Baked Dijon Salmon

Up until a few years ago, I rarely ate fish because I didn't like the fishy taste you sometimes get.  This was the very first salmon recipe I tried, and I've been hooked (no pun intended) on fish ever since.  The pecan and bread crumb topping gives the fish a nice crunch.  I served this with Southern Green Beans and Garlic Bread.

Baked Dijon Salmon

Adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 4 (4 oz.) salmon filets
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, mustard and honey.  Set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans and parsley.
4. Brush each salmon filet with the honey mustard mixture and sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top.
5. Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper.

Notes & Suggestions:

The first thing I usually do is season the fish.  Otherwise, it will be bland.  I like to use either Old Bay or Tony's.  

Also, I like to use Panko bread crumbs because it really makes the topping nice and crunchy.  

Southern Green Beans

These green beans are fantastic!  The chicken broth really gives them a great flavor.

Southern Green Beans

Adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed & snapped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 -1 cup chicken broth
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the chopped bacon in a skillet over medium heat until evenly brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel.
2. Cook the onions in the bacon grease, adding 1 to 2 tbsp. butter if needed, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.  
3. Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, garlic and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until green beans are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Notes & Suggestions:

I ended up using 1 cup of chicken broth because 1/2 cup didn't seem like it would be enough.  After 15 minutes, the beans were perfectly tender.  If you like them a little crunchy, try 10 minutes.

Next time I think I'll add in a small amount of red pepper flakes, just to give it a kick, and add in another clove of garlic (since we're garlic lovers).    

For another variation and to make this more of a hearty dish, you could add in 8 diced red potatoes with the green beans and simmer until tender.  

  

Garlic Bread

Garlic bread goes great with just about any kind of meal.  This is a dressed up version of a much-loved classic.

Garlic Bread
Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food Cookbook

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6 tsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1 tbsp. fresh basil, minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh chives, minced
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 loaf Italian bread, split

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 450 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mash together the butter, garlic, Parmesan, basil, chives and salt until well blended.
3. Divide the mixture evenly and spread onto both cut sides of the bread.  Place the bread halves cut side up on a baking sheet.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until the bread is toasted.  Cut crosswise into slices and serve hot.

Notes & Directions:

Be sure to use fresh herbs.  It makes all the difference in the world.  It's so easy to grow your own herbs and it's much more cost effective than buying the small packages of them at the store.

For garlic cheese bread, sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or Gruyere cheese on the bread before putting in the oven.  

For another version, use roasted garlic.  It has a sweet, mellow flavor.  Slice a head of garlic in half crosswise, place on a piece of aluminum foil, and drizzle with olive oil.  Wrap up the garlic in the aluminum foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes.  Squeeze the cloves of garlic out of their paper shells and mix into the butter mixture.

The garlic butter freezes very well.  Here's the best way I've found to do this:

After mixing up the butter mixture, spoon onto a piece of plastic wrap.  Roll the butter into a log shape and place into the fridge until it's firm.

Take it out of the fridge and cut into slices, about 1/4" thick or so.

Then you can place the butter slices into a Ziploc and freeze.

So whenever you want some garlic bread, take out a slice of butter (1 slice per piece of bread), thaw, spread on the bread and broil in the oven for a couple of minutes, or until golden.  Quick and easy!

I also keep a Ziploc full of french bread slices in the freezer as well.