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John finally received his step 2 board scores last Wednesday...and not surprisingly, he did great! It was definitely cause for celebration however we'd done a big birthday dinner out for Nate on Tuesday so we decided on a nice quiet dinner at home... I found some wild salmon at Harris Teeter that looked beautiful so I did some online recipe browsing and fell upon a Michael Chiarello recipe that had an oddly large number of rave reviews. (47 to be exact) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/planked-salmon-with-honey-balsamic-glaze-recipe/index.html I figured it had to be good... and O.M.G. was it.
I actually hit the grocery store on my lunch hour right after I got John's call with the good news- so I luckily had time to soak a cedar plank for 6 hours or so in water. The rest of it came together super quickly after work. The glaze and dry mustard rub are both so simple and you're sure to have everything you need in the pantry which is great too. I followed the recipe exactly- I'd never cut into the fish before to let the marinade seep in, what a great idea.
As you toast the plank under the broiler, be sure to stand there and watch because it goes quickly! Your kitchen kind of smells like a camp fire as you're doing this- don't be alarmed unless you see flames. Also, I (accidentally) broiled the salmon on the plank for a minute to two before I realized I was supposed to turn the oven down to 400 degrees. It actually caramelized the glaze and fish nicely and the salmon was still cooked to the perfect temperature. I cut the baking time back to 15 minutes from the time I turned it down to 400 from broil. Definitely take Michael's advice and put a cookie sheet on the lower rack (lots of drippage) and continue to baste with the glaze until you've used it all. I think I basted it twice as it was cooking and once more at the end. The cedar really adds a wonderful depth of flavor and the glaze is YUM.
I found a new green bean recipe to try (also had a large number of glowing reviews on Epicurious.com) and it is A KEEPER for sure.
I halved the recipe using one bag of the fresh, already cleaned green beans that you buy in the produce section. They are a bit of a rip-off but so convenient as you can microwave them right in the bag they come in. I didn't have the flaxseed oil but I did use the hazelnut oil which is a must. Also, I used Vidalia onion instead of red. The grainy mustard, the balsamic and the toasted nutty flavors could not have beet a better compliment to the planked salmon! It is like the two recipes were destined to find their way onto the same plate.
I am so excited about these two new additions to the repertoire that I just might make them again this week.
I wanted to pick out a special bottle of wine to toast John's hard work and stellar performance so I went with an Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon. Not your average weeknight dinner wine, it is right around $20 or $25 and it's very very good. Seeing as it's so light, we've found that it is great chilled down a bit. I put it in the fridge for about an hour before pouring.
Congrats John!!!! Love you xo
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