Update-palooza

This is a bit ridiculous, I know (and I'm sorry!), but I have a few updates to make. I figured I'd do them all in one post to try and be as least obnoxious as possible. I'll also keep the pictures down to one or two per recipe.

In order of first appearance on the blog...

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Pan Sauce
We enjoyed this! I decided to use the entire amount of balsamic since we both love it, and I'm glad that I did. It was very blueberry-y (obviously), but I thought it paired really well with the salmon. Unfortunately, I didn't have any mint (and didn't want to make a special trip to just get that), so I made it without. As you can see, I served it over a bed of fresh spinach. Yum!

Thai Ground Pork Salad
We seriously loved this. I don't really have much else to say other than that. I pretty much made it exactly as written, except omitted the cilantro (my food arch nemesis... but seriously, the only ingredient I've ever come into contact with that I don't like. And by don't like, I mean despise) and made up for it with extra basil and mint. I also added a bit of extra Sriracha and jalapeno because we like things spicy. Oh, and as you can see I had to use iceberg lettuce instead of Boston (sad!). AND I used regular onion instead of shallots. Hmm, I guess I changed more than I thought, but nothing too drastic. Anyway, we loved it and are looking forward to the next time we have it!


Thumbprint Cookies
YUM! I made these today, and had to restrain myself to only eat two. They're delicious. I had a haunting suspicion that I'd love them given the Nutella and espresso and hazelnuts, and I was definitely correct. So tasty, and I love that they're semi-healthy. (Not really, but they're from Cooking Light, so I can believe that... right?!) I put a little extra salt in because I love when certain cookies have a bit of saltiness to them, and I was so glad I did. It worked perfectly with the sweet Nutella.

Berries and Salmon

I was a little apprehensive after ready the reviews here and online. So I decided to not use the balsamic vinegar. I subsituted a squeeze of honey, some lemon juice and a dash of cayenne pepper to kick it up a bit.

Everyone hanging out in the pot getting ready to be mashed and the sauce simmering.



We had a delay in cooking since the propane decided to run out. So while Barry ran for a refill I did the dishes.

All done! To serve along side I grilled red potatoes coated with honey, mustard and hot sauce. Yum!



I found the sauce was a nice compliment to the salmon. The sauce on it's own was not as sweet as I imagined it would be. However, the salmon brought out the sweetness somehow. I only made 2 filets, so I had some leftover sauce that I froze. I am curious to try it with pork and even turkey.

Market finds: Salmon & Blueberries

I love salmon, but I never buy it. I hate buying frozen fish because it just never tastes right to me. So, I knew for this recipe that I wanted some fresh salmon. Last week, I'd had some bad luck with the fresh trout from my local grocery store.

It stank. Fish shouldn't stink like fish. That means it's old.

So, I headed off to the St. Lawrence Market. You know that episode of the Simpsons where Homer dreams of the Land of Chocolate? And he frolicks through the place taking bites? Yeah, that's me at this market.

This is the South Market (picture taken from their homepage)

If you ever visit Toronto, make this one of your stops. Great custard tarts, cheese samples and a honey vendor in the basement that will let you taste all of his wares.

It was a beautiful day for walking to the market, see? Twenty-five degrees and zero humidity. LOVE it.

Facing away from the Market, down Front Street

So, when I got home with the wares, I was eager to start cooking.

Okay, the wine was for me, not the salmon.

Now, I'd read the reviews for this over on epicurious, and they weren't the most flattering. Most seemed to say that the vinegar overpowered the blueberries or that the combination of blueberry and salmon was just plain weird. I was comfortable with the sweetness of my blueberries (local Ontario ones!) having sampled more than my fair share, but all the same, I reduced the vinegar down from 1 tbsp to 2 tsp.

I served the whole thing with israeli couscous with sunflower seeds and some grilled zucchini. We even brought out the wedding china for the meal! And, I must say, the whole thing plated up beautifully.

Not bad, huh?

Now, I definitely ran into a big problem. Even with the reduction of the vinegar (and my confidence in my berries), the balsamic flavour overwhelmed the flavour of the blueberries, which was a real disappointment. It was pretty harsh. I added a ½ cup of additional berries, which helped a bit, but didn't solve the problem. I think replacing the balsamic vinegar with something more mild - like rice or champagne vinegar (or even lemon juice) would make a difference. The blueberries need something to complement them, not to work against them. Even with those changes, I'd recommend adding the vinegar a little at a time, and checking the seasoning as you go.

I will say, the mint MAKES this dish. I wasn't convinced that it would add anything good to it, but it really harmonizes the flavours.

For dessert, we had leftover Yellow Plum & Apricot Cake that I'd made the previous day:

It's delicious! Try it!

Oh, and we got a great wine to work with the salmon: Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2009. It's got great berry flavours and really balances the richness of the salmon.

Not an insipid Beaujolais-Nouveau! Bright berry flavours here.

Overall, I don't know that I'd make this recipe again (definitely not until the balance of flavours gets figured out), but I did enjoy it. It's a 3 star dish as I made it. I do think the sauce would also work with venison or bison. I think the use of blackberries in place of the blueberries could also be the tweaking this recipe needs.