Jeanette - Off The Cuff

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My name is Jeanette, and I was born in Sweden, but unlike the famous Muppet, I am not a professional Swedish Chef. I actually went to school for art, design, and photography. Beyond that, I worked as a freelance indie-rock critic for several magazines in the late 90s and early 2000s. I even took a crack at running a PR company for a while. However, cooking has always been in my DNA--my dad's brother was a chef and culinary arts instructor, my dad's father was a pastry chef, and my mom's mother was a caterer, and at the age of 92, she published a cookbook of traditional Finnish breads and pastries. Everyone else in my family loves to cook, too, and we're not afraid to experiment. Usually I end up inventing dishes (with or without outside inspiration) with whatever I have on hand, hence "Off the Cuff." I might make very Scandinavian dishes (meatballs, and salmon with dill-potatoes) or ethnic like Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Italian or Spanish. By the way, you can put bell peppers in almost all cuisine! (Drop me a line, at o f f t h e c u f f c o o k i n g "at" g m a i l followed by the dot-com. :)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Sockeye Salmon with basil-yogurt dressing

Sometimes I actually say something out loud before deciding if it sounds like a good meal idea.  Today I said "basil-yogurt dressing" and a light bulb came on! 












Ingredients: 

Dressing:
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
6-8 leaves fresh basil
1/8th - 1/4 tsp sea salt

4 salmon fillets
2 tsp dill (fresh or dried)
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
1 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow or white onion, thinly sliced

I knew this dressing would be tangy and bright in its flavor profile so I decided to prepare some very rich, meaty Wild Alaskan sockeye fillets  to complement that.  (I think this dressing would be good on several types of fish, for the record.  Maybe Mahi Mahi, Tilapia, or Orange Roughy to name a few others.)  I had just gotten some Sockeye at CostCo, so I took them from the freezer, and defrosted them according to package directions.  When they were at room temperature, I sprinkled dill, coriander and salt on them and allowed them to absorb some flavor while I made the dressing.

Blend all dressing ingredients together with a food processor or immersion blender.  I used my trusty Cuisinart Smart Stick with the processor-bowl and went to town.

I proceeded to cook some brown basmati rice in my rice cooker, with a teaspoon of ginger, and a tablespoon of butter.  I made some super thin slices of onions and red peppers (because they go with everything) and sauteed those in coconut oil in one of my Lodge-brand cast iron skillets.  Meanwhile I also pan-fried the salmon in another iron-skillet, which I had preheated to medium-high to get a good sear for the bottom of the salmon.  I flipped the salmon about 2-3 minutes and gave it another 1-2 minutes on the other side. 

There you have it.  The whole meal came together in about 25 minutes. That's pretty good for a random Monday!




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