Baked Salmon w/ Blackberry Ginger Glaze & Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes. Easy, right? Well, I know that now, but before last Saturday I had no idea. I had literally never made real mashed potatoes from scratch in my life before that day. Sad, I know. Its not like I'd never tasted them - I've had them many times, and I love them, but I never felt the need when I had instant mashed potatoes in my pantry. The pearls are still there, but I just felt it was time to branch out and try one of the easiest recipes on the planet. And they were delicious! Garlicky and perfect with the skins mixed in & some sour cream to make them nice and smooth. I couldn't believe that they turned out so good, seeing as how I winged the whole thing! You're gonna love 'em. And they are the perfect side for phenomenal blackberry glazed salmon.

This recipe was also a first for me. Blackberries are in abundance (and might I add cheap?) at Costco these days, so when I found this recipe I knew I'd have to try it immediately. I served it with the potatoes and roasted pears from my last post when my parents came over for a little dinner date, and it was a smashing success! My mom texted me the next morning and said she'd had dreams about it - now that's a compliment! I was glad they loved it, and that it seemed like such a fancy dinner, because it made me look pretty darn good. But can I tell you a secret? It was sooooooo easy! Give this one a try, and invite people over when you do. You'll be glad you did.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

2-3 lbs red potatoes, washed and quartered

4 cloves garlic

3/4 - 1 c. sour cream

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Put potatoes & garlic in a large pot. Fill pot with water until its about 1 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil & cook until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and put back in pot over low heat for excess water to evaporate. Add margarine and proceed to mash potatoes and garlic with a potato masher. As you mash, add in sour cream, salt & pepper until they reach your desired consistency and taste.

Baked Salmon with Blackberry Ginger Glaze

From Sunny Anderson of the Food Network

Ingredients

1 c. water

12 oz. blackberries

1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled & sliced into coins

1/2 lemon, juice

1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 (8-oz) skinless salmon fillets

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

in a small sauce pot over med-high heat, combine water, blackberries, ginger & lemon juice. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until berries break down, ~5 min. remove from heat & strain into a bowl, using the back of a spoon to push blackberry pulp through. return blackberry mixture to the sauce pot, add sugar & bring to a boil. lower the heat and simmer until reduced by half, ~20 min, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. remove from heat & let cool.

brush a baking sheet with olive oil & set the fillets on top. brush fillets with oil & season with salt & pepper. once blackberry mixture is cool, brush over salmon fillets & bake for 4 minutes. brush again with blackberry mixture. turn oven to broil and broil another 3 minutes.

corny mango salmon & zucchini and summer squash gratin

I was watching the Food Network the other day, as I often do, and Sunny Anderson made this salmon recipe on her show 'Cooking For Real' that made me drool! I immediately went to the computer to look it up, and tonight we had it for dinner. It was DIVINE! Definitely the best salmon recipe I've tried so far. There is a sweet and salty taste to it that just makes your head spin! And I really enjoyed the crusty part of it, too. She served it with a zucchini and summer squash hash, but I decided to make one of our new faves from Prudy (a.k.a. Prudence Pennywise), zucchini and summer squash gratin that she adapted from none other than the Food Network.

Corny Mango Salmon

Ingredients

1 c. mango nectar

1 mango, diced

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 6-oz. center cut salmon fillets

black pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

Directions

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring mango & nectar to a boil. As mango breaks down, pres down on it with a fork to mash it. Continue until mango cooks down to a chunky puree, about 15 minutes. Remove 1/2 for serving - other half for dredging. On large plate, mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, & salt. Preheat large skillet. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Brush glaze over salmon, then dredge in cornmeal mixture. Add oil & butter to skillet. Over high heat, sear salmon with cornmeal coating until golden, ~6-8 minutes for medium-rare. Flip halfway through to cook other side.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Gratin

adapted from Prudence Pennywise

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp. salt1 med. zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch.

1 med. summer squash, sliced 1/4 inch.

2 Tbsp. chopped basil, or 2 tsp dried

1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

In microwave & oven-safe medium baking dish or loaf pan, combine olive oil & garlic. Add onion, salt zucchini & squash, toss to coat with oil. Pat down into pan. Preheat broiler (if you want a crunchy top). Cover baking dish with plastic wrap & microwave ~6 minutes, or until veggies are cooked through. Sprinkle with basil & cheese, pass under broiler briefly to melt cheese.

crispy tilapia

I've always been a big fan of shellfish. You know, things like crab, lobster, shrimp, blah, blah, blah ... but I can't say that I really liked FISH fish until recently. We do fish for dinner about once a week now, and its usually salmon or tilapia. And maybe I just really like those because they're not super "fishy" tasting ... I don't know. We just buy it frozen because its A LOT cheaper that way - it's mighty tasty, too! This recipe came from the June issue of Woman's Day magazine. Its really good with some lime juice squeezed on it, and would be awesome paired with some spanish rice because its got a little kick to it!

~Richard's fish-face of approval~

Ingredients
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 lb tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Mix cornmeal, chili powder, cumin, and salt on a sheet of wax paper.
2. Place milk in shallow bowl or pie plate.
3. Dip tilapia fillet in milk, then into cornmeal to coat.
4. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
5. Cook tilapia2-3 minutes per side.