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and salt in a small bowl. Use a fork, or your fingers, to thoroughly combine the spices.
Place the salmon skin side down on the baking sheet and rub the spice mixture into the salmon. Roast for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish, until it easily flakes with with fork.
If you’ve been hanging around these parts for a while, you’ve seen the name Melissa d’Arabian once or twice before. She was the winner of The Next Food Network Star a few seasons back who now has her own TFN show. I was pretty much in her corner from the beginning. I loved that she was a home cook competing with professionals and that she carried herself with confidence. It was very much a Rocky moment for me when she won.
So I’ve been watching her show, Ten Dollar Dinners. To be honest, I don’t manage to keep my food expenditures down to $2.50 per person. Not even by shopping sales, cutting coupons, and using my store “loyalty” cards. It’s a lofty goal and I give her mad props for showing that it can be done without sacrificing quality and that weeknight meals don’t have to involve canned this or microwaved that.
This is not to say that all of her recipes speak to me. Black bean brownies? Thank you, no. But the ones that I have gone online and printed out have won me over. Pot Roast Carbonnade? Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken? Braised Pork? All her recipes. And now it looks as though Fish Piccata has earned a spot on that list. This could quite easily become a regular weeknight meal at our house.
Fish Piccata
Adapted from Melissa d’Arabian
BAH Note: This is a quick cooking dish. Be sure to have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. Don’t be tempted to dredge the fish in the flour and then let it sit on a plate while the oil heats. You’ll end up with gummy fish. While I personally enjoy gummi or swedish fish, you want to avoid gummy fish piccata.
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 small fillets of tilapia or sole
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white wine
juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed if you prefer
2 tablespoons butter
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. While the oil heats, dry the fish with paper towels and season with salt. Once you are ready to cook, dredge a fillet in the flour, shake off the excess, and place in the pan. Repeat with remaining fish fillets until all are in the pan
Cook about 4 minutes on each side, until the fish is browned and just cooked through. Transfer the fish to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Use the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. After about a minute, add the lemon juice and capers and whisk to combine. Whisk in the butter.
I don’t have much of a story to go with this recipe. I can tell you that I “forgot” that the fish needs to marinate for 30 minutes before going into the oven. I can also tell you that I was quite unhappy when I “remembered” this fact having come home hungry, late, and sweaty from a trip to the gym. I guess the last thing I should tell you is that The Mistah and I kept giving each other big thumbs up signs when we finally sat down with Salmon with Sweet Chili Glaze. We were too busy stuffing it in our mouths to use our words.
Salmon with Sweet Chili Glaze
Adapted from Bon Appetit
BAH Note: I can’t claim this trick as my own but I want to share it with you. The person who sent me this recipe said her secret to broiling the salmon was to cook the salmon on the center oven rack for 6 minutes and then move it up to the top rack for two minutes more. Obviously, you’ll want to position your racks before you turn the broiler on. But I used her method and had great results despite my unnatural fear of the broiler. According to the original recipe, you’ll have enough sauce for six salmon fillets. I put half of the sauce in the fridge to use at another time.
1/4 cup Asian or Thai sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 salmon fillets, with or without skin
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk together the chili sauce, soy sauce, and ginger in a small bowl.
Place salmon fillets on sheet pan (skin side down if applicable) and spoon chili sauce mixture over the top of the fish. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Set the oven to broil. Using a spoon or pastry brush, baste the salmon with any marinade that has spread onto the sheet pan. Broil for 6 to 10 minutes or until browned in spots and nearly opaque in the center.
I have a problem buying fish. Actually, I don’t have a problem buying fish. I have a problem buying fish that I like. Most times I buy any old fish, am not happy with it, then forget what kind of fish it was and I end up making the same mistake over and over again. I think I’ve bought cod three or four times and still can’t make myself remember that I don’t like it. Or maybe that was haddock. See what I mean? Continue reading “Grilled Cilantro Fish in Coconut Broth”→
I’m a bad typist. I remember taking typing in high school thinking that the class was a complete waste of my time. Why did Cecil County Public Schools think that I needed to know how to type? This was all back when computers as we know them today were insanely expensive. They weren’t in people’s homes and they certainly weren’t in schools. But the Board of Education said I had to take typing. So I did. I spent hours in Mr. Cleek’s classroom with typing drills – The quick brown fox jump over the lazy dog…or some such nonsense. Actually, I probably paid more attention to the boys in the class than to my IBM Selectric. So is it any wonder that I’m a typo queen? Continue reading “TMI”→
If you were to poke around in our freezer on any given day, you would most likely find a bag of salmon fillets. We tend to be a little predictable here at BAH. When we like something, we stick with it. Over time that can get a bit mundane so I’m always looking for ways to put new flavor into our favorite dishes. Our latest salmon entree was inspired by The Kitchen Witch and her take on a Men’s Health Magazine recipe. The Mistah used to get Men’s Health. Actually, someone gave him a gift subscription. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t come with a free gift like a football phone, but if I had put my disappointment behind me and peeked between the covers, I might have discovered Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter. It may not be a football phone but then again, I bet I could get one of those on eBay along with the complete series of Time Life Home Improvement books, all for about what I spend on a bag of salmon fillets. See, it all works out in the end.
Salmon with Ginger Soy Butter
The Kitchen Witch and Men’s Health Magazine
4 salmon fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon minced chives
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
Place the butter in a ramekin and melt carefully in the microwave. Add the chives, ginger, lemon juice, and soy sauce and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Dry the salmon fillets and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan or grill pan until just smoking. Add the salmon (skin side down if using a fillet with skin) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully turn the fish over and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
Serve the salmon with about a tablespoon of butter sauce spooned over the top.
So my first attempt at a Cook Wise recipe didn’t go so well. While I haven’t retaken the Raised Waffles exam, I have aced the Salmon Fillet with Mustard quiz. It’s quite similar to the Honey Mustard Chicken Breast that we like so much here at BAH. But quicker. And who doesn’t love a quick recipe? While I could use that extra time to study up on the Raised Waffles, my assigned reading this week is The Sweet Life In Paris. And I think there’s going to be a pop quiz coming up so I need to be ready.
Salmon Fillet with Mustard
Cook Wise
2 cups apple juice
1/2 cup coarse grain mustard (I personally adore Inglehoffer’s Original Stone Ground Mustard)
1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
2 to 4 salmon fillets, with or without skin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Bring the apple juice to a boil in a small saucepan over medium high heat until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup. Whisk in the mustard and dill and remove from the heat.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and place (skin side down if applicable) on the baking sheet and season with salt. Spoon the apple juice mixture over the fish and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
I grew up eating bland food. Very bland food. The only spices I remember being in the house were salt, pepper, cinnamon (sugar), and poultry seasoning. So it has taken me a while to dip my toes into the vast ocean of spices. The folks at Penzey’s do their part to expand my palate with paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. But one thing I have yet to fully embrace is curry. My taste buds have not been trained to savor the complex flavors, or potentially blinding heat, of curry. Call me a one note gal, or a wimp, but I don’t enjoy food that sets my mouth on fire. Continue reading “Confessions Of A Kitchen Whimp”→
I don’t utter that phrase often. It’s like a loaded gun waiting to go off. I might think something is foolproof but since I’m not in the kitchen with you, I can’t know if ingredients get substituted or the recipe is somehow changed. And I don’t want to be responsible for kitchen drama. I cause enough of it at my own house. That’s why I try and use words like “nearly” or “darn near” anywhere close to the phrase foolproof. But sometimes I slip up. Continue reading “Foolproof”→
Who came up with idea for the word leitmotif? I like words. Alot. But that one, in particular, always confused me. Of course learning that it is derived from the German leiten (to lead) and motiv (motive), it makes perfect sense. But I failed miserably at German I in college (I thought switching from French to German was a good idea because?) so without the help of Mr. Merriam Webster, I would have still been in the dark about that one.
Have you noticed any of the themes that run through my kitchen? There are several leitmotifs hiding here at BAH. Fast and Easy are probably the most obvious. But if you poke around enough, you’ll see that I often try variations on a recipe. So today I present you with another tuna experiment. Continue reading “Mango Salad with Seared Tuna”→
Bon Appetit Hon 