Salmon for the Beer Bottlers

Tonight Allen came over to bottle the beer with Russ (the second step of the process), so I cooked dinner for the three of us. I have been wanting to try a recipe in one of Ina Garten's cookbooks for Eli's Asian Salmon, so I decided to try it out tonight.

The salmon recipe is very quick and easy since you put together a few items for a simple marinade that you pour over the salmon and then you add the panko and pour the remaining marinade over it. The salmon then bakes at a high temperature in the oven for about 18 - 20 minutes. The only issue I had with baking it is that the sauce that ran off the salmon burned. The fish itself didn't burn and was moist and flavorful, but the house smelled like the burned sauce. To go with the salmon I decided to serve sauteed spinach and to try another of Ina's recipes, Garlic and Herb Tomatoes. The tomatoes are cooked on the stove top with a few fresh herbs and minced garlic. They are also very quick and easy.

Allen loved the salmon and Russ and I both liked it a lot. The topping was a little on the salty side (despite using reduced sodium soy sauce) and it didn't crisp up as I had hoped it would. I did like the flavor and I enjoy using Asian sauces / flavors with fish. All in all I think I may repeat the salmon, but at the same time I may keep going and look for other Asian style fish recipes. The tomatoes on the other hand I absolutely loved and the boys thought they were good, but not great. I thought the fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil really brought out the flavor of the tomatoes. I really could have eaten a bowl of the tomatoes with crusty bread and been perfectly happy. The tomatoes are definitely a repeater for us. Russ rates the salmon a 7 and the tomatoes I give a 9. All in all it was a simple and fast meal that was tasty.