Receta Salmon With Asparagus...and Kirkland...
It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here...
1. I've been working for the mister, and he either fires me or I quit and demand a signing bonus to come back. There's nothing he likes better than ordering me around...except ordering me around and NOT paying me...which explains his jolly good mood!
2. I've had several medical tests and lots of visits to the doctors...labwork, 3 ultra sounds and 2 MRI's with contrast...just to be told there is nothing wrong with me...except the pain in my side that stops me in my tracks...it hurts as much as the extremely large hole in my wallet from all of those tests! Godfrey, I could have had an entire house full of carpet for what those tests costs! Apparently there are more tests that I can be tortured with but the doctor already delivered the bad news to the mister...I'm going to live...looks like wife #4 (or is it 5?! I've lost count!) will have to wait!
3. I've mastered the peach pie. Over two weeks time I've made six peach pies, fresh peach pies so rich, so flavorful I could just weep thinking about them...oh, and 40 miles of walking to counteract all the pie taste-testing/eating/snarfing. Now I'm a bit like Pavlov's dog, at the mere mention of Peach Pie I put on my Nike's and head for the door! I don't know whether that's good or bad! No, peach pie has nothing to do with the pain in my side, I already asked the doctor about that! Recipe for Peach Pie up soon...just in time for peach season!
4. Playing tourist. In all of my free time from work, doctors and baking, the mister and I set our sights on the quaint little town of Kirkland, Washington, which is about 10 miles from our house, as the crow flies. Kirkland has wonderful art galleries, restaurants, parks, a great marina and the best outdoor walks around...along the east side of Lake Washington. We've spent a good deal of time (and $$$) there recently, and so I want to tell you about some of our favorite spots:
Milagro Cantina...their chips, the size of a large pancake, and salsa are not to be missed! And their food was out of this world good!
Hector's has a great breakfast...but go early to get a good seat.
Don't miss the Potato and Leek soup at Wild Rover's...absolutely delectable. I wanted to lick the bowl.
Olive You is good, fun, loud, and the outdoor seating provides great people watching!
Of course, Cactus, is still my favorite, their butternut squash enchiladas are amazing.
And we love Anthony's - formula food at it's best...all of their locations are great but the one in Kirkland is right on Lake Washington...at sunset it's hard to beat.
Kidd Valley has the best hamburgers and shakes around and you can get everything to go then walk across the street to eat on the shores of the lake...doesn't get any better...unless you walk down to the Marina and sit on the sea wall and eat while you watch people try to paddle surf...so funny when they fall over!
At the risk of making my California friends regurgitate, I have to say, Kirkland is the Laguna Beach of Seattle...as close as we can get!
Salmon...what can I tell you...it's the Northwesterners answer to, "What for dinner?" We've had it every possible way...grilled, baked, fried, deep fried, glazed...and this is one of the easiest and best tasting ways to serve salmon...guarandamteed! Wrapped in parchment paper and baked in the oven, it is perfect every time and clean-up is a breeze!
Adding radishes to the mix was a nice touch - they give a light peppery taste. And baking the asparagus with the salmon means the entree and vegetable are done at exactly the same time. The original recipe called for 3 tablespoons of fresh tarragon, which I would have loved, but the mister is not a fan so I left it off...but I think it would just make this taste even better, if that was possible.
- Salmon with Asparagus - Adapted From Better Homes and Gardens
- 1 salmon fillet (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
- juice of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- thinly sliced red onion, to taste
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 20 asparagus spears, trimmed
- sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- parchment paper
kitchen twine, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the asparagus on the parchment paper and carefully set the salmon on top of asparagus. (I forgot to do this so I had to stuff my asparagus underneath the salmon - which works - but it's easier to start with it under there!) Sprinkle salmon with lemon zest, lemon juice and drizzle olive oil over the top. Spread sliced onion and radishes over the top. Season with sea salt and pepper. Wrap up salmon in parchment paper, making a nice little pouch, folding over the ends to seal. You can tie with kitchen twine to secure, if you want or just fold the ends under. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Serves 4.