The hit of this meal was the soup! The plain grilled squash soup was ok but, well plain. The spiced peanuts really made it special. Great meal for a cold evening. We could have had just the soup salad and bread and would have been fine.
The salmon was ok. I could not tell any real difference from the cedar plank. We tried both Atlantic Salmon and Alaskan. The Alaskan was much better. Less fishy tasting. It was also 20% more expensive. I have cooked the other salmon recipe in this book many times. It has a brown sugar and mustard glaze that is to die for. It is a hit every time we make it. The dill and lemon zest in this recipe was good but nothing special.
Dessert was grilled peaches which were a real treat in the middle of winter. I found them at Whole Foods. They found them in Chile. They were perfectly ripe which was a nice surprise. The recipe calls for a sauce made of fresh cherries. I think I didn't use the right kind of cherries or I put in too much balsamic vinegar or the Kirsch (cherry liqueur) was not the right kind or something. It was good but not as good as I expected. This is one where we can keep experimenting. It is not that hard. I think that raspberries would be better than cherries.
The Hefrons joined Kathie and I for dinner. Emily and Charlie are visiting my brother, Jim and his wife Cathy in Colorado. Charlie is tearing up the slopes on his snowboard and Emily is ice skating and enjoying the sites and shopping with Cathy. They will have to eat leftovers tomorrow! Jayne Hefron brought another great salad that went well with the salmon. The consensus of the group seemed to be that the hit of the meal was the soup, the dessert had potential and the salmon was ok but not as good as other recipes.
Mark
From Mrs. Grill'n: The butternut squash recipe keeps well, and perhaps even improves. Having it as a leftover the following day was still delicious, and the spiced nuts are a good contrast to the velvety bland soup.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lively debate about the cherry sauce and grilled peaches. Grilled peaches and ice cream are an old favorite, so there was no doubt about those, but the cherry sauce was controversial. It features both red wine and balsamic vinegar, and is probably best for people who like the concept of cherries cooked in red wine. For the rest of us, skipping the sauce entirely, or using puree of raspberries and sugar would taste better and be simpler.
Consider the purchase of both kinds of salmon as useful research! We certainly don't buy two kinds of salmon normally, but it's good to do once - then you know what you like.
It is hard to top the mustard and brown sugar glaze. That stuff is amazing. Is that from the same book?
ReplyDelete