No pictures this time. I forgot my camera, and I didn’t even think about using Steff’s. Both of these dishes were pretty. I wish I had photographic evidence.
On Saturday, Steff and I revised my Mango Chicken recipe. We took a mango (kinda green, not as sweet as I’d hoped), cubed it, and spread it in a baking dish with two chicken breasts. Top it all with salt, thyme, paprika, and cumin. Pour in about 1/3 cup of orange juice. Bake at 400º for about an hour. We also made the now-standard Crispy Roasted Potatoes. (See below.)
Last night Steff and I revisited our Orange Salmon recipe. We had 3.5 lbs of salmon, topped with kosher salt, paprika, thyme, orange slices, juice of half a lime, olive oil, about 1/3 cup of orange juice, and a drizzle of teriyaki sauce. All of that in a baking dish covered w/ aluminum foil. Baked at 300º for 40-45 minutes. (It’d normally cook faster, but we had a large quantity of salmon.)
At the same time, we cubed some red potatoes, topped with salt, pepper, cumin, thyme, paprika, and olive oil. Cover in foil, toss in the oven alongside the salmon. Bake covered for 30-35 minutes. Uncover, drizzle with more oil if needed, and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes to crisp 'em up.
Last, but not least, we uncovered the salmon and topped it with parmesan & romano cheese. Tossed it back in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese, which made a nicely crispy crust. Very good stuff.
If you notice a recurrence of spices, there are two reasons. First, they’re the only ones in Steff’s cabinets (and that’s because I bought them), but secondly they’re also my standard spices. I use thyme in almost everything, and I love the flavors of cumin and paprika.
Last night after dinner was over, the cooking bug bit me again. I decided to take the leftover mango and juices from the Mango Chicken, combine them with just a bit more orange juice and teriyaki sauce, and reduce it all over med-high heat to make a gooey, yummy glaze. For the salmon, I used OJ, more paprika, & teriyaki. That made for a really dark glaze. The glazes were an attempt to make the leftovers more appealing for Steff. Now the chicken slices or chunks of salmon can be dropped over some greens, and you wouldn’t need salad dressing.