Anyway, I took some time off. I actually did make some pasta salad but I forgot to take a pic. It is one of our favorite salads (my Mom calls it perfect, thanks Mom) so I am sure I will be making it again and I will share the recipe then.
Tonight's dinner was Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze, Spicy Brown Rice, Sauteed Green Beans and Cheddar Biscuits. I was so happy when everything turned out good. I have already shared the green bean and spicy brown rice recipes. So here goes with the other recipes.
The biscuits were a slight alteration of the buttermilk biscuit recipe I have posted before but I will post it as I made it tonight.
Cheddar Biscuits
2 cups Virginia's Best Biscuit flour (the only flour for me)
1 stick of unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used colby-jack) be generous with the measurement, heaping is what I call it
I cut the butter into the flour just like making regular biscuits. Then add the cheese and mix it up, I used my hands. Add the buttermilk, I did half cup, mixed and then the other half and then started adding the additional as needed. I didn't start out with the other 1/4 cup buttermilk but the cheese seemed to make the dough call for more moisture. I wanted to kind of do a drop biscuit with this so it needed to be moister, stickier, than a normal biscuit. Usually when you turn out the dough you want to be able to cut into it with your biscuit cutter but with these I actually just pulled a hunk of dough out of the bowl and loosely formed it into a biscuit onto the parchment paper covered pan. A little lump of dough. I then cooked them at 450 degrees for eighteen minutes. When they start browning on top pull them out. I was trying for a cheddar bay Red Lobster kind of biscuit and someone told me they use Old Bay Seasoning on the biscuit but I didn't have any Old Bay. I did know roughly what was in it so I took the following and brushed it on top of the biscuits right after I took them out of the oven so it would melt down into the biscuit.
Topping for Biscuit
1/2 stick of butter melted
2 shakes celery salt
2 shakes paprika
2 shakes garlic powder
1 shake red pepper flake
2 grinds black pepper
2 grinds sea salt
Sorry I did not measure out the spices. This was the first time making these and I was playing it by ear. And when I took a bite my first thought was, oh, what a shame. It is just really a bad thing for the figure that these taste so good. This biscuit is actually one of the best things I have ever eaten that I have made myself.
Now onto the salmon. We have been trying to eat more fish and normally have orange roughy. This week Kroger had fresh salmon on sale. Who can resist a sale? and who can resist salmon? Not I!!!! I wanted to do something different so I did my favorite thing. Googled on salmon and started researching. Giada De Laurentiis was the winner this time.
Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze
2 garlic cloves finely minced
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chicken broth (she said dry white wine but I don't have wine)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (she said two, but I thought that would be too much)
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (again, she said two)
Mix all these together and set aside.
Nonstick cooking spray
2 salmon fillets (6 to 8 ounces)
salt and pepper
Put foil on a baking sheet and spray with the cooking oil. Place your salmon on the sheet and salt and pepper. Put under the broiler for two minutes. Take fish out of the oven and spoon on the mustard glaze. Cook the salmon for five more minutes until browned on top and fish flakes. It really did take that exact amount of time. You can garnish with lemon if you like but I did not feel it needed any more flavor than it already had. The glaze added to the flavor of the salmon but did not overpower it. I was very pleasantly surprised. This was a very simple yet very tasty way to cook salmon. Absolutely a do-over!!!
This whole meal just made me happy. Everything turned out well and the new items were the star of the show. And the look on the darling husband/best friends face was payment enough for me. We were having a discussion on chefs and cooks and I told him that the difference to me was a chef was upset and offended when you didn't like his dish...a cook just wanted to cry. I consider myself a cook and that's why I like it when he is happy with the offerings I make for dinner every night. The appreciation he expresses is what it's all about.
Satisfied!! and very full!!! and looking forward to making those biscuits again. Hello thunder thighs!
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