Earl Cooks Pan Seared Teriyaki Sesame Salmon with Avocado & Rice

It has not been that long since we started eating salmon on a regular basis. I don't why, but it was not even in our wheelhouse. Partly because everyone said it was difficult to cook properly, and partly because of our own unfamiliarity with it. We had always had white fish of one kind or another, or shellfish. But in an effort to get more healthy, I decide to give it a try. We have tried it fresh and frozen; seasoned and not. 

Tonight I wanted to try Sea Cuisine's Teriyaki Sesame Salmon Fillets. It is a frozen product. Two wild caught Alaskan fillets pre-seasoned with ginger soy sauce & garlic. The great thing about this product is we can have it in the freezer and pan sear it whenever you need some omega 3 fatty acids! This is a delicious product with an ever-so-slight peppery flavor. It cooks up rather quickly, without defrosting, in a medium-high skillet. I paired it with white rice and a whole avocado. I put butter and soy sauce on my rice and my wife added lemon to hers. The bite with the rice is a great mouthful and the best way to eat this. What can be said of the avocado? EAT IT! 

Results:
This was one of the best frozen fish meals we have had, and we will keep this on our shopping list and you should too!

Earl Cooks Baked Fish on Friday

Growing up, I don't remember my mom cooking fish for us. We were always fed fish sticks on Fridays for school lunch. They were barely recognizable as fish. There was a great seafood restaurant downtown that started as a fish market, called Bratten's. The sad thing is, I only remember eating clam chowder there.

When we got married, fresh seafood was just beginning to be shipped fresh from the west coast and the local seafood scene changed drastically, beginning, I believe, with Market Street Grill in downtown Salt Lake City. Since then, of course, seafood has become available in a wide range of types and quality. It is no longer elementary school fish sticks. A few years ago, I felt we needed to eat more fish and I found a frozen brand that was quite good that could be cooked in a skillet. Our doctors recommended we include more omega 3 fatty acids into our diet, so I thought I would try find ways to cook salmon (we never really ate salmon). I found several, some from the seafood counter at the supermarket, some from the frozen section. Since trying salmon, I have found many good options and salmon has become a staple at our house.

For dinner tonight, Dill Butter Keta Salmon Fillets with Capers and Jalepeño & Dill Tartar Sauce. The fillets came pre-seasoned with dill butter in individual fillets. They are skin-on, but the skin is thin and adds a bit of texture. Simply defrost the fillets and you can pan sear them or oven roast them. It takes only 12-15 minutes. I decided to add jasmine rice as a side dish and top with capers. The tartar sauce has dill to mirror the seasoning included with the salmon, and a hint of jalepeño, but no discernible heat. Although most people probably don't use tartar sauce with salmon, the extra dill is a nice compliment and it needed the jalepeño. My wife added lemon to hers instead of the tartar sauce. I also liked the capers, which boosted the flavor of the sauce which was a bit bland without adding something extra. I topped the rice with butter and peppered everything, and added some great tomatoes as an accompaniment!

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick weeknight meal, or for anyone looking to add more fish to their diet!

Earl Cooks Mediterranean Herb Crusted Salmon

I don't think I eat enough fish. That stated, we eat A LOT more than we did 5 years ago. We like fish, but when our family was younger. the smell of the fish was rather off-putting for all. Gradually, I learned ways to cook fish,and types of fish that would not cause problems, but my daughters had flown the coop by then.

My local fish monger (a chain grocery store) had their salmon at a really good price and they even had one that sounded easy because it was already crusted with Mediterranean Herbs. I bought two and thought they would go well with peeled new potatoes which I halved and covered with garlic roasted seasoning sauce I bought in a packet made by a company called Red Fork. I was able to cook both the potaoes and the fish in the same pan in a 375℉ oven in a mere 25, minutes and except for rotating it in the oven halfway through, it went unattended! I  thought it was very good and the sauce on the potatoes complimented the crust on the fish nicely, although I think i could have made a sauce just as nice from ingredients I already have on hand.
Results:
Crusted Salmon ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰ (I will be buying it again)
Potato Roasting Sauce ⭐⭐½ (I won't be buying it again, but may make something like it)

Addendum:
My wife a.k.a. "Turkey" took her leftovers to work for lunch the next day and reported that while the fish was fine, the herb crust was not. Eat it all hot and fresh from the oven.

Earl Cooks Keta Salmon with Spinach & Sliced New Potatoes

I am gradually learning more about salmon the more I buy and cook it I saw some on sale the other day marked wild caught Keta Salmon in a dill butter, so I grabbed some. Wild caught and sustainably

Keta or Chum Salmon - Male

harvested, sounded good to me but I didn't know what 'keta" was. Keta salmon is second only to the king in size and inhabits waters throughout the Pacific Northwest. It has an unattractive nickname "chum" salmon. It is relatively neutral tasting. 
The salmon was frozen with 2 fillets vacuum packed and included the dill-butter sauce in on the fillets, which were skin on and about 6oz. each.The instructions are to defrost in the fridge and cook on the grill or in the oven. This was my first time, with these fillets, so I selected the oven.

 I started by seasoning the tray, not the potatoes. It is hard not to over season potatoes and I didn't want that. I then placed the sliced potatoes on the seasoning and drizzled some EVOO over the top. Then while the oven preheated, I put the tray of potatoes in and roasted them until the oven was hot. and covered them with the leaf spinach. I used caned but defrosted frozen would also work

 Once the oven was hot, I placed the fillets on a small baking sheet I hat sprayed with non-stick pan spray. Shown here with the dill butter sauce poured on top.





Here is the finished plate. I added a bit of butter to the spinach-potatoes as well as to the salmon. By the time my camera took the shot, it had melted to the side.
Results:
The salmon was good, although the dill-butter sauce was too mild and the potato-spinach side dish was underwhelming. I will definitely be cooking keta salmon again! Next time on the grill or stove-top though!

Earl Cooks Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze

Salmon Fillet with Balsamic Glaze on a bed of Quinoa & Rice

As I have previously mentioned, we have recently started eating more Salmon and have loved it. I also recently bought some Balsamic Vinegar of Modena at Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is an interesting place to shop and I look forward to going there. They are almost 100% private label product, but it is some of the highest quality available AND at a moderate price. Their olive oil is very high quality and now I find their Balsamic Vinegar to be the same. I also found a great price on some Salmon fillets a day or two ago and need to try a new recipe. There are many recipes available for salmon with a balsamic glaze, so after looking at them, I decided to use them as a bit of a guide and go my own way. Going my own way is not always successful, but this was, and I can judge that by "Turkey's" response...she loved it!

Let me start by saying that If I am cooking FROZEN salmon, which I do from time to time, I just follow their instructions on the package, which usually involves baking it. Fresh, skin on fillets, however, I want to pan sear. I want to control the cooking and seasoning completely. Also, we are not big side dish eaters for nightly meals. A little vegetable or starch to fill us up, something quick, is all we usually go for. Tonight, I decided to try something I had never tried, Quinoa, which I mixed with long grain white rice & butter.

Ingredients

—for the fish

• 2 salmon fillets, skin on, 4 to 5 oz. each

—for the balsamic glaze

• Balsamic Vinegar 1/4 cup
• Lemon Juice from 1 lemon 1-2 TBLS
• Brown Sugar 2 TBLS
• Water 1/4 cup
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper and Salt
• EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). Enough to coat skillet bottom, about 2 TBLS

Instructions

• Remove Salmon from the refrigerator and any wrapping. Dry surface with paper towels
• Salt & Pepper both sides of fillets.
• Mix Liquid Ingredients & Brown sugar together, stirring well until all are combined.
• Heat oil in the skillet on medium-high until shimmering.
• Reduce heat to Medium and add fillets skin side UP
• Cook for 3 minutes or so, and flip so skin is down, cooking for another 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets
• Drizzle glaze on the fillets and allow to cook 1 minute more.
• Ad more glaze to plate
• Serve and devour!

Results

Great. I prepared a small side with Quinoa & Rice and placed my fillet on top. My wife used the glaze to flavor her Quinoa & Rice too!

Earl Cooks Mediterranean Crusted Salmon with Spinach/Artichoke Riced Caulifower

Salmon has become the go-to seafood in our house. I originally started serving it because of it's health benefits, but now it is for it's versatility and flavor. It seems to be readily available year-round, and while not cheap, it is rather reasonable. I try to have it once a week, so I am always looking for new ways to season and serve it. While shopping a my local fishmonger (the seafood area in the butcher section at the chain grocery store), I spotted some salmon fillets that were pre-seasoned with a Mediterranean herb crust, so home they came! Now all I had to do was find a side that wouldn't negate the health benefits of the salmon, so I created Spinach/Artichoke Riced Cauliflower...what a MOUTHFUL. And yes it was a mouthful, but easy and per my wife's instructions, cleared a bit of cupboard space! The details follow...
Ingredients
̶  for the Spinach/Artichoke Riced Cauliflower

• 1 pkg Riced Cauliflower (frozen)
• 1 can Artichoke Bottoms
• 1 can chopped spinach
• Juice from 1 lemon
• Salt & pepper
• 1 TBL real butter

 ̶  for the fish

• 2 Mediterranean Herb crusted Salmon Fillets (5 oz). I bought mine at my local Smith's, a Kroger grocery subsidiary, but have seen them elsewhere and even in the frozen food section. You can also find crust recipes all over the internet
• Salt & Pepper
• Lemon
• 1 tsp real butter 

Instructions

̶  for the Spinach/Artichoke Riced Cauliflower

• Drain canned spinach and artichokes and rinse thoroughly
• Chop Artichokes
• Cook Riced Cauliflower per package instructions and drain any excess liquid
• Combine all and heat through
• Add butter, salt pepper and lemon juice to taste

 ̶  for the fish

• Cook per recipe instructions. If you are cooking fresh salmon, I recommend a skillet to give the skin the necessary crispness, but I cooked mine in the oven because the skin had been removed

Results/Conclusions

The salmon was good, though not as good as I have made before. I love artichokes, but the canned variety lacked the savory goodness of fresh. My wife likes canned spinach, or spinach in any form, so it was fine and we have come to enjoy riced veggies of all kinds. All-in-all it was a satisfying  weeknight meal, though next time, I will make a few changes.

Earl Cooks Fresh Honey Garlic Salmon

Fresh Salmon Fillets

Tried something new last night...new for me at least, I cooked Fresh Salmon Fillets! We have been trying to eat more Salmon, but I have been cooking frozen portions in the oven for convenience and price. Well the other night my wife said she would like to try fresh, so at the market, I saw some some great looking fillets and had the butcher wrap them up. I had never cooked fish with the skin on, and as you can see, when displayed flesh side up, they didn't look like they had any skin...my mistake. I found a recipe that sounded good AND my wife liked, then modified it to match our fillets, which were 8oz. I found the recipe on RecipeTin Eats, a site I visited for the first time. My recipe follows:

Ingredients

Sauce

• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (We use Kikkoman's)
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed

Salmon

• 2 salmon fillets,  (8oz each)
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper(a must in our house)

Instructions

1. Take salmon out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Pat salmon skin dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Whisk together the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Drizzle oil in a non stick fry pan and heat over medium high heat (or just under, if your stove runs hot). Place salmon in the pan, and cook the first side (skin side) for 4 minutes. Turn, then cook the other side for 3 minutes, or to taste.
4. Flip so skin side is DOWN again. Pour Sauce over salmon. Cook for 1 minute or until it starts to thicken slightly. Look at the SIDE of the salmon to tell how cooked through the center is.
5. Remove onto dinner plates.
6. Serve salmon drizzled with Sauce.

How it turned out

It was tasty and tender and came right off of the skin (a worry I had). 8 oz. is a large fillet and I probably could have used just one cut in half for a portion. From a flavor standpoint, the Honey/Soy/Garlic mixture was something I probably won't try again. I prefer a more savory taste that doesn't overpower the salmon.