Blackened Salmon with Italian Limas and Rice

We recently had a delicious salmon dinner. I bought some salmon filets just big enough for two people when they were on sale, and have been exploring different ways of cooking them. Dear daughter loves all things spicy - she enjoys her food far hotter than even I do - so I thought maybe we could blacken the salmon. That was my plan all day at work, but when I got home, there was no blackened seasoning to be found in my pantry, so I made my own.

The smell of the salmon cooking reminded dd and I of our trips to Cajun country in Louisiana, especially a little restaurant in Breaux Bridge where we did the Cajun two-step together. That was the trip we made to attend the Acadian Reunion with my parents and my Dad's brother, Len and his family. My Dad's family are Acadians (the French Canadians who, through the Grand Derangement, were removed from their lands in the Maritime provinces and dispersed by the British throughout the east coast - many ended up in the bayous of Louisiana, eventually becoming known as the "Cajuns"). For those who are interested, we are Babineaus, dit Deslauriers, and our family shares its reunion with the Grangers. Anyway, at that little restaurant, I ordered the blackened redfish made so famous by Paul Prudhomme. My salmon version was good, but still couldn't hold a candle to what we ate in Louisiana. C'est la vie, eh?

I didn't know what to serve with the highly spiced fish, so I went with white rice with lots of butter and steamed baby limas dressed with a good dollop of sun dried tomato pesto from a jar. This was a delicious dinner which was ready in about 25 minutes, and most of that time was waiting for the rice to cook. The fish and the limas took about 10 minutes....maybe 12.

Bon Appetit, mon petit chou!

Blackened Seasoning (enough for two portions)
1 heaping Tbs paprika
2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil

Blackened salmon
2 portions salmon filets
Blackened seasoning

Rinse the filets well and pat dry. Brush with a little oil, then rub all the seasoning into both sides of the fish. Get a heavy, cast iron skillet smoking hot, pour a little oil on the bottom and then gently place the fish into the hot pan, skin side up. Cook uncovered for about 2 minutes - it will smoke and blacken, but will not burn. Turn the fish over and lower the heat a little and let cook about 3 - 4 minutes more, until it is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.

PS: Mon petit chou is a colloquial endearment, one which my uncle calls his wife all the time. It basically means "my little one" and is much sweeter than MY nickname as a child which was "Grosse Fesse". You figure it out. Alas, it is as true now as it was then....

Long time, no see!

Hi everyone! I'm back from a long absence. My life has been reorganized due to a job change, and its taken a month or more to "get it together". I've been cooking - don't get me wrong - but I just haven't had time to post. I did take some photos which I'm posting here today, just so you can see a few of the meals we've been eating at my house. In the upper left corner is a loin of pork which was cooked for 4 hours in my Italian grandmother's spaghetti sauce (lovingly called "gravy" by every Italian-American I know), and next to it is the spaghetti on the plate. In the upper right corner is broiled salmon with mustard glaze and sauteed lemon garlic spinach. In the lower left corner is red pepper pasta with capers which I made up just to use up the red peppers. I just LOVE capers, in case you haven't noticed.

I had quite a few requests for a rice dish that brought to church a couple of weeks ago. It started out as a mexican-themed rice, but I ran out of cumin, so I decided to add in some curry to make up the difference. It was kind of crazy, because once I added the curry, I just started adding spices and ingredients, and the end result was alright but nothing special to my taste. But then I started getting the raves and the requests for the recipe, so I guess it tasted better than I thought! Sorry, no pic of the rice, but here is the recipe:

Mexo-Indio Rice

1 lb hamburger, sauteed and well drained
1 Tbs olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 C sliced carrots (about 1 medium)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbs minced garlic (3 or 4 cloves)
3 tsp chicken boullion powder
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs sweet curry powder
2 C tomato juice + 2 C water
2 C long grain rice

1 C cubed ham (optional)
1 C frozen peas (optional)
1 C sliced green olives with pimentos (optional)

In 5 or 6 qt pot with lid, saute the beef, breaking it up as you go, and draining very well. Set aside. In same pan, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add bell pepper and carrots, then all the spices and herbs. Let saute for a couple of minutes. Stir in the rice, then the water, bouillion and tomato juice. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer until rice is done. Stir in the optional items and serve.