Blueberries + Balsamic = Yum

'Round these parts, we're big fans of balsamic, so when Alyson reported that the balsamic flavour is quite strong in this dish, I made the decision to leave everything as is.  If the blueberries came through too (other than in just imparting their wonderful mouth dyeing qualities) that would be a bonus.


Anytime a recipe calls for something to be "sliced thinly" I get a bit excited.  That to me is a prep challenge.  Thankfully, I've got the perfect tool in my cluttered drawer of kitchen utensils for this particular job.  A mandolin.  No, not the kind you strum like a guitar, but any amateur chefs best slicing friend. 

Mine was a shower gift from one of my bridesmaids and is handheld, rather than standalone.  Set to the thinnest setting it made quick work of 4 or 5 shallots to get the requisite 3/4 cups.

I think I'm going to have to make up some risotto this week to use up the rest of those shallots.

Since most of the things I make in a frying pan this time of year are of the very sticky variety (ie, eggs) I usually turn to my non-stick for any pan uses, however, making a pan sauce just screams for using the stainless steel cookware.  Thank you Gordon Ramsey, you make some fine cookware.  I love the deglazing stage of sauce making.  Everything is just to bubbly and fun!

I opted to go with salmon steaks for this.  Again, wanting to stay pretty well with the letter of the recipe.  The only issue was that I didn't take the time to remove any bones that were left in the steaks before I cooked them off.  That resulted in a somewhat annoying dining experience.  They were, however, very tasty.

Have I mentioned before how much I love my BBQ?  It's pretty well all I cook on in the spring/summer/fall months.  Love.  And, the best part IMO, it's blue!

For side dishes I opted to go with some fresh, just steamed green beans (product of Ontario, as were the blueberries) and some leftover rosemary potato bread with an olive oil/balsamic dip.  Wine for me and beer for the mister, both also products of Ontario!

Final verdict was that this was an enjoyable meal.  I did add the suggested lemon juice in to the sauce, and we thought that while the balsamic may have been the dominant flavour in the sauce, that the blueberries did come through.  Also, as Alyson mentioned, the mint is really critical in this dish.  The freshness of it just really bring the whole thing together.  I'll keep this one filed under "maybe make again" and just remember to remove ALL bones ahead of time.