What Husband is big on is food. And, as per tradition in my family, a birthday entitles the birthday boy or girl to a dinner menu of their choice. I haven't felt like cooking much lately - the heat and well, the aforementioned crap - but I am happy to cook for Husband on this special day.
These are not really recipes, exactly. I will try and post more precise recipes (and some pictures) in future blogs, but for now, I am sticking to some guidelines for flavor.
Menu
Salmon with Ginger, Chilli and Garlic
Roasted Sweet Potato Mash
Corn on the Cob
Eton Mess
So, the salmon is inspired by a dish we had in Seattle a few years back. It was originally a tuna dish, but it also works well with salmon. Anyway, first, I make a marinade. I put about one or two tablespoons of soy sauce and the juice of one or two lemons (depending on how juicy your lemons are) into a medium bowl. Then, I add two cloves of chopped garlic, about a tablespoon of chopped ginger and one or two chillis - I use birds eye, because I like things HOT, but have used other chillis in the past. Then, I put the salmon in the bowl and spoon the marinade over the flesh. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 15-20 minutes.
We usually oven bake the salmon - I feel more comfortable doing this, because I always get flustered cooking proteins on the stove top (blame it on all these years of mostly vegetarian cooking...). Pre-heat oven to about 375 F, put salmon on a baking tray (reserve the marinade!) and let cook in oven for about 10 minutes.
As for that marinade - while the salmon is cooking, I like to reduce down the marinade in a pan to use as a sauce to pour over the salmon and the sweet potato mash. Yum.
The sweet potato mash is simple. Roast some sweet potatoes - in their skins - for about 45 minutes in a 375F oven. Take out, peel, put flesh in a sauce pan and mash. Add a small knob of butter, if you desire, and salt and pepper to taste.
And then the Eton Mess.
I normally make Husband a cake of his choice, but this year, he decided he wanted Eton Mess. I think he has been spending too much time with cake-hating me. Anyway, Eton Mess is an English summertime dessert. I first had it at the party held the night before our wedding. It is a delicious mix of crushed meringues, berries of some sort and whipped cream. Here is the recipe I followed - though, I used raspberries instead of gooseberries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/may/26/foodanddrink.features
To make up for the lack of food pictures, I give you a kitten picture. I am sure he will be a regular feature here, so get used to it.
