#82-#83 On the Grill :: Steak & Salmon + Stuffed Mushrooms

We've still been cooking at home a lot lately, but we haven't really been following recipes. The weather's been quite nice, so we've been grilling a lot (recently, steaks and salmon). Roasting vegetables has become a favorite as well, so we usually choose a couple to go with our main course.

I drizzled the salmon (both sides) with some olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and gave it a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Then I dropped them on the grill for a few minutes on each side. To go with it I roasted some broccoli, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt & pepper, at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I removed it, sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over the top, and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes. Same process with the mushrooms -- drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and roasted at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I removed them, filled them with bacon crumbles, topped them with monterey jack cheese, and returned them to the oven for another 10 minutes.




These steaks were bacon wrapped and broiled for 6-10 minutes on each side (depending on if you want rare to well done). The squash spears and asparagus spears were drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, and roasted at 400 for 30-40 minutes (the squash takes longer than the asparagus does, so keep an eye on them). I also made some blue cheese butter, which we've made before and we try to keep on hand all the time now. It goes with so many things so well! All you do is mix it up in the food processor -- a stick of softened butter, 1/2 c blue cheese crumbles, a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything well, then transfer it to a piece of saran wrap. Use the saran wrap to roll it into a log (think the shape of a regular stick of butter), twist the ends closed and refrigerate until firm. Store extra in the refrigerator.

#70 :: Pacific Salmon Potato Skins

We've had some salmon fillets in the freezer for a while now, and last night I decided it was time to use them up. All the salmon recipes I had sounded bland and common, so I set out to find something different. I definitely found it! We were a little skeptical about this one, but it was surprisingly wonderful and we ate every morsel!

Toppings: Flaked grilled salmon, sauteed wild mushrooms, and chopped parsley and chives

**To cook our salmon fillets, we seasoned them with a squeeze of fresh lemon, salt & pepper and grilled them for a few minutes on each side. Then we flaked them apart to top the potato skins. We didn't have mushrooms, so we re-vamped the toppings a bit -- on half of the skins our toppings consisted of sour cream, butter, parsley and a squeeze of lemon. On the other half we used some of the blue cheese butter we had leftover from our steak meal last night, and it went amazingly well with the salmon!

Directions

How to Make Classic Potato Skins:

Pierce 4 large russet potatoes with a fork. Bake directly on the oven rack at 350 degrees until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool, then quarter lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Brush both sides with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Bake, skin-side up, at 450 degrees until crisp, about 15 minutes. Add your favorite team toppings. (For cheesy skins, flip the baked shells over before topping, sprinkle with 1 cup grated cheddar cheese and bake an extra 5 minutes.)

Blue Cheese Butter & Parsley


Sour Cream, Butter, Parsley & Lemon


Recipe from Food Network Magazine

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars