Something New

You may recall me writing about how my husband loves beef and I rarely make it for him. Well, salmon is another thing he really enjoys, but I've never liked....until now! I thought I'd give this a try and it came out really delicious. It's another refreshing, summery dish - perfect for this stifling weather we're having. I served this over some couscous.


Grilled Salmon with Pineapple, Mango, and Strawberry Salsa Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, foodnetwork.com

For the Fruit Salsa...

• 3/4 cup small diced pineapple
• 3/4 cup small diced mango
• 1/2 cup small diced strawberries
• 1/4 cup small diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium non-reactive bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir to blend. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the salsa to macerate for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

For the Salmon...

Ingredients...

• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin-on
• 2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 recipe Fruit Salsa, recipe follows

Directions...

Preheat a grill to medium **I used a grill pan on the stovetop

Brush both sides of the salmon with the olive oil. Season the salmon on both sides with the Essence, salt and pepper. Place the fish on the grill, skin side down and cook for about 3 minutes then turn the fish 45 degrees and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until cooked through to the desired degree of doneness.

Remove the fish from the grill and serve with the fruit salsa spooned over the fish. Serve immediately.

And in case you don't have Essence, here's the idea...

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Summery Goodness

I brought this dessert to my sister-in-law's graduation this past weekend and it seemed to be a big hit! I knew I wanted to make a trifle, but couldn't seem to find a recipe that sounded delicious but didn't take all day. I ended up studying a few recipes and coming up with my own.

Lemon Berry Trifle

Ingredients...

1 lb strawberries, sliced
1 pint blueberries
1 T sugar
juice from one lemon
1 8 oz container cool-whip
1 package instant lemon pudding
2 cups milk
8 oz sour cream
1 store-bought angel food cake, cut into cubes

Directions...

Combine strawberries, blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. Prepare pudding according to package directions. In a separate bowl, fold pudding and sour cream into cool-whip. In a large bowl (ideally, glass, but anything big enough and pretty enough to serve out of) place one layer of angel food cake cubes, top with 1/3 of berry mixture, then add 1/3 cool-whip mixture. Layer ingredients two more times, topping with cool-whip mixture. Reserve a few berries to decorate the top - especially if you don't have a glass bowl so people can kind of tell what's inside. Chill until ready to serve (at least 30 minutes).