Salmon Skewers: Posh Picnic Fare

My mind is swimming with recipes that I want to try, experiences I want to have, things that I want to photograph. As a day or week develops, I try to think of a good fit for the circumstances to make the most out of life.

For example, we were expecting a beautiful day in the low 70's last week and we had been eating indoors at home a lot lately. I wanted to get us out into the fresh air and I wanted to eat outside. Grilling at home is fun, but if we went to a local park and used their grill, we could enjoy a few hours of cooking and relaxing.

I keep a stash of disposable grill toppers in my picnic supplies. Have you seen these? It lets you use a grill in a public park while giving you a clean surface to grill your food on. 

At home, I cut fresh salmon into equal-size square pieces (so that they would cook at the same rate) and placed them on Press n Seal cling wrap. I put another piece on top and sealed around each piece of fish so that it wouldn't dry out. That way I could bring everything to the park on ice and assemble the skewers on site.

I threaded pieces of lemon, cherry tomatoes and salmon onto cedar skewers that I had soaked in water (so that the wood doesn't catch on fire). On other skewers I threaded fresh mushrooms, zucchini ribbons (cut carefully on a mandolin at home and doused in olive oil) and cherry tomatoes. These vegetable skewers cook faster so I placed them on the grill after the fish had started to cook. I covered the cooking area with non-stick Reynolds Wrap foil to keep the heat in and speed up the cooking. When the fish was cooked, I basted it with a mixture of Dijon mustard and apricot jam. The flavor of the glaze combined with the grilled lemons made the salmon even more delicious.

I brought cooked asparagus from home and placed it in a foil packet on the grill to reheat. I also brought a cold salad of drained canned beets (cut in quarters) mixed with 2 cans of drained mandarin oranges, a splash of olive oil and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. I transported the cold beet salad double-bagged in gallon Ziploc freezer bags in the cooler on ice. It was a great addition to our meal.

Yes, I brought along a set of melamine dishes, wooden silverware and paper napkins to make the meal look pretty and give us a stable surface to eat from. I always bring along a kitchen trash bag to transport the dirty dishes back home and it works out just fine.

We had such a nice time in the local park listening to the birds chirp and the children squeal from the nearby playground. It was a great start to a summer of fun.

#picnics #seattle #salmononthegrill #momentsofdelight

What Are You Grilling?

What's the craziest thing you've ever grilled? In honor of all the grilling we as a nation will be doing this holiday weekend, I've decided to post one of my favorite grilling photos.

A darling vintage-style bakery in London (inside Columbia Flower Market) called Treacle had this grill set up, complete with mini cupcake kabobs. It was so pretty and unexpected that it had customers stopping in their tracks. Wait...they're grilling cupcakes? This is a successful in-store display. 

Charred Tomato Salsa and A Picnic Dinner by Lake Sammamish

It was our 24th wedding anniversary on Monday and I thought it would be fun to get outside for dinner after a wonderful weekend. We both agree that there was too much fun to be had in this kind of weather to stay in the apartment and settle into the week's routine. By the end of the evening, Dan announced that "Monday is the new Sunday." ha

I have great affection for the disposable charcoal grills you can buy. The link is so that you can see the packaging and recognize them in the store. They usually cost about $5 and I think they are a really fun way to have a hot meal in a park. If you have 4 people or less, the prospect of cooking a quick dinner out in the fresh air with minimal preparation is very fun.

Dan and I love the charred tomato salsa that is made table-side a restaurant we frequent in Michigan, and lately I have been talking about trying my hand at it. A quiet evening in the park seemed the perfect time to do the prep work, so I brought along 8 roma tomatoes, a head of garlic and 2 jalapenos to grill next to our dinner. 

I want to tell you what I brought along with us so that you too can have a successful and easy dinner on the grill.

Cooler Tote: 2 cans of sparkling water, 2 applesauce, a double-Ziploc bag with thin chicken breasts marinating in a sauce.
Paper towel roll, extra gallon Ziploc bags, tongs for grill, cutting board, knife, matches, disposable grill, plastic spoons, wooden skewers 
Tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic (slice top off and roast mostly base down - allow the garlic to roast open end down for just a minute or it will dry out), marinated chicken breasts, 2 hamburger buns, marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers

Random Tip:I brought a salad spinner with 4 inches of water in it from home. It was so handy to have! I used the water to wash the vegetables. I used the colander insert to keep the vegetables clean and off the picnic table and when we were through with it all, I used the remaining water to ensure that the grill was out.

We set our disposable grill onto the park's permanent grill and lit it with one match. When the flames died down and the coals were ashy, we placed our 2 chicken breasts on one side and the vegetables to grill on the other. We could see boats and water skiers on the lake. A few families picnicked nearby, but for the most part it was quiet.  

We sat in the shade and ate our chicken in the bun without a plate, as we talked and relaxed in our 2 folding camp chairs. We let the vegetables cook a long time, set them on the cutting board to cool before we loaded them into one of the extra Ziploc bags.

We barely had enough heat to melt the marshmallows for s'mores, but we managed. It was quiet and gorgeous. If you were here, wouldn't you say that "Monday is the new Sunday?"

This swimming beach portion of this park (Sunset Beach) will be closed after the 4th of July for improvements (ugh - bad timing!) but the park area will remain open. FYI the park area near Sunset Beach has new bathrooms that are clean and very nice.

Okay, are you ready for my very successful charred salsa recipe? I made it the next day, after refrigerating the charred vegetables that night.

Charred Salsa

8 charred roma tomatoes (with charred skins)

2 charred jalapenos (seeds and stem removed)

4-5 cloves of the charred garlic

1/2 yellow onion (not charred)

1/4 - 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro leaves

1/2 - 1 whole lime juice, squeezed

many shakes of dry cumin

shakes of salt

I blitzed all of these ingredients in the food processor bowl. I stopped periodically and adjusted the lime/cumin/salt - you should too.

I stored it in my favorite type of jar by Weck and it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, though I think we may eat most of it tonight! Who's hungry?

Leelanau Peninsula: Fish on the Grill

It was Memorial Weekend, we were at the cottage and we wanted to grill something!

I decided to go to Carlson's, the local fish market, on the edge of Lake Michigan and buy whitefish fillets. Whitefish is a mild, light and flaky fish - absolutely delicious prepared the following way.

Make a tin foil boat for each fillet. Lay each fillet (skin side down) in a boat. Don't spray with any non-stick coating - you want the skin to stick to the foil. Top the fish with 3 pats (Tablespoons) of butter and 3 lemon slices and sprigs of fresh dill. Lay each tin foil boat on the grill over medium heat (close the lid, but check periodically) and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the fish is no longer opaque. Use a fork to pull a small piece up - it should be solid white.

Using a spatula, you should be able to slide it between the skin (which is stuck to the foil like you want it) and the whitefish. Move the cooked whitefish out of the tin foil boat and onto your plate. Serve with fresh lemon wedges and tartar sauce. Ahoy!