Salmon with Sweet & Spicy Rub

Another recipe from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for Healthy Living. We enjoyed it and Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower and steamed green beans tossed with a bit of salt and butter.

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar. I like the bolder flavor.)
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
dash teaspoon salt
dash teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin and any pin bones removed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Coat your grill or a grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat.
While the grill is heating, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Brush each salmon fillet with half of the olive oil, then rub each fillet with about half of the spice mixture.

Grill the salmon, flesh side down, until charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the salmon and cook another 5 to 6 minutes for medium doneness. For well done fish, cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a platter and serve immediately.

Dinnertime

For dinner Monday night Jeffrey seared tuna steaks. He rubbed them down with a bit of olive oil, then topped them each with a bit of redfish seasoning and Greek seasoning, then seared them in a pan of hot olive oil and a bit of butter.

I made Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts that I saw at Ezra Pound Cake's website. It was really tasty; I'll make it again. My eight-year-old son gobbled it up.

Creole Catfish Cakes with Remoulade Sauce

For dinner Sunday night I made Creole Catfish Cakes. Similar to crab cakes, only these have broiled, flaked catfish. I had only two fillets and about half a dozen leftover shrimp in the fridge, so I added that shrimp, too. I'm a gambler; fish, shrimp, it all works, right? In this case, it did.

The version I made:

2 catfish fillets, broiled
about 6 medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined
3 tablespoons butter
about 1/3 - 1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cups finely chopped bell pepper - Make sure the bell pepper is minced. I always forget and leave it chopped rather than minced and the pieces too big for the patties.
1/4 cups finely chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
3/4 cups fresh bread crumbs

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the flour. Stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, while the roux bubbles. Add the milk slowly, continuing to stir until the cream sauce is thick, 10 to 12 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and mustard, mixing well.

Flake the catfish fillets into a bowl. Add the cream sauce and the remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Use the fish mixture immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Using a large spoon, make cakes with the fish mixture and coat them completely with more fresh bread crumbs. Using a heavy skillet, sauté the patties gently in 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter, until they are browned. Keep warm in a low oven while you continue cooking the cakes, adding more oil and butter as needed.

Serve with remoulade (or comeback) sauce.

Serves 2-3.

Recipe courtesy of Classic Catfish Cookbook.

Salmon with Maple-Lemon Glaze

This recipe was in a spring issue of Cooking Light. That particular issue is still in my cookbook holder. The cover is bright and cheery and the magazine has a number of dishes I kept meaning to make, like this one. We tried it one night last night and it is delicious. Easy and tasty.

Fresh: Finish the fish under the broiler to caramelize the glaze into a tasty browned crust. Serve with roasted potato wedges and peas.

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add fish to bag; seal. Refrigerate 10 minutes, turning bag once.

3. Remove fish from bag, reserving marinade. Place marinade in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute.

4. Heat a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes. Turn fish over. Brush marinade evenly over fish. Broil 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Sesame Seared Tuna

We had a pretty good sized tuna steak that Jeffrey cut in half and marinated for about 10 to 15 minutes in sesame oil and a splash of soy sauce. Next time we’ll let it soak a little longer, closer to 30 minutes or more.

He heated olive oil and a bit of butter in a skillet and in the meantime, patted down both sides of the tuna with sesame seeds.

He seared the tuna, cooking mine a bit longer than his. I like rare tuna but I don’t like it when it’s cold in the center. Letting it come to room temperature helps.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Tasty and healthy. The sesame oil complimented the tuna nicely.

We had brussel sprouts with the tuna. I love brussel sprouts. Following the package directions, we microwaved them – perfect since tuna takes, literally, less than two minutes to cook – and made a “sauce” of melted butter and dark brown sugar. I sprinkled some lightly toasted pecans on top.

Next time, we may try some sauteed bok choy as a side dish.