Grilled Vodka Salmon and roasted tri-color potatoes with pancetta and salt

This is a perfectly acceptable "healthy" meal in my book. It has fish, a veg, and a potato that isn't fried. Argue if you want, but I don't see any reason why you can't eat like this every night of the week.

You already know that I'm a big salmon fan. I eat fish all the time, and salmon is one of the top pics. I'll tell you this, though. For the longest time - maybe almost a year - I've been eating salmon fillets. Then, a few weeks ago, I made a salmon steak. Wow! Wow! Wow!!! That extra flavor coming from the bones, fat, skin and other components you don't find in a fillet impart SO much more flavor. But, you can't beat the adaptability of a salmon fillet, so don't worry about making this dish with anything else.

So, I usually get into building fish dishes around Asian flavors because they meld so well. I just wanted something different, though, so I thought of building the flavor around vodka. I also had panchetta on hand and some tri-color potatoes, so I knew that would work with it. Snap peas were a nice color and texture balance, so I picked them for the trifecta.

Grilled Vodka Salmon:

Marinate the salmon fillets in enough vodka to cover halfway, along with the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, and a glug or two of olive oil. Let these marinate at least 1 hour. Take them from the fridge at least 20 minutes before going to the grill.

Heat your grill. Baste the fillets with the marinade, cooking about 3-4 minutes per side. Top with a pinch of kosher or other chunky salt. I used a pink Hawaiian salt, but I don't think you can catch it in the image.

Roasted Tri-Color Potatoes with Pancetta and Salt:

I picked up a bag of tri-color potatoes at Trader Joes. I also bought my pancetta there. In a roasting pan, I mixed a bunch of chunk-cut potatoes with olive oil, cubed pancetta and kosher salt. That's all you need. Roast on 350 for 20 minutes, then 450 for 20 minutes or so. Mix everything up once or twice during the cooking time, to ensure you're distributing flavors (pancetta) and nothing is burning or sticking.

Blanched Snap Peas:

Drop them into boiling salt water for 30 seconds. Drain and top with kosher salt.

Enjoy!

~ Brock

Broiled Miso Salmon

This is one of the easiest dishes to make, and it has so much flavor. Literally two ingredients - miso paste and salmon. I think it works best with a salmon steak, although you could do it with a fillet. Ultimately, the steak is superior and broils nicely.

Broiled Miso Salmon:

Take a salmon steak about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. Slather it in miso paste, put it in a zip lock bag, and put it in the fridge for at least 4 hours. You can even put it in the miso overnight.

When you're ready, let the salmon rest on the counter at least 15 minutes before you cook it. Heat your broiler. If you've had the miso in the bag longer than a couple of hours, you'll want to rinse it off before you cook it. Otherwise, just wipe off the excess miso.

Broil this for about 7 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for another 7-10 minutes until it's cooked through and nicely charred.

Enjoy this with a pan fried vegetable (like spinach & garlic or something like that) and some rice.

~ Brock

Salmon, Shrimp & Artichoke Heart Pasta with Lemon Butter Sauce

A fairly simple, yet flavorful pasta dish. This one takes a few pans, or it takes one pan and a few turns (plus two pots). I'm still not the greatest fan of pasta, but sometimes I crave it. When I do, I don't want just spaghetti...I need to make something unique. I find that pasta lends to extreme creativity and flexibility. You can do hot or cold pastas, all different shapes and sizes, baked, boiled and/or steamed...there are just so many alternatives, it's a hard base ingredient to ignore.

Anyway, I wanted salmon and shrimp, and needed a vegetable. I had some canned artichoke hearts on hand. Here's what you do:

Chunk your salmon and season it liberally with your favorite spices. For mine, I wanted an Italian-styled blackened spice mixture - salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, basil and oregano. Work it in with olive oil and set aside. Next, spice up your shrimp the same way or a different way - don't rely on me to hold your hand. Experiment...try something different.

Heat up a skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil until smoking and fry the artichoke hearts for 3-4 minutes until browned on sides (release the liquid BEFORE you cook them). Set aside. Add a little olive oil and fry the shrimp. Opaque doesn't mean sold white...if you're not sure, take a risk and eat it before you think it's done (though if you get sick, it's your fault for not being prudent - I am a lawyer, afterall). Set those aside. Wipe your pan out and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry your salmon chunks - a couple minutes per side - don't burn and don't overcook. It's okay for the salmon to have a slight translucent appearance internally. Set aside.

Sauce:

Boil 1/2 Cup white wine, 5-7 slivers of lemon peel, and juice from one lemon in a small pot. Reduce by about 1/2, then add 1 Cup chicken stock and some fresh basil. Boil, then reduce to about half the amount. When you're pasta is ready (NOT before), you'll add a couple of pats of butter with the heat off, stirring to mix.

Pasta:

Cook pasta according to instructions. I used angel hair pasta. Meanwhile heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry about 5 cloves of garlic, chopped. Add cooked and drained pasta and mix well. Add salmon, shrimp and artichoke hearts, being careful not too make a shoddy mess of the whole thing.

Serve into a pasta dish and top with fresh minced basil and crushed red peppers. Spoon over some lemon butter sauce.

Enjoy!

~ Brock