The Bloated Belly

Salmon, glazed

Salmon. It can be so simple to prepare. But for that reason can be a stumper sometimes. Sure, you like it just fine the way you always prepare it, maybe with just some olive oil, salt pepper and dill for the light side, or with a buerre rouge sauce (that sounds fancy pants but it's easy--for another post, perhaps?) But for the a small-minded fellow worn down to the bones by another numbing day at the job, a little hiccup in the routine is small victory. So there I had a pound of salmon in butcher wrap from Kowalski's. Yeah, I bought it at a grocery store. It's a nice grocery store, but I rarely buy fish there--or any grocery store. My usual spot is Coastal Seafood. But hey. There it was. The fella behind the counter tried to sell me on some farm raised from Chile, but there's a whole slew of problems coming from down there, so I pointed to the wild caught. "Well, if you like richer tasting fish," he said. Yes, yes I do, doofus. I like fish tasting like fish does when it's yanked from their natural habitat. The slab looked good. Didn't smell fishy.

Planned on cooking it that night, but for reasons unremembered, didn't. Unwrapped it on night two and, well, that scent had settled in. Is it bad? No. But you know you should have just cooked it when you bought it. Still, a nice looking piece of wild caught Alaskan salmon. What do do?

Much to my surprise, the brain kicked in. It told me that for the day job I received a cookbook a few years back from an Alaska publisher that produced local-fare cookbooks. This one was entirely devoted to its title: Salmon. I pulled it out, thumbed through it, and found a neat little recipe that was quick and easy. It's basically this: take about one pound of salmon, lay it skin side down on aluminum foil. Put Kosher salt on it. Heat your grill. When the grill's ready, rub about a quarter cup of brown sugar on the salmon (I like dark brown sugar). Put pepper on it. Toss the whole mess on the heated grill for about ten minutes, and check for doneness depending on the thickness of your slab.

Easy. Tasty. Although my quibbles with the recipe (and why I didn't write it down for y'all) are this: It says things like "salt to taste" when you add salt to the raw filet. Eh? Salt to taste? Just put a decent amount of salt on it in that state. One thing I realized with the recipe, is that I under-seasoned it. I'd like to fiddle with a bit of heat next time; I'll let you know.

More salt, more pepper, and this would have been outa sight in it's simple balance of flavors. That, and some supremely fresh fish would be outstanding. At left, I smeared a tad too much sugar on. No matter, it melts off.

But it piles up on the foil and burns a bit. But the fish? Just fine.

Overall, this cookbook is a nice package, filled with nifty illustrations. Worth the buy, if it's still available, if only to add to the mental catalog for salmon prep.

Salmon
By Cynthia Nims
Illustrated by Don Barnett
Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co.
www.gacpc.com

Cookbook better than its cover

Another instance of not judging a book by its cover. Yep. Looks silly, doesn’t it? But it’s not bad at all.

See, about a year ago (seriously! I’m ashamed), cookbook author Renee Pottle contacted me to see if I’d be interested in reviewing her cookbook, "I Want My Dinner Now: Simple Meals for Busy Cooks."

I said, “Sure!” I was flattered that someone who had the discipline to put out a cookbook (her second or third) wanted lil’ ol’ me take a gander at it.

It’s a good book. Is it something I’m going to use? Probably not. But I’m not the target audience. That audience is the busy parent (most likely mom) who isn’t an experienced cook, who, on top of raising the kids and a job, still needs to find time to cook a meal at home. These recipes are good, quick, and avoid time-consuming prep work that many of us pretend-chefs embark on to test our culinary chops.

Nope, this stuff is about straight ahead simplicity, quick nutritious meals. When this book calls for garlic, it just might be garlic powder—all the stuff mom used when she got home from work and was throwing stuff together for the family.

From a text standpoint, Pottle is doing something that I wish would be applied to other cookbooks: bigger type (it was nice to glance at the book while I was whipping up one of her recipes and read the words without having to stoop over) and listings of possible sides. Ever want to cook up a killer entrée and are left wondering, “Well, what would be good with this?” Also handy is, at the beginning of the book, Pottle lists pantry necessities, and with each recipe in the book, there’s a labeled “pantry items” box to draw your attention.

What did I cook from the book? I followed along her recipe for a light pasta fettuccini Alfredo (I ad-libbed a bit, since I had a bunch of other stuff to use in the fridge) and “Apple Sauced Pork Chops.” Both are solid recipes with good flavor for the time put in.

She’s got a great variety of stuff, from black beans and rice, to casseroles, to tuna steaks. She also tosses in a good mix of recipes for various appliances. There’s a quick nutrition summary and a handy glossary.

Know whom else this book would be great for? The college student, post dorm. I would have appreciated a book like this back then, although not with its current cover art. But it would be great for the student who doesn’t want to eat pizza and sub sandwiches every other meal, wants to save a little money, and who ain’t afraid to cook.

What a great idea, Ms. Pottle! Repackage the book for the college-age punks! I get 10 percent for that.

Pottle also kindly sent me a copy of an earlier cookbook she wrote, titled “The Contented Heart Cookbook,” a text to help folks lower their cholesterol. The book includes a chapter on heart healthy foods, and all recipes are constructed to be low fat and low sodium. On the read through, Pottle again provides ample information for the inexperienced home cook to provide themselves healthy meals.

Check out the Wine Barrel Gourmet site  for other things she’s got going on.