My First Rerun - I'm on Vacation

If this auto-post thing works like it should, then right now I'm away in the Caribbean on a 7-day cruise! I didn't want to just leave and not post - but that the same time my mind was soooo focused on this beautiful weather that I couldn't even focus on cooking!

Enjoy your week and look for great pics when I get back to Chicago on 12/8!

-Darius

btw - if you have Twitter - follow me. There's a link on the right side of this page. I'll Twit as often as I can only becasue I'm now terribly addicted!

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So, you can probably tell (with the abundance of salmon dishes) that salmon has been on sale recently. You're right! It has been...thus, the reason why my mind is going bananas with salmon dishes.

Try this on for size...a parmesan crusted salmon steak, over a bed of creamed spinach risotto, surrounded by a lemon scented brodetto and basil oil. Sounds complicated, right? Trust me...it's not. Most of all I'm staying true to who I am - it's quick, easy, and can totally me added to our repitoire of everyday cookin!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon Steaks
- 3 medium sized salmon steaks
- 1/4 cup of cornmeal
- 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat the steaks dry. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cheese and cornmeal mixture. Once well combined, dredge fish. Heat an oven proof skillet to medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add oil. When oil begins to waft, add fish skin side down until golden brown. The fish won't be cooked all the way, that's okay. Turn the fish over and place in hot oven for about 4-5 more minutes, or until fish is completely cooked on the inside.

Creamed Spinach Risotto
Risotto
- 1 cup of Arbollo rice
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper

Creamed Spinach
- 5 strips of thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- ½ cup of heavy cream
- ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste

Direction:
Risotto: In a sauce pot, combine rice and 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until cooked (about 10 minutes). Add cheese, salt, and pepper, and combine well.

Creamed Spinach
- Cook bacon and onion together until onions are translucent and bacon is browned. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Add spinach. Once mixture comes to a boil, add cream, cheese, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer, mixture will thicken.

Once creamed spinach is done, combined with risotto and serve.

Lemon Scented Brodetto
- ¼ cup of chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons of onion, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- the juice of half a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the mixture begins to boil, immediately turn off heat and serve.

Isn't this beautiful - it was on sale - more beautiful, right?

I'm in love with this pic. This is what would bring the world peace.

Bacon & onion...deglazed with chicken stock...yummo!

The start to something good - creamed spinach risotto

And aerial view...to show proportion - thanks for catching this Nik (I love her!)

The final plating!

Let's not forget to watch this: