My Favorite Go To - Herb Crusted Salmon

One of my favorite places for lunch is the Nordstrom Cafe....I've never had anything there that wasn't delish!  But one of my fave's is the Salad Nicoise with Salmon!  Ever since the first time I had it, I've obsessed over it.  I went through ALL of my Nordstrom cookbooks (which are awesome, by the way) and I couldn't find the recipe!  Then one day I had a brainstorm.....I looked at their recipes for SALMON........and THERE is was!  Now go figure!

So today I ran into a friend at the grocery store and I mentioned I was making this salmon....it seems I'm not the ONLY one who loves this salmon!  I promised I'd send the recipe....only one problem....I don't follow recipes.....uhhh....I have NO recipe!

So, that meant I had to "blog" about it (<<>>)!  I love my blog(s) (yes, plural).....only  I'm a late life business bloomer and I'm busier now that I have ever been, hence no time to blog.  But this time I promised.

So, I had my favorite lady at the Farm Fresh counter cut me a beautiful piece of salmon....

When I got home, I rinsed it, blotted it dry with paper towels, then used my boning knife (or any danged knife that will cut!) to remove the skin.

The next thing you do is spread on some mustard.....BUT....not just any old mustard......MAILLE mustard...the best mustard in the world. 

 Well, my world anyway.  It's French, so you know it's amazing.  There is the traditional and there is the whole grain.  I typically used the traditional...but while at Shelby's we used the whole grain and it was awesome!

The next step is to chop up the herbs for the "crust".  I normally use basil, oregano and thyme, but you can use ANY combination of the three, in addition to rosemary.  I also add some parsley.

I make sure to dice extra.....this herb combo is the best and can always be stored......

because it is wonderful on chicken, beef or even in a nice vinaigrette..and it keeps for quite a while! 

Once you have the herbs chopped, you sprinkle them over the mustard that you have slathered onto the salmon.......

..The next thing I did was prep my veggie of the night....asparagus.....my fave....my vegetable weakness.  And I'm always happy that most people thing that the tiny thin ones are the best...because they leave the fat, buttery meaty ones for me.....

They are so delicious that I do very little to them before "grilling" them.  I just drizzle a little olive oil over them and sprinkle them with truffle salt, the most expensive stocking stuffer I've ever purchased....

Then I grill them.....well, kinda......actually we're out of propane!  BUT.....my girl taught her Momma something....grilling on the stove!  Whooda thunk!  I have never grilled on anything except a grill....and we are GRILLERS.  We have multiple grills.....gas, electric, ancient...you name it, we have it.  But we're into quick tonight, so I yanked out the grill pan that Shelby recommended (and I bought under her watchful eye!)....and I p-grilled my asparagus...

Meanwhile....my salmon is in the oven (my small Breville oven....because, after all, there's only the two of us!).....

cooking at 375 degrees for approximately 12 minutes (based on size of fish).....

As always, the salmon was delicious....the asparagus was especially delicious because it is, after all, the spring.....and asparagus is ALWAYS best in the spring!

The only thing that has ever bothered me about cooking any kind of fish at home is the smell.....sometimes fish smells like....well....fish!  Salmon typically isn't smelly...unless it's bad...and in that case, don't eat it!  But if you're wondering what the candlelight was in the background....it was my answer to "smells" from the kitche.  It's a wide glass cylinder, filled with coffee beans....then I added three votive candles, lit.  As they warm up, the coffee beans fill the house with that "first thing in the morning" smell.  And I swoon......

This recipe is for you, Diane......please tell me you'll try it....and please tell me you'll let me know how much you love it!

Mussels In Red Sauce

Oh, dear blog, I have missed you!!!  It's not that I don't cook anymore.....or take pictures of what I cook either!  It's just been a busy spring and summer in my mortgage world and I just haven't had a spare moment to spend time with you!  But today I was determined to start emptying my picture files and filling yours up!

So, yesterday was a "Cola" day....and I did what I most love to do and visited my fave mall....MacArthur Mall in Norfolk!  I visited all of my favorite stores and bought nothing!  So, to soothe my woes and rest my feet, I stopped in at Kincaids for a glass of wine and a bite to eat.  It was after 3, so I hit happy hour!!  I had a glass of chardonnay and a bowl of mussels in red sauce.....and it was fabulous!!!!

On the way home, I stopped at Harris Teeter to grab some grub for the week and they had mussels for $3.99 a bag, so I decided to try to duplicate this recipe sometime this week!  Well, Dennis saw the mussels in the fridge this morning and got excited, so I decided to try them today!  Mussels two days in a row?  Score!

I gathered my ingredients.....mussels (of course!), garlic (fresh!!!), basil (homegrown), onion, oregano (not fresh....mine didn't survive for some reason!), crushed red peppers,olive oil, red wine and San Marzano tomatoes (believe it or not, I'd never cooked with them before!).

I diced the onions (I guess it was about 1/3 cup)....

and crushed 6 cloves of garlic.

I heated my beloved dutch over, poured in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let that heat....then I added the onions and garlic and let them cook slowly, while stirring....just until they are softened.  I then added about 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers and let those flavors blend.

Next I opened the can of San Marzano tomatoes....(oh wow!  They ARE fabulous!)....poured those in and let them warm up a bit...then I added about 1 cup of the red wine and let the sauce simmer on low for about 1/2 hour. 

While the sauce was doing its thing, I did mine.....I cleaned and sorted through the mussels.  Make sure you throw out any mussels that will not close when tapped and also scrub them well and rinse several times.

I also picked some fresh basil.....

....and diced into a chiffonade by stacking the leaves.....

....rolling them up.......

...and slicing them into thin strips.

Now back to the sauce.....I added the basil at this point....

..time to add the mussels.....

....and settle them into their warm bath!

I let them cook on a low simmer for about 10 minutes.....then I scooped them into a bowl and added minced fresh parsley....

....poured a glass of wine and savored every last mussel....ummmm....morsel!!!

I love mussels and typically make them with white wine, garlic, shallots and butter....but this was delicious!!!  I'll make these again...and again...and again!

Shrimp Shrimp.....

.....oh wait....with a side of lobster! 

The other day I walked into the kitchen to find one of my favorite cookbooks on the counter opened to a shrimp recipe. " Hmmm.......guess this is what he wants me to make with those shrimp that are defrosting in the sink.", I thought.  Then he walked in and said, "This is what I'm making for dinner tonight.".  What???  Did I hear you correctly??  YOU are making dinner?  Really?  Wow!  That's awesome!

I left the kitchen and he later appeared with my delicious dinner!  We both enjoyed it, but as we always do over a plate of food, we critiqued it....add a little this or that.  And since there were quite a few shrimp left, he decided to make it again a couple of nights later.....and this time I was there to document it for the blog!

I became his sous chef for the evening, doing all of his prep work.  I gathered all of the ingredients that were listed in the recipe, plus the two we'd decided to add (more on that later).  

Since there wasn't quite enough shrimp, and we had a lobster tail leftover from Valentine's Day, I chopped it up and added it to the shrimp I had peeled and deveined.  I also juiced the lemon, diced the green onions, shredded the parmesan

and minced the garlic!

Once everything was prepped, Dennis came in and set up his work area.....

...ummmm....yeah.....he prepped the drink!  He heated the pan and added his olive oil....then put in the shrimp and lobster...

....and sauteed them until just before they were done.....then he added the garlic, lemon juice and green onions.....

Ummm.....took a sip...or two....

...added salt and pepper, then cooked until done...

He then added the butter and allowed that to melt, poured it over hot pasta and topped with the grated parmesan cheese...

It was delicious and it took only about 20 minutes from prep to finish!

The recipe is from the Williams Sonoma "Fish" cookbook and is as follows:

Shrimp Sauteed with Lemon and Garlic

4 tablespoons of olive oil (Dennis found that he needed to add a little more)

1 1/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (we had about a pound of shrimp and then added a small lobster tail, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 green onions, diced (we used more...about 4 or 5)

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley (we left this out)

1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 whole, fresh lemon)

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add shrimp and cook until pink on one side, about 1 minute.  Turn the shrimp over with tongs, add garlic, salt, pepper to taste, toss.  Then add green onions, parsley and lemon juice.  Toss again and transfer to a warmed platter.  Serve.

Our Variations:  We added about 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter at the end of cooking, poured it all over hot pasta, then topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Quick, easy, delicious.......VOILA!

Running with the Devil......

.....yes, I love Van Halen, but this post really has nothing to do with him....or that song.  This is actually the finale to the "belated" birthday dinners.  The request?  Deviled Crab!  I have to admit that the stuff I've seen in the little foil fake crab looking tins has never peaked my interest.  Sure, I've eaten them, but I just don't remember eating them.....and usually that's a reason that I don't normally cook something.

Soooo, when he asked for Deviled Crab, I asked why.  He didn't have an answer....it was just the first thing that came to his mind.  So, since I was the one who forgot his birthday, I went along with it.  I searched the internet and every cookbook I had for recipes.....it's just that they all seemed to be variations of regular crab cakes, but with bell pepper.

I have always loved bell peppers, but why eat the green ones, when you can have the beautifully ripe red ones....so that's what I decided to go with.  And since I already had some roasted red peppers in the fridge.....done!

I got all of my ingredients together....diced onions, celery, garlic and the most beautiful crab I've seen in a while.  It was unbelievably fresh for this time of year.

I started by sauteeing the onions and celery in a half olive oil and half butter, later adding the garlic so it wouldn't cook too much and become bitter.  Then I added the peppers.  I set them aside to cool.

Meanwhile, I combined mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, mixed well and poured that over the crab.  Then I took two slices of fresh bread and ground it in my mini processor, then added all but about 4 tablespoons of it to the bowl.

Next add the celery, onions and pepper (called a Holy Trinity....at least it is with green peppers) and mix well.  I put the mixture into my single serving baking dishes.

I then melted about a tablespoon of butter in the pan I'd cooked the trinity mixture in and added the breadcrumbs....then put them over the crab mixture.

I baked them at 350 degrees until the tob was golden brown and they were cooked through.  We grilled asparagus that had been tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled.

It was a delicious dinner and he enjoyed it.  So when I asked what he thought?  "It tastes kinda like crabcakes!"  I agree!  But it was good!

Bon Appetit!

Soups on.....again!

We have company.......in the form of a nor'easter! It's rainy and windy....and chilly! Seemed like a perfect day to make some clam chowder!
The only thing was that I'd wished I'd thought of it yesterday......when it wasn't raining.So, I headed up to Harris Teeter to get a few things that I didn't have.....which was most of what I needed. I bought:
3 cans of minced clams (believe it or not, the Chicken of the Sea brand is awesome!)
1 box of chicken stock (I use Wolfgang Puck's organic chicken stock....buttery and delicious!)
1 bottle clam juice
1 package low fat, center cut bacon
1 leek
3 ears of fresh corn (and it was sweet....in November?)
3 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes
1 pint heavy cream

So....that means that the only thing I had at home was the celery. How's that for a not-so-well-stocked pantry?

I rarely use a recipe for my soups.....I just dump it in. It's really hard to mess up soup, but I'll do my best to give you accurate measurements of what I did today.

First, I diced 1/2 of the package of bacon and fried it and set it aside.

I wiped out all of the bacon fat....just too heavy for this soup to me. Then I added 1 tablspoon butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.......add the leeks and celery and cook to soften.

While that was going on, I cut the corn off of the cob

and diced up the potatoes into rather small cubes. Once the leeks and celery are done, add everything.....the bacon, corn, potatoes, leeks, celery..

..and add the clam juice, clams, then chicken broth (just enough to cover). Simmer on low until the potatoes have softened. Then add the heavy cream and VOILA.......Clam and Corn Chowder!

NOTE: The bottom of my dutch oven is not dirty....promise. It is just well worn. That, my dears, is my most fave possession....my LeCrueset dutch oven. Dennis gave it to me several years ago for Christmas....it was all that I wanted. It has never left my stove since then. It stays on the stove and I use it all the time. They make versions now that are alot less expensive and are equally as good....I've bought Shelby one and as her girlfriends get married, they get one, too. I love it more than I love my knives.....and I love my knives!