Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon

Another Salmon recipe! I decided to make this recipe when I was reading the titles of a few recipes to Bunker and he perked up when I read "Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon." I was really low on energy and not in the best of moods, so part of me wanted to go out to dinner, but the larger part of me wanted to stay home with the pups. Anyways...the deciding factor was Bunker. He was so excited about this recipe that he offered to go to the grocery store with me to gather the ingredients and then go to Blockbuster and get a movie for the night! It ended up being a fun family field trip, and the dinner ended up being simple perfection. So glad that we stayed home and cooked a yummy dinner for ourselves.

Sweet Shafer

Honestly, I know I am not a salmon aficionado, but this salmon was cooked perfectly and the flavors combined to make a fresh and bright dinner. We paired our salmon with a vegetable stir-fry of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and brown rice. I only made about 8 ounces of salmon since it was just the two of us, therefore, I had extra sauce that I was able to use on the stir-fry. This recipe is from Cooking Light, and my only changes were using honey rather than brown sugar, 8 ounces of salmon rather than the amount specified, I used olive oil rather than Canola oil, and I cooked the salmon about 2 minutes longer than the recipe specified (due to the fact that my one 8 ounce piece was thicker than the 6 ounces pieces specified in the recipe).

Cute Cort

Not only was this recipe tasty, but I also learned something. So, in the title, they use the word Teriyaki, and I immediately went to my sauces to make sure that I had Teriyaki sauce. Well, take a quick glance at the ingredients. "Teriyaki sauce" is nowhere to be seen! Or is it? I looked up Teriyaki sauce, and indeed, upon further inspection, Teriyaki is clearly part of this recipe. Teriyaki is actually a technique in which you make a sweet soy sauce marinade produced by boiling together soy sauce with honey or sugar until it is reduced and thickened, and then brushed onto a meat that is grilled or broiled. Always fun to learn something new in the kitchen!

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Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
1 (6 ounce) can of pineapple juice (yes...you will have to go ahead and buy the 6 pack...sorry)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 salmon filet (8 ounces) (this was just the perfect amount for two people)

Steps:
1. Gather your ingredients.

2. Combine the honey, soy sauce, orange zest and pineapple juice in a small saucepan.

3. Bring the contents of the small saucepan to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. You want the sauce to be thickened and reduced to between 1/4 and 1/2 a cup. Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Prepare the salmon fillet by sprinkling with the salt and pepper.

6. Add the olive oil to a small pan and heat to medium-high heat. Let the pan get hot before adding the salmon.
7. Add the salmon skin side up to the pan and sear for three minutes.

8. Remove the salmon from the pan and place in a baking dish that is sprayed with cooking spray.

9. Place the dish in the oven for one minute.
10. Remove the salmon and add as much of the sauce as you desire (I used about half and I used the other half as the sauce for our vegetable and brown rice stir-fry.

11. Return the fish to the oven for another 1 to 3 minutes depending on thickness. You want the fish to flake easily. Mine took 3 minutes as it was a bit on the thicker side.

12. Enjoy at home with a simple stir-fry!

Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Mustard Glaze

Wow. I now know that due to my childhood food aversions (that lasted far into my adult life), I have missed out on one of the yummiest foods. Salmon! I just had no clue that something so delicious and nutritious was just sitting there at the grocery store, waiting for me to take it home and turn it into a tasty dinner! Same thing at so many restaurants, I just sort of zone out when they mention the word salmon while I scan the menu for chicken or steak. Well...after broadening my food horizons (for a few different reasons...including this blog!) and making this recipe, I now plan to incorporate salmon into my life at least once a week! If you too are a late comer to salmon, or seafood in general, I hope that this recipe inspires you to dip your toe into the limitless possibilities provided by seafood in the kitchen.

Shafer almost jumped into the fountain on our walk! I almost did too...it was so hot! This was on the 68th (and last!!!) day of 100 plus degree temperatures this summer.

This recipe comes from Cooking Light. I cooked only two fillets, each about 5 ounces, (the recipe calls for 4 fillets, each 6 ounces) and this was more than enough for a dinner for two. I did make the same amount of glaze, and I would do this again, as the glaze was rather phenomenal. Bunker and I both impolitely dipped our bread in the extra glaze. I think if you are at home and you both do this, the impoliteness is canceled out and the action instead should be seen as a silent compliment to the chef :)

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Ingredients for the Salmon:
2 fillets of salmon (each 5 to 6 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Ingredients for the Glaze:
1/4 cup of apricot nectar (you should be able to find this in the juice section of your grocery store)
1/4 cup of apricot preserves
1 tablespoon of Honey-Dijon mustard (or just Dijon...we just had Honey-Dijon in the fridge)
1 1/2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons of honey
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Steps:
1. Gather all of your ingredients for the fish.

2. Sprinkle the fillets evenly with the salt, pepper and garlic.

3. Cover the fillets and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. While the fish is in the refrigerator, gather all of your ingredients for the glaze.

5. Combine all of the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and heat over and bring to boil.

6. Once your glaze has come to a boil and things have melded together, reduce the heat to a simmer.

7. Let the glaze simmer for about 10 minutes, the glaze should reduce to about 1/4 a cup. Remove the glaze from the heat and set aside.
8. Take the fish out of the refrigerator and prepare the grill with cooking spray. Let the grill heat up before you add the fish, you want to grill to be very hot before you put anything on the grill.
9. Place the salmon skin side up on the grill and cook for about 2 minutes.

10. Turn over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

11. Remove the fish from the grill and pour the glaze over the fish.

12. Enjoy on a hot summer evening! We enjoyed our salmon with a spinach salad, corn muffins, and whole wheat couscous with corn.