Salmon with a Citrus Salsa Verde

I am not a big fish lover. There are certain things I love but overall I am picky about seafood. Seafood has the tendency to have odd textures and smells that make it rather unpleasant to eat. When done right, I do like tilapia, shrimp, crab, fried/battered fish and salmon....

This salmon was done right. It was extremely light and refreshing. Shawn chose fish as our Valentines Day dinner so I was a little weary. I picked out this recipe and put my trust into Giada and was rewarded. I really enjoyed this. We were kind of weirded out by the salsa until we paired it with the fish and it worked...

Thank God...

Plus, this dish is very pretty! Not something I experience much since my cooking tends to be rather...well...ugly. Yep, ugly.

Salmon with a Citrus Salsa Verde
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

Salsa:
2 large oranges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salmon:
Vegetable or canola oil, for oiling the grill
4 (4 to 5-ounce) center cut salmon fillets, skinned, each about 3-inches square
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

For the salsa: Peel and trim the ends from each orange. Using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and add them to a medium bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, scallions, mint, capers, orange zest, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For the salmon: Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking. Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Spoon the salsa verde on top of the salmon or serve on the side as an accompaniment.

Herb Mustard Glazed Salmon

I am not a HUGE fish fan. I love sushi, smoked salmon and fish tacos and can tolerate milder-flavored fish like tilapia and salmon (depending on the recipe). I know it is good for you so I try to find recipes that pair fish up with some of my favorite flavors. A favorite of mine is this salmon I made a while back that was made with an asian barbeque sauce (I ate it so fast I couldn't get any pictures to post it...oopsie). That is my go-to salmon recipe but wanted to switch things up. I decided to give this Giada recipe a try and I'm glad I did. It was fairly easy and quick and quite tasty.

Herb Mustard Glazed Salmon
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
Nonstick olive oil cooking spray
6 (6 to 8-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 lemon wedges

Directions:

In a mini food processor, combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, wine, oil, Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon of whole-grain mustard. Grind the mustard sauce until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of whole-grain mustard to the sauce and stir to combine. Set aside mustard sauce.

Preheat the broiler. Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Arrange the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Broil for 2 minutes. Spoon the mustard sauce over the fillets. Continue broiling until the fillets are just cooked through and golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Transfer the fillets to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

As much as I love baking I have to hold off a little bit once again. I've gained a lot more weight than I need...of course not all of it is from baking...I had gotten out of my workout routine and my portion control habits. It has caught up with me so for now, I am cooking mostly healthy and only baking for special occasions (we'll see how long this lasts :))

I LOVE fish tacos and found an Ellie Krieger recipe from none other than foodnetwork.com. The chipotle cream was delicious. I only changed a couple things. I added onions with the corn and sauted them for a couple minutes in a pan and I also doubled the chipotle because I love me some spicy :)

Ingredients:

Fish:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia or halibut

Chipotle cream:
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or lettuce
1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes. Put the yogurt into a strainer lined with apaper towel and place over a bowl to drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade and grill on a preheated grill or nonstick grill pan over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the thickened yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle pepper.

Heat the tortillas on the grill or grill pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the chipotle cream. Top with fish, cabbage, corn and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Grilled Salmon with a Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

I am a huge fan of Bobby Flay. He is definitely one of my favorite celebrity chefs. His southwest cooking style suits my personal tastebuds very well. Not only that but he's a grilling man and there is nothing I find more sexy than a man working a grill...(one who knows what he's doing at that) :) I don't get a chance to make much of Bobby Flays food but I took advantage when I had some salmon in the freezer. I actually have a go-to grilled salmon recipe that is an asian bbq grilled salmon recipe that is phenomenal but I wanted to try something new. I did a quick search on Foodnetwork.com and found a yummy recipe by none other than Bobby Flay. This was easy and delicous. It was pretty sweet but not too sweet in my opionin.Yummy!

Grilled Salmon with a Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

Ingredients:

Salmon:

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

Vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each

Directions:

On the side burner, melt the brown sugar, honey and butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger. Let cool.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush salmon with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon skin side down on the grill. Coat the flesh of the salmon fillets with the brown sugar mixture. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes to medium doneness, turning once after 5 to 6 minutes.

Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Oil

I have a lot of favorite personalities from the Food Network. It's a given that I love all the cake guys and gals...but when it comes to cooking...I love Bobby Flays use of flavors and his style, I love Paula Deans at-home feel, Guy Fieri's cooking reminds me of my dad, Rachel Ray makes stuff that both me and my boyfriend LOVE and Giada appreciates simplicity of flavors. I wanted something light for dinner so I turned to my friend Giada. I trust her because everything I've made of hers has turned out wonderfully fabulous (I say "friend" only because I wish...haha).

I found this recipe on the foodnetwork.com. I didn't have a few of the ingredients but it sounded like exactly what I was in the mood for and I had a few things that would substitute nicely. Instead of linguine I used spaghetti (whole wheat of course). I didn't have arugula (which would have been nice) so I used fresh spinach. Lastly, the only fresh herb I had on hand was thyme so I used that instead of parsely. It still turned out light and delicious but I would recommend doing it Giada's way so I'm posting the recipe as-is!

Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil

Ingredients:

For the lemon oil:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested

For the pasta:
1 pound linguine pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces frozen shrimp
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces arugula (about 3 packed cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

For the lemon oil:
Combine the olive oil and the lemon zest in a small bowl and reserve.

For the pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked linguine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Turn off the heat and add the arugula. Using a mesh sieve, strain the lemon zest out of the reserved lemon olive oil and add the oil to the pasta. The zest can be discarded. Add some of the cooking water to desired consistency. Add the chopped parsley to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately