I’ve been wanting to make cedar plank salmon ever since I had it at a restaurant a few years ago. I saw cedar grilling planks for sale at my local Publix, and first cringed at the price… $9 for two planks. Sheesh, its just wood. A bit pricey, but when I saw that you could use them a few times, I threw my frugal caution to the wind and bought them. Boy was I glad I did! This made such a fantastic dinner, and I did basically NO work for it, as I used my basic orange juice glaze. That is a total win-win situation for me.

Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe

1 cedar plank
1/4 c orange juice
1 tbsp honey
2 salmon filets
salt
pepper

1. Soak planks for at least an hour, preferably longer. Preheat grill and place the plank inside the grill, rough side down.  Let heat for about 10 minutes until smoking.

2. Simmer the orange juice and honey in a small sauce pan, just until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes, and let cool down. Or, you can microwave it in a ramekin for 1-2 minutes (if you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to dirty a pan)

3. Season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Brush both sides with glaze and place on the cedar plank.  Grill until cooked, 10-15 minutes.  No need to flip the fish.

Makes 2 Servings

This is a very simple meal with one of my favorite veggies, English Peas.  I kept the salmon simple and healthy with a pomegranate and orange juice glaze and the mashed potatoes extra flavorful and fattening with a nice big dollop of goat cheese and roasted garlic.  Everything in moderation.  The Peas were kept extra simple… shocked and buttered.

Pomegranate-Orange Glaze Salmon Recipe

1/4 c pomegranate juice
1/4 c orange juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt
pepper
2 salmon filets

1. Combine the juices, honey and soy sauce in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.  Reduce for a few minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Preheat Broiler. Season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides and then brush with the cooled glaze. Let sit for at least 10 minutes and brush with glaze again before putting in the oven.  Broil for about 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets. Do not overcook or the salmon will be dry.

Makes 2 Servings

Simple English Peas Recipe

1 c English Peas, shelled
salt
pepper
1 tsp butter
Basil or mint, chopped

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and salt generously.  Add the peas and bring bring back to a boil.  Allow to boil for about 30 more seconds after the water boils and strain.  Place peas in a bowl with the butter and chopped herbs. Stir to melt butter and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Makes 2 Servings

A few days later, I received a nice box of goodies that included dryglazes, lemon and orange pepper and saffron rice. The first thing I noticed was the packaging is very modern and clean, not something you would see in a grocery store. The second thing was the ingredients… all natural herbs and spices. I have this thing about eating food that has ingredients I can’t pronounce with more than 15 letters. Monosodiumslimslam. OK, I made that word up, but you get the drift. The seasonings were also not loaded with salt, which it seems most prepared seasonings are. So no worries of having a case of hot-dog fingers from the excessive sodium! Whew!

I liked the idea of the dryglazes. All you do is coat the meat with olive oil and then sprinkle on the dry rub and place in the fridge. In half an hour, the rub becomes a luscious glaze. All I did then was simply grill the chicken. It was so moist and tasty you would have thought it marinated for hours. Perfect for those evenings you don’t have much time to cook, and are contemplating boring grilled chicken for the third time this week. Both the Puebla Mole and Vermont Grill were flavorful and will definitely be used again.

Here is Broiled Salmon with Sonoma Pepper. I marinated the salmon in orange juice for 30 minutes, sprinkled with salt and Sonoma Pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and broiled for 7-8 minutes. Great citrus flavor from the orange and lemon zest.



Simple Grilled Chicken with the Vermont Grill dryglaze:

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll make sushi again, as it was really quite labor intensive. We also have a little family owned Japanese/Thai restaurant close to our home that has fantastic sushi. I try to go there at least once a week to cure my sushi cravings. However, the flavor was unbelievably good. The fresh Kona Kampachi with the just cooked rice… you can’t get that, even in the best Sushi restaurant. OK, maybe I’ll make sushi again if I have an amazing piece of fish that warrants home made sushi!

Kona Kampachi Sushi Recipe

5 pieces Nori (seaweed)
5 c sushi rice (see recipe below)
julienne strips of veggies, red pepper, cucumber, asparagus, etc
6 oz Kona Kampachi, cut into long thin strips
wasabi paste, to taste
pickled ginger

1. Place Nori on bamboo rolling mat, shiny side down. Place one cup of sushi rice on the nori and using wet fingers, spread it almost to the edges. Create a narrow groove in the center of the rice and streak a little wasabi down the center. Lay one strip of fish and several veggies in the groove.

2. Grasp the mat with both hands, with thumbs underneath, and press lightly on the filling with the fingers of both hands. Roll the mat around the filling into a log. Carefully remove the mat and place the roll on a cutting board. Cut across the roll, into individual pieces. I personally prefer mine to be smaller so its easier to eat. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Sushi Rice Recipe

2 c short grain (sushi) rice
2 c water
1/2 c sushi vinegar
cold water for washing rice

1. Soak rice in a bowl of cold water. Stir rice around in the bowl with your hands and strain. Repeat the process, washing the rice back in the bowl for approximately 5 minutes until the water is no longer cloudy. Leave the washed rice in the strainer and let it sit draining for 30 minutes to drain and dry.

2. Place the washed and drained rice into a heavy bottom medium size pan. Add the water, cover tightly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand covered for another 15 minutes. Fluff rice with a spatula or bamboo paddle and let sit again for about 15 minutes.

3. Transfer rice to a large non-metallic bowl and sprinkle the sushi vinegar over the rice. With a large spatula, scoop the rice and gently stir back and forth to incorporate the vinegar. Be careful not to smash the rice. Fan the rice for a minute or two with a piece of cardboard or paper fan stirring a few times. Cover the rice with a clean wet towel and let sit for another 15 minutes until rice is at room temperature.

Serves 4 as main course or 8 as appetizer

I received an email from Kona Blue and was quite intrigued. They asked if I’d like a sample of their product, which is Kona Kampachi. After a little research, I found its more common name is Yellowtail, which happens to be my favorite fish when eating Sushi or Sashimi. So I said… bring it on! I was expecting to receive a little fish, you know, maybe a pound or so.

Imagine my surprise when I got a large box that contained a huge fish! I was excited, then terrified, then came full circle back to excited. I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. The only time I’ve cleaned a fish was in culinary school, and that was almost 10 years ago! So I sharpened my biggest knife, and decided to cut it into steaks instead of filleting, as it was big enough to do that. In the end, I was successful, but my counter looked like Tony Soprano had whacked someone on it.

I’ll admit, I was a bit wary of having fish sent to me. However… it arrived, surrounded by quite a few ice packs, and was very very cold. I decided to keep my dinner simple since the fish was so fresh, and chose to pan saute the fish steak and serve it with an orange-passionfruit glaze. Fabulous, absolutely fabulous. The quality is out of this world. Next time I’m in the mood for some fabulously fresh fish, I will definitely be ordering from Kona Blue.

I was too scared to try making Sushi or Sashimi this time, but will definitely try another day. Hmmm, maybe even ceviche. Come back to see what else I do with it… as I’ll be able to make several dinners from this one fish!

Seared Kona Kampachi Steaks with Orange-Passion fruit Glaze

1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c passionfruit juice
1 tbsp honey

2 Kona Kampachi filets or steaks
salt
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Combine the orange juice, passion fruit juice and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and reduce to a thick glaze, about 8-12 minutes. Stir often and be careful not to burn. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Rinse and dry the fish and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom non-stick saute pan over medium high heat. Add the fish and sear, without moving for about 3 minutes. Carefully flip and sear on the other side for another 3 or so minutes. Remove to a plate and serve with the glaze.

Note: I find Passion fruit juice in the juice aisle of my grocery store. Its with all the exotic Latin brands, and might have Maracuya on the label. If you can’t find it, you can just use orange juice.

Here’s my pooch (Sushi) trying to figure out what this is