Keep It Simple, Stupid

When six out of seven days in the forecast involve rain, you have to take advantage of every opportunity to grill outside.  Today, although the temperature is dropping into the thirties, was still fairly sunny in the afternoon.  I have had a long week, however, and wanted something quick, light, and easy.  The Simple Salmon on page 298 looked to fit such a bill.  

As advertised, this is simple.  Whisk together the marinade, and set the fish in for half an hour.

While that is going on, I gathered together everything necessary for the side, the French Green Lentil Salad With Mustard Vinaigrette on page 365.  I chose this because it looked quick and I happened to have extra lentils from an earlier recipe.  Also, both recipes involved Dijon mustard, so there would be the added benefit of continuity between the recipes.

What I found unique about this recipe was that you needed to boil the lentils in an aromatic liquid, so in went the cinnamon stick, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley.  I brought that to a boil, and introduced the lentils.

As I approached about fifteen minutes left on the lentils, I placed the salmon the grill, this time opting for The Phoenix instead of The Forge, because I only needed about ten to twelve minutes of cooking time, and didn't want to hassle with the charcoal.  

Less than forty-five minutes after I began, The Bride and I were eating.  This was simple, this was quick, this was easy, but most importantly, this was tasty.  The salmon was exactly what I was craving, as I hadn't had a healthy dinner in quite a few days.   It actually fell good to eat something light.  The mustard and horseradish were prevalent but not domineering.  This marinade packed a large amount of flavor for its short bathing time.  The big difference that I noticed between cooking salmon on The Phoenix and The Forge is the cooking temperature and resulting texture.  The Phoenix just doesn't get nearly as hot as The Forge, so you have to cook the salmon about two minutes longer, and you don't get the nice texture difference between the outside and inside of the fish.  Instead, the entire piece of the fish, while delicious, is the same texture throughout.  The lentils were okay at best.  I certainly liked the other recipe a lot more, although I think I cooked the lentils a little better than I did before.  For lentils, from what I have discovered, it really comes down to the final dressing, and this one just wasn't as nice as before.  In summation, the salmon recipe will be filed away for a later date, but the lentils will just be another notch on the headboard.