Grilled Salmon With Herbed Lime Butter

What an absolutely glorious day we had today with a perfect temperature of 75 degrees and a nice breeze blowing all day.  Wow, I will take a day like this any time!  It is just warm enough to be invigorating and not so hot that you feel exhausted working outside.  We are planting our garden and doing lots of yard work and soaking up lots of essential Vitamin D in the process.  I have to say, I love these beautiful spring days.

This was a day where I really didn't want to spend a lot of time slaving over a stove inside when I could be outside.  You know what that's like right?  So, I decided it would be a meal fixed on the grill and that means very few dishes to wash afterward.  Yes!

I had a craving for salmon - grilled salmon.  I had some fresh spring asparagus from the farmer's market and I always have potatoes that can be fixed in some way or the other.  So, I sliced some potatoes and onions and made what we call a veggie pack in aluminum foil.  I drizzled the potatoes with some olive oil, added about 10 pats of butter, salt and pepper and put them on the grill to cook until done.  Oh, there is nothing like the smell of onions grilling.   I cook the potatoes first because they take longer than the salmon or asparagus.  They will stay warm in the foil until the salmon and asparagus is done.

Next was the salmon, which was sustainable wild caught salmon, not farm raised.  Wild salmon is better for you and the environment.  Salmon is so good for you as it is very high in Omega 3 acids and is very low in calories.  Our bodies do not make Omega 3s, so salmon is an excellent source for us.  Salmon also contains a lot of good vitamins and nutrients like selenium.  It helps lower blood pressure and helps with the absorption of insulin.  The other thing is, it just tastes so good which is why we like to eat it and it is an outstanding source of protein.

To grill the salmon, put a piece of aluminum foil on the grill.  Salt and pepper the salmon and spray the foil with some cooking spray.  Start by cooking the skin side of the salmon first until the fish starts to get sort of white next to the skin.  You can see how it looks in the picture.  Cook for about 10 minutes or so, then turn.  Cook this side for about 10 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of the filet, until it gets sort of white on the outside, but still pink in the middle.  You don't want it too be too dry.  Remove from the grill.

Cut the woody ends off the asparagus, drizzle with some olive oil.  Place the asparagus directly on the grill.  Wait until the salmon has cooked about half way because it doesn't take very long for the asparagus to cook.  You just want some color/grill marks on it and remove it.  I like it nice and crisp, not soggy.

To make the herbed lime butter, simply melt a stick of butter and add the juice of one whole lime.  Mince one small clove of garlic and add to the butter along with 1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill, chopped and 1 to 1.5 tsps of fresh thyme, stripped from the stems.  Stir and pour a couple of tablespoons of the butter over the cooked salmon and asparagus.  Outstanding is all I have to say!

This is a perfect meal for a warm day (any day actually) and you have practically no clean up - just a couple of dishes and that is it.  Everything else was done on the grill except the herbed lime butter.  Now THAT is my kind of dinner.

Next time you need a quick and easy meal or want something different for dinner, this is a great one to try.  It is also nutritious AND delicious.   The herbed lime butter is just like "icing on the cake."  It takes the salmon and asparagus to a whole new level.   All I can say is yum, yum, yum.  Give it a try, it's delicious.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:


The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star.
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Farfalle (Bow Tie Pasta) With Asparagus, Hard Boiled Eggs and Parmesan Cheese

When I was discussing what to have for dinner on Easter Sunday with my daughter, she mentioned a dish that her friend and former boss used to make.  She said it was absolutely wonderful with ham, so of course, I insisted that she make it for us (and it was one less thing I had to make).    She did and I have to share the recipe with you because it is wonderful.  It could even be a stand alone dish for a meatless meal.

Holly went to New York City right after graduating from Webster Conservatory in St. Louis.  She was a musical theater major and wanted to experience the Big Apple.  We put her on a plane, one of the hardest things I have ever done, and watched her fly into the sunset.  Don't get me wrong, we wanted her to live her dreams as we wished for all of our children - she was just the first one to go.  Her friend had rented an apartment for them to share.  She had never been there, didn't know how to get there and there were no cell phones then.  The cab driver, who was also new to NYC, couldn't find the address and they drove around for hours trying to find her new abode.  She arrived at 2 am, somewhat hysterical.  I on the other hand, was approaching a nervous breakdown because we had not heard from her.  When she finally called in tears, I was so relieved that I cannot even begin to tell you how relieved!  And so, her adventures began.  Her sister and brother joined her there eventually.  It was not quite as traumatic the second and third time around because she was there to greet and guide them.  It did get a little easier for us as each one of them went to live their dreams.  Since then, they have been all over the place.  We just go with the flow.

During her time in the city, she worked for a woman by the name of Faye Hess who owned the Long Island City Brick Co. Cafe in Long Island City.  Faye taught her to cook wonderful meals as the Lucy and Ethel pair greeted and served the surrounding neighbors on a daily basis.  The cafe was a quaint little place with a plethora of regular daily customers.  It was like watching a tv show as the regulars came and went, as they shared triumphs and tragedies.  We visited there on several occasions, even sang Christmas carols one year for all the neighbors at the cafe.   Dan played his guitar and the rest of us joined in - sort of like the Partridge family folk style.   It is quite a memory.

Faye was so good to Holly and taught her a lot.  Faye has a blog called FayeFood.com and a website called Dinnerlist.com if you are interested in some amazing recipes and insights into food.  She was recently a participant on Chopped on the Food Network also.  Holly and Faye have remained friends through the years, even though they have traveled many different paths since the days at The Long Island Brick Co. Cafe.  Faye also teaches cooking in Italy in the Tuscany region and in France.  You really might want to check her out!

Anyway, back to this wonderful dish we had on Sunday.  Talk about a good side dish for ham, especially when you want something other than potatoes.  YUMMMMO as Rachel Ray likes to say.  It is an easy dish to fix.  Here is what you need:

 Ingredients:

1 lb. farfalle pasta (bow tie pasta)
1 bunch asparagus
3 cloves garlic
6-12 hard boiled eggs
fresh or grated parmesan cheese
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to directions.  Drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
In a large saute pan, add enough olive oil to saute the asparagus.  Remove the pithy ends from the asparagus spears.  Cook the 3 whole cloves of garlic just enough to perfume the olive oil and remove from pan.  Add the asparagus and cook just enough to still be crisp and bright green.  Remove from the pan.  Place the pasta in a large casserole dish, scatter the asparagus over the pasta.  Peel the hard boiled eggs and crumble with your hands, scattering them over the pasta and asparagus.   Use as many eggs as you like.   If you are using fresh parmesan cheese, make long ribbons of cheese with a vegetable peeler all over the top of the hardboiled eggs.  If using grated, use several hands full and scatter over the hard boiled eggs.   That's it!  Serve and enjoy.  OH SOOOO GOOD.  I certainly could eat it just by itself for a meal.

This is a wonderful recipe that I am so happy to have discovered.  With fresh and tender spring asparagus starting to come it, we will certainly be enjoying this again and again.  If you wanted to add some chopped ham to the dish, you certainly could and then you would have a one dish dinner that would be so easy to prepare.  It's also a great way to use some of those left over Easter eggs you may have in your refrigerator.

Thanks Holly for sharing this recipe from Faye.  I certainly appreciated getting to enjoy this delicious dish on Sunday, and am thankful to be able to share the recipe with all of you.  Give it a try, you are going to like it a lot!  Maybe some day I will get to go to Tuscany and take a class with Faye.  Who knows?  Anything is possible.  I certainly never thought I'd make it to New York City as many times as I did.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else.
Mario Batali