Salmon with Garlic Lime Butter

I've mentioned in the past how I've never really been a fish eater, until recently.  Now I kind of have to be, as it's one of the few protein sources my child will ingest willingly.  Salmon is an obvious choice in that it isn't too expensive, and B and I both love it.  Therefore, it's become an almost weekly dinner menu star.  Because of that I'm always looking for new ways to eat is so that we don't get sick of it.

Traci over at Mrs. T's Eats recently posted a salmon recipe featuring garlic lime butter and, loving all those ingredients, I figured it was a no-brainer that I should make it.

I tweaked the recipe just a little and I fell in love with the flavor.  The baby lady, however, didn't seem to enjoy the tangy taste of lime and refused to eat the fish, which made B happy because then there was more for him to eat.  Baby girl went crazy for the couscous with peas I served it over, though, which almost caused me to have a heart attack.  It's been months since that child touched a pea!  Craziness, I tell you!

serves 2

Hard Cider Poached Tilapia

Since the baby lady has shown the occasional inclination towards seafood, I've been lookng for recipes that are not offensive to my fish wary palate that also are suitable for my one year old.  Being cooked in alcohol, this doesn't exactly fall into the category of baby friendlly, but I figured that since alcohol cooks off, I would give it a try.  The fish was a no-go for the littly lady, but B and I both ate a substantial amount of it, and we discovered that baby girl seems to like mushrooms.  Go figure.
 
Also, when you're making a meal that calls for part of a bottle of hard cider, you really have no other choice than to just drink the rest of it for dinner, right?  No choice at all....  

Roasted Salmon with Lemon

I may have mentioned a while back that the baby lady seems to enjoy salmon.  Well, the other day B and I discovered that she also likes lemon.  Like, really likes it.  We were eating dinner at a restaurant with her (gasp!) when she started pointing at my water glass like a crazy person.  So I, thinking that she wanted to drink some, tried to give it to her.  As soon as the glass was within reach, that little hand plunged straight down into my ice water and pulled out my lemon wedge and then it was in her mouth.  And she was sucking on it!  She would make a face every now and then, but she just kept on sucking and protested if I tried to take it away from her.

She gets her love of lemons from me, so when I saw the recipe that I based this meal off of, I thought that it was a winner for both  me and the little lady.  I was right, although I didn't cut the lemons thinly enough or cook the lemons until they turned all caramely, but it was still extremely tasty and something I will make again.

Serves 2

Ginger and Cilantro Cod Cakes with Lemon Aioli

The idea of molding fish into a patty freaked me out.  It's only within the past few years that I even started eating fish so the thought of fish squishing through my fingers, cooked or not, nearly nauseated me.  However, I really wanted to try some kind of fish cake.

I found this recipe and was put slightly at ease learning that at least the fish was cooked.  I still wear plastic bags to mush up meat for meatballs and meatloaf, so knowing that it wouldn't be raw helped my mind wrap around this idea just a bit more.  They're also broiled and not fried so I feel better feeding it to my kid.

I loved the idea of adding ginger and cilantro as they're both really fresh flavors so I didn't think this would feel like eating a big hunk of fish, and I was right.  B, the baby lady and I all enjoyed these and I would put them on a bi-weekly menu, well I would if I had one of those.  I'll at least keep these in mind the next time I want fish.  Also, the lemon aioli was a perfect last minute addition for a dipping sauce...or for smothering as I did.  Oh, and if you hate cilantro, parsley would be a great substitution.

Makes 8 cakes, serves 4

Brown Butter Lobster Risotto

In the interest of trying new foods, a late New Year's resolution I've set for myself, I decided to try lobster for the first time.  I was a huge seafood hater growing up and distinctly remember crying in the bathroom of a seafood buffet in Myrtle Beach while on vacation with my family because I had no food and I thought that the place smelled terribly. Because of memories like that I've been really reluctant to try seafood but I'm now open to white fish, salmon, crab and squid or cuttlefish (a trip to Spain cured me of that phobia).

So then we have lobster.  I've never ordered it and only once had a sip of B's lobster bisque.  B is a fan of almost all things seafood so I'm trying to branch out more into that region for him as well as broadening my own tastes.  I saw this recipe and went for it.  I didn't change much, mainly the type of cheese used since I had Romano and not Parmesan, and the amount of chives since I'm in love with them.

My verdict; very tasty, although I'm not sure I would spend that much on lobster again for the amount I got.  I'll try it again when it's on sale and I don't have to get a second mortgage to afford it.

Serves 4

Salmon with Rosemary and Lemon Butter Sauce

Just as they say, "don't believe everything you see on television", don't believe the pictures in cookbooks.  This salmon tastes as good as it looked in the cookbook, and about 100 times better than it looked in person, because it looked like a hot pink mess.  It's not the recipe's fault or anything, I'm choosing to pass the blame onto Whole Foods, where I bought the fish (even though I'm sure some lack of skill was involved in this debacle).

I unwrapped my Coho salmon and immediately began to doubt its ability to retain it's shape.  It was already separating in places and then I touched it.  Pin bones.  Full of them.  So after I pulled all the bones out I was left with two sloppy looking pieces of fish.  When it came time to make the sauce I began to worry because so much of my sloppy salmon had broken off of the main piece of fish while cooking. A sauce that looked smooth, buttery and opaque in the cookbook picture was now basically clear except for a tint of yellow and clumps of pink fish.  Oh well.  It was delicious.

The fish is sear-roasted giving it an excellent crust and the sauce is simply wonderful.  My husband enjoyed it as well as my daughter and it was her first time eating fish.  This one is going down as a success, even though it looks like dog food.

Serves 2