Posts

Posted on

Sweet and Savory Salmon Sauce

Sometimes a random dinner attempt turns out perfect, and I think that yes I should indeed quit my job and open a restaurant. And of course reality sinks in and I remember that I don’t like working those hours, or customers in general. What I’d really like is to own a private supper club and compare notes with like-minded foodie individuals while mutually experimenting – oh, and to deny entry to any boomer clientele (the in-laws can come if they promise to behave). And to have enough personal capital that running such a money-hemorrhaging fantasy wouldn’t matter.

In the meantime, I’ll just have to keep my gustatory glory at home and keep my day job. Oh well. So here’s my recipe:

Top sauce:

  • Lemon juice
  • Mayo
  • Honey
  • Salt
  • MSG
  • White pepper
  • Mustard powder

Bottom sauce:

  • Browned butter
  • Salted butter

Procedure:

  • Whisk the top sauce ingredients until smooth and creamy.
  • Melt the bottom sauce in a steel pan.
  • Place the salmon (de-skinned) on the bottom sauce on medium heat.
  • Flip the salmon every 1-2 minutes and shake gently to coat, until the internal temperature reads 115 (see prior posts on freezing salmon properly to avoid parasites). Remove salmon and set aside.
  • Spoon the bottom sauce onto plate.
  • Place salmon on plate.
  • Spoon top sauce onto salmon. Top with ground black pepper.

I garnished with a pomelo, of all things, because I had one on hand that needed to be used up, but I think some mandarin oranges would also work – a sweet/sour citrus to balance the heaviness of the bottom sauce and mingle with the top sauce.

And speaking of balance – the sweet/savory combination with the mild but noticeable spice choice worked just about perfect. So perfect, that Liz said this should be a restaurant menu item. I’ll keep that under advisement while I build out such a menu for the above fantasy supper club. You aren’t invited.

But enjoy the recipe.

–Simon

Posted on

Parks with Ken: Sugarcreek MetroPark, Main Park

Here’s park number 2 in the series:

Sugarcreek

This one’s part of the Five Rivers group, as opposed to Centerville Washington Township. A different governing entity!

Review:

Difficulty: 1-4/5

Points of note:

  • Consistent trail difficulty. Elevations don’t vary significantly.
  • Some different biomes, but one of the main trails was closed.
  • A cool-looking osage orange trail, but we went in winter so the coolness factor was tempered a little. But it looks like it’d be worth a summer visit.
  • Some informational signs.
  • Very clear trail markings.
  • The Three Sisters – white oak trees over 500 years old. Ken pointed these out during the hike but it was only once I visited the website later that I found out what these giant trees were. Definite coolness points there.

I’ll plan on revisiting the osage orange trail.

–Simon

Posted on

Food Inventory

This is hardly a revelation in that it should have been obvious, but the best solutions (however simple) are surprisingly elusive. I felt so brilliant and stupid when I realized food saver bags have a buffer of extra plastic beyond the seal, in which I can put the label and add another seal, thereby solving the issue of labels losing their stickiness from condensation and falling to the bottom of freezer purgatory. And guess what? The enamel on chest freezer lids is essentially a large dry-erase board!

Derp. And just like that, I can keep a running board inventory system of freezer contents. And again, I feel so smart at the revelation and so stupid at how long it took me to discover. Oh well, at least I finally figured out a working system (provided I actually remember to update it consistently).

Ordinatio vos liberabit!

–Simon

Posted on

Street Tacos v2

I made an attempt at street tacos before.

Street Taco

And they were good. But what was missing was those fancy little taco holders they serve you with at restaurants. Fortunately I was gifted some, so I made a round 2. I find that it’s really the birria sauce that makes the taco, and I just so happen to be good at making sauces! Like a ramen broth, it’s whatever the cook feels like. In this case, it also included the braising liquid from the pork shoulder steaks (FYI – 4 hours at 225 degrees). So here’s my second attempt:

Also what was missing before were those pickled onions. Problem solved.

Another lesson was learned, however. And that was the corn shells. Despite warming them up, they just weren’t pliable enough to avoid splitting. I need to try some other methods next time.

–Simon