Citrus Salmon with Tarragon Artichokes

Still not sure what to make for your significant other or family tonight? Why not try this heart-healthy meal?

This salmon dinner is full of fresh flavor that makes me think of spring. Instead of the usual dill, I used the cilantro I had on hand. The oranges and lemons brighten and add a little sweetness.

Plus, the main dish looks so pretty.

To me, though, the artichokes and tarragon steal the show. When sautéed together, the flavor combination is simply amazing.

And after eating such a healthy dinner, you won't have to feel guilty about indulging in some Valentine's Day chocolates or dessert.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Citrus Salmon with Tarragon Artichokes
Recipe inspired by Costco and Sunkist

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 thinly sliced green onions
Salt and pepper
1 salmon fillet, 2-3 pounds
1-2 Cara Cara oranges, thinly sliced
1-2 lemons, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large foil pan with cooking spray, or line a baking sheet with foil and then coat with cooking spray.

Pat fish dry with paper towels and place skin-side down in pan.

Mix together first 7 ingredients – olive oil through green onions. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spread herb mixture evenly on top of salmon.

Then lay orange and lemon slices on top of herb mixture, slightly overlapping the slices.

Bake for 30 minutes or until salmon easily flakes when checked.

Tarragon Artichokes

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large jar of whole artichoke hearts (about 2 pounds), drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper

Warm oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add artichokes and saute until just beginning to brown.

Add tarragon and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until artichokes have some darker brown spots.

Serve warm.

Cioppino (Seafood Soup)

Cioppino is an Italian seafood soup that originated in San Francisco. I love to eat it but had never prepared the meal myself – until this past weekend.

I wish I hadn't waited so long. The dish is easy to cook and you can vary the fish and shellfish based on your preferences or what's fresh (or on special).

I fell in love with this soup about eight years ago, after trying it through a meal service. Even though I grew up Italian, I'd never had it before. Fast forward to 2017. With my parents visiting on a Friday in Lent, it was the perfect recipe to try out.

The timing was good, too. What could be better than a steaming bowl of fragrant soup and a hunk of crusty bread on a blustery, snow-flurry-filled March day?

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Cioppino
Adapted from this recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 large shallots, diced
1 large fennel bulb, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in their juice
1 1/2 cups Chardonnay
5 cups fish stock
2 bays leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pound mussels, scrubbed to remove sand
1 pound clams, scrubbed to remove sand
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound halibut, skin removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound salmon, skin removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Fresh parsley, chopped

*A note about choosing your fish/shellfish: Vary the fish and shellfish as you like. For example, if your kids love shrimp, add more and leave out the salmon. Grocer only sell mussels in 2-pound bags? Go for it! Prefer crab over shrimp? Make a swap!

Heat the oil in the largest pot you own over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, fennel and salt and cook about 10 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are translucent.

Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and tomato paste and stir a few times while cooking another 2 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and juice, the wine, fish stock and bay leaves.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes.

Uncover the pot and add the clams and mussels. Let them cook until some of the shells start to open, between 5 and 10 minutes. Stir the soup, then add the shrimp and fish. Cook until the shrimp are pink and the fish is firm. Gently stir the soup again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Discard any clams and mussels that did not open.

Serve soup in large bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley and shaved Parmesan (optional). Be sure to have plenty of crusty French or Italian bread on hand to sop up the fragrant broth. A glass of Pinot Noir is perfect with this dinner, too!

Baked Honey Dijon Salmon

The husband is a salmon purist. He likes it with lemon pepper and butter. So when I told him that I was making salmon with Dijon mustard and honey, he was dubious.

When he took a tentative bite of his dinner, he looked at me with surprise. Good surprise. And he took another bite. "This is good! Really good!" And he polished off every last crumb.

By the way, do you know what else Baked Honey Dijon Salmon is besides really good? Really easy.

Let's make dinner.
--Erin

Baked Honey Dijon Salmon
Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Serves: 4

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1.5 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup very finely chopped pecans
Salt and pepper
4 salmon fillets

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together butter, honey, and mustard. In a separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans, and salt and pepper.

Place salmon in prepared baking dish and evenly divide mustard mixture among the fillets. Use a spoon to spread the mustard mixture to the edges of the fillets so they're totally covered. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the salmon.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Salmon with Dill Cream Sauce

I spent last week in San Francisco, home of the Lady of the House and one of my all-time favorite cities. Most of my time was spent in meetings for work, but I made sure I had some fun, too. A certain Lady brought me to fabulous SPQR where we toasted friendship with generous pours of prosecco and piles of pasta. And I brought back a little treat for the husband, which he is enjoying as I type: a homemade chocolate peanut butter cup from Z. Cioccolato in North Beach. It has flaky sea salt sprinkled on top. It was a good present.

After a week of non-stop action, I'm having a lazy day. I'm refusing to change out of my sweatpants. I wrote Christmas cards, read my book-of-the-moment, and watched football with the husband. I reveled in the Christmas lights strung about my home sweet home. As delightful as my visit to San Francisco was, I love being home.

Even on the laziest of lazy days, this fancy-enough-for-company salmon is wonderfully doable. It's easy, my dear readers. Sweatpants easy.

Salmon with Dill Cream Sauce
Serves: 4

1.5 pounds salmon fillet
Salt and pepper
Lemon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place salmon on a baking sheet, skin-side down. Sprinkle with salt and lemon paper to taste (I'm pretty generous with both), and drizzle with olive oil. Bake salmon in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Squeeze juice from half of the lemon over the cooked salmon.

While salmon is cooking, stir together sour cream, juice from the remaining lemon half, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (This will probably be more sauce than you need, but you can store the leftovers in the fridge and serve with sliced veggies the next day.) Serve salmon with creamy dill sauce sauce.

Easy Does It by Lady of the House

Forgive me folks, but it just so happens to be Summer here in San Francisco...and by Summer, I mean perfect 70's and skies a downright cheery shade of blue. We've earned our time watching the raindrops fall, so do allow me this slightly inappropriate dinner recipe for October. Once you have this to your lips, you'll be cozy. Promise.

Start like I did--a deer in headlights at Whole Foods. (Ya, that was me that totally hit you with my cart. Good thing my Baby's got an on-command cheezy smile. God bless that little extrovert!) Grab some vegetables that look lovely, but even more so if they were all tossed lightly in olive oil and sauteed.

Now, run along to the fishmonger, and smile pretty because you're about to ask him or her to get you that 3/4 pound fillet of salmon--no, not that one--the one just beside--yes, the one behind the--yep, that's it!--and you're going to ask this person to skin it. I usually ask the Baby to flash the cheezy smile at this point if I feel things are going downhill. You can try your own version. (Please feel free to email me a photo. This, I wanna see!)

Before you head for the check out, grab your favorite bottle of Teriyaki sauce. All you gotta do is chop, and I'm telling you, dinner is literally on the table.

Here's what you do...

-cube your salmon, and while you do, just think about all those fabulous omega 3's. That little happy moment aside, toss them in a healthy splat of teriyaki. (BTW. If Erin and I ever write a cook book, I expect we will need a glossary for all the ridiculous onomatopoeia's we regularly and quite effectively use.)

-prep your veggies. I chopped carrot sticks, green beans, one jazzy, psychedelic green pepper, and a zucchini.

-throw the stubborn stuff in the pan first. In went the green beans and carrots. A dash of olive oil, a splash of teriyaki. Get busy.

-next your squishier variety. In went the zucchini and pepper.

-finally, the pretty salmon cubes that sit patiently will do best plopped in the middle of the pan. I recommend taking out your fave spoonula and getting all the marinade in with the veggies as well.

-wait a bit. Turn the fish gently, and somewhat regularly. (We are avoiding the rubbery chicken that's typically served with this sort of thing.) Check your biggest piece of salmon, and grab the forks and plates when you think everything is set.

This is a meal best dealt hot off the pan. It should be steaming as you're having you're first bite. A nice bottle of white or a Pinot as we did, the pretty napkins, maybe a candle. I say, welcome Autumn with all the zhuzh of Summer.

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }