Salmon Cheddar Grills -- A Quick and Healthy Snack

I was invited to test a recipe from Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's new e-cookbook, "Alaska Style -- Recipes for Kids," which is chock full of healthy snacks and meals for children and adults.

I've not cooked much with my 21-month-old son, but last week he did a great job of sprinkling cheese on some focaccia I was baking, so I knew he'd be able to assist in the salmon cheddar grills we whipped up for lunch. When I mentioned I would need his help in the kitchen, Jack explained to his dad, "Help mama make snack," so he knew something special was about to happen.

These salmon grills are perfect if you're introducing fish to your little picky eater as the fishy taste is almost completely disguised by the cheesiness. Jack eats just about anything so I knew they'd be a hit. They were easy to prepare and after a few minutes in the toaster oven we had lunch for two.

Salmon Cheddar Grills

For the original recipe, check out the e-cookbook "Alaska Style -- Recipes for Kids"

Ingredients:

1, 7.5-oz. can of wild Alaska salmon, pink or red

2 oz. light garlic and herb cheese spread (Alouette or Laughing Cow is good)

2 tsp. green onion or chive, finely chopped

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

2 English muffins or slices 0f rustic bread

Directions:

Drain the salmon and break it up with a fork in a mixing bowl. Add the cheese spread, green onions and half the cheese. Add pepper to taste. Mix well. Spread onto the bread and top with more cheddar. Place in the toaster oven or broiler till cheese is all bubbly. Enjoy!

For more great recipes and e-cookbooks, click here!

Pasta Alfredo with Peas and Salmon on a Bed of Arugula

In case you don't live in Southcentral Alaska, it's sockeye salmon season. If you do live in Southcentral Alaska then you, your brother, your coworker and your landlord's cousin have a freezer full of salmon. My husband came home with 36 gorgeous fish and after 4 hours of processing we now have to come up with ways of eating this healthy, delicious animal.

Last night we grilled up simple salmon steaks with just butter and lemon pepper, but tonight I wanted something fancy. No, I just wanted pasta.

This turned out amazingly. Here's how to make it. Please keep in mind that I eyeball everything so these measurements are approximate.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 small salmon fillet
butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 lb. pasta of your choice
fresh baby arugula
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon fillet, skin side down, in a baking dish. Spread butter all over your fillet. Salt and pepper to taste.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Bake your salmon for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it. When you see white "sweat" coming out of the edges of the filet, it's done. Remove from oven and set aside.

Cook your pasta al dente.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook till fragrant, about one minute. Add the cream, cream cheese, and milk. Stir until cream cheese is melted. Add the nutmeg and cheese and pepper to taste. Turn down heat as soon as sauce thickens.

When pasta is almost done, add the peas to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan. Mix till pasta is thoroughly coated in the sauce.

With a fork, flake the salmon into bite-sized pieces.

Line each serving plate with baby arugula leaves. Add the pasta and top with a serving of salmon.

Deeeeeelish!

Cedar-Plank Salmon -- it's totally worth it!

Last week Stephen and I went to Lowes -- not my favorite place to shop, but at least it's not Best Buy. While I was perusing the shelving aisles, Stephen decided to buy a big cedar board. I thought it was for the shoe rack he was planning on building (hubby craft!), but when we got home he sawed it into planks and told me it was for salmon. Now Stephen despises fish, so this was purely a thoughtful act on his part. He really wanted me to try making cedar-plank salmon. I don't know where he got the idea, but the only time I'd ever tried this was the summer I spent in Kodiak in college. I had no idea what I was doing and the board caught on fire.

I had a knitting friend who wanted to get together, so I thought tonight was a perfect time to not only clean my completely ransacked house (I live like a bachelor when Stephen is out of town) but to also try out this cedar salmon idea.

I looked up a few recipes online and decided on Real Simple's version.  The only thing I did differently was I soaked the cedar boards in salted water for two hours. Twenty minutes only brought back memories of grills engulfed in flames.

This salmon was incredible. I'm not too familiar with grilling, let alone grilling salmon, and this recipe made me seem like some sort of salmon chef. Man -- I'm gonna have to force feed this down Stephen's throat when he gets home. He might actually like fish after he tries a bite of this! I served it with Alton Brown's brown rice and a salad.

Ingredients:
1 sockeye salmon filet
1 cedar plank big enough to fit the filet
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs. cooking oil
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

Directions:
Heat your gas grill to high for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the sugar, oil, thyme and cayenne together to make a paste. Place salmon skin side down on cedar plank. Rub sugar mixture all over the top of the filet. Turn grill to med-low and place planks on the grill. Cover the grill and cook salmon for 40 minutes or until the fat starts congealing in the grains of the meat (see the above photo). Remove planks and let the salmon sit for 5 minutes before serving with brown rice.

Little Orange Jewels

It's that time of year again when my family's home is filled with the scent of smoked fish. This smell instantly transports me to my childhood summers with endless days of light, playing in our enchanted woods out back and downing smoked salmon like it was candy.

Each year my father buys fresh king salmon, cleans it on top of the hot tub on the deck, fillets it and smokes it to perfection. The added bonus to his smoked salmon is silky, salty roe. As a child, the thought of eating salmon eggs was beyond revolting, but recently my adult tastes can't seem to get enough.

Preparing the roe is simple. You'll need a piece of 1/4-inch wire mesh grate. It looks like really small chicken wire. The holes need to be about the size of the salmon eggs. You can find it at any hardware store.

Here's how my father does it:


Remove roe from female fish. Push the roe through the mesh grate using your hands. Doing this will remove the membrane from the eggs.

Prepare a bowl of very cold water that is super saturated with non-iodized salt. This is a basic brine.



Pour the separated eggs into the bowl of brine. Stir occasionally. Depending on the species of salmon (that is, the size of the eggs) they will be ready in 15-30 minutes. Start checking them at 15 minutes by removing a tablespoon of eggs, placing them in a tiny mesh strainer, rinsing off the salt with cold water and tasting them. When they are salty enough for your satisfaction they are done. If too salty, pour the eggs into a bowl of unsalted cold water, which will reverse the process, and de-salt the eggs.


When the eggs are ready to your taste pour them into a large strainer, and rinse them for a minute or two with cold water spray from your kitchen sink, turning the eggs over several times with your hands to remove excess salt.


Take the strainer with the eggs and place it in a large bowl, which has an inverted small saucer in the bottom to keep the strainer from touching the bottom of the bowl. Fill a gallon Ziploc bag with cold water, and put the bag on top of the strainer and put it in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours. This will remove excess water and compress the product.

Place roe into jars and serve with Carr's crackers and chilled white wine.

Mom enjoying king salmon roe