As of last night, I will be referring to myself as "Chef Chrissi"

Ladies & gentlemen, I'd like to grace your presence with a recipe for one of the best meals I have ever cooked.  Now, mind you, I've always thought of myself as a pretty good cook but tonight took that to a new level.

I went grocery shopping the other day and bought some stuff that I usually don't cook.... fresh spinach, collard greens, fresh salmon, etc.  Well, I knew I needed to cook the salmon while Christian is home or else it would go to waste.  So, I got a wild hair yesterday and bought cedar planks at Bed Bath & Beyond to cook the salmon on.  I really had no idea what I was doing but I wanted to do it on my own.  On the package of the planks, it tells you how to prepare the planks so that part wasn't so bad.  Then it came to removing the skin from the salmon.  That was also a success (I was a little worried about that).  And now, here's the recipe for our entire dinner:

Honey Mustard/Brown Sugar Cedar plank salmon

Ingredients:
* two large salmon filets (will feed four)
* two tablespoons of honey mustard
* three tablespoons of brown sugar
* apple cider vinegar
* water

Fill a large shallow pan w/ 1/2 water and 1/2 apple cider vinegar.  Place two cedar planks in this water/vinegar solution and let them soak for about 2 hours (at least 30 minutes and no more than 4 hours).

For new planks, place on grill w/ low-medium heat for two minutes on each side to prevent warping when cooking food.  Keep a spray bottle of water handy just in case it starts to catch fire (yes, this happens VERY easily).

Skin the salmon (you can find youtube videos on how to do this if you're like me and don't know how to skin a fish).  Season both sides of salmon with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper.  On the side w/ no skin, spread honey mustard across top and sprinkle brown sugar on top of the honey mustard.

Place salmon on cedar plank and place on low-medium grill for about 20 minutes.  Remove from grill and season with a little more salt and pepper to taste.  YUMMO!

Sauteed Green Beans

* about 1/2 pound of fresh green beans (the long, skinny ones) (more for more people)
* about two tablespoons of olive oil
* two tablespoons of soy sauce
* one clove of garlic (chopped)

pour olive oil into skillet and set to medium-high heat.  When oil is warm, sauté garlic until it's a little brown.  Then, place green beans into pan and sauté until they are soft.  about three minutes before finished, pour the two tablespoons of soy sauce into the pan for added flavor.  Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Skillet Potatoes w/ Basil


* four large red potatoes (more for more people)
* olive oil
* dried basil (or fresh if you're one of those people who loves fresh herbs)

Pour olive oil into pan and turn on medium-high heat.  Slice potatoes into thin chip-like slices and place into pan.  Sprinkle enough basil so it evenly covers (not entirely) each potato slice.  Maybe 1/4 cup.  Cook until potatoes are softened.  Season with kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper.


Voila!  You're finished!  It's a VERY easy dinner and not too many off-the-wall ingredients!  Yes, I created this all by myself and it was gooooood!  Christian and I both said it tasted like a nice restaurant's salmon!

To follow up dinner (we didn't have any dessert in the house), we watched the documentary "Babies".  Oh my goodness, you guys have to see that!!!  It's soooo cute!  It follows four babies from around the world (San Francisco, Tokyo, Mongolia, & Namibia) from the time they're born to their first steps.  It was the most precious thing I've seen in a while.  It's also amazing how different cultures raise their babies.  Plus, it's interesting to see that the two babies who had less material things (Mongolia & Namibia) actually seemed happier and pitched less fits!  So cute.  I definitely recommend!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

xoxo-

Chef Chrissi ;-)