Doesn’t this look delicious? It is.

A few of us in the Martha Stewart Circle of Bloggers received a salmon from Norwegian Salmon for some cooking fun. Not just some salmon. A salmon. As in the ENTIRE salmon. Here she is.

This photo was taken by Nikki’s talented step-father Galen Lowe. Thanks, Galen!

I knew it was coming, but it was still something to behold when I opened the package! Our family hardly ever eats or cooks fish, so you can definitely call me a fish novice. I do enjoy salmon and decided it would be fun to participate.

I think I’ve only ever made salmon twice in my life, so I didn’t have a bunch of recipes in my box to turn to. Norwegian Salmon has a great website with all kind of quick and easy recipes, as well as some very helpful how-to videos. I decided I may as well take advantage of their expertise and use one of their recipes. I settled on the Asian-Style Orange Sauced Salmon with Sesame Broccoli, which was categorized under the Easy category.

My friend Nikki and I made the dish together. Nikki loves salmon, so I had to share the catch with her. You certainly do not need two people to make this recipe, although it was fun hanging out! The recipe was super easy to prepare, and the salmon was delicious.

Asian-Style Orange Sauced Norwegian Salmon with Sesame Broccoli

 

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Easy and delicious!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

• (4) 5-6 oz Norwegian Salmon fillets, skin removed
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup rice cooking wine (I couldn’t find this at the store, so we used white wine)
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 each orange slices (and more for garnish if you like)
• 3 cups broccoli, florets
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 tsp orange zest
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. Make sauce: in a sauce pot, combine orange juice, rice cooking wine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger and sugar. Reduce until thickened (about ⅔ original volume)
3. Arrange salmon fillets in oiled casserole dish. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Top each fillet with 1 slice of orange. Pour sauce into casserole dish
4. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until salmon is pink in center.

Notes

While salmon is baking, cook broccoli: Blanch florets in large pot of salted boiling water until tender. Strain water and drain florets well. Toss with sesame oil, sesame seeds and dash of soy sauce

Arrange salmon on plate surrounded with broccoli florets. Garnish with chopped cilantro and orange zest. (Whoops! We forgot the cilantro”¦but I’m certain it would be a nice touch!)

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My mom always makes broccoli casserole for Thanksgiving. This recipe definitely reminds me of her, so I end up making it myself almost every year. When I take a bite, I go back in time, back to a time when I didn’t do much on Thanksgiving morning except watch TV. Those were the days, eh?

I must warn you…not everyone loves this broccoli casserole. Kids especially. I remember not loving it all that much myself when I was younger, but it grew on me. I think the reason is that there is blue cheese in the sauce and, well, blue cheese isn’t always a universally loved flavor. In fact, I pretty much detest blue cheese in most things. I can’t help it.  But I do really like this casserole. I like the strong savory flavor of this dish in contrast with the more mellow, often sweet flavors on the Thanksgiving plate.

Thanksgiving Prep: Broccoli Casserole

 

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From my mom Phyllis Wallin (don’t know where she got the recipe from!)

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Side Dish, Vegetable

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 oz cream cheese
• ¼-1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I do ¼ cup)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 14 ounce pkgs frozen broccoli – thawed and drained
• ~15 Ritz crackers (half a sleeve or so), crushed

Instructions

1. In saucepan melt butter; blend in flour and cheeses (this part doesn’t always go that smoothly for me, but once I get the milk in there things melt and blend better). Add milk; cook and stir until mixture boils. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
2. Place in casserole dish; top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

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As you can see, I’m freezing the casserole for next week, so I’m keeping the crackers stored separately until it’s time to bake.

I will share the following delectable soup recipe with you under one condition: You are not allowed to think about the amount of fat present in the soup when you eat it. It is worth every last calorie. That said…I wouldn’t recommend eating this soup every day. Neither would a cardiologist. But, oh my goodness, you’re going to like it.

Without further ado…the best broccoli cheese soup recipe around! Oh wait, a bit more “ado”…it’s easy to make with a short list of ingredients and quite fast. However, there is a lot of standing at the stove and whisking involved. Make sure you have some tunes or an episode of This American Life playing when you start cooking. I even do leg exercises while I whisk away…just a little preemptive strike on the butter, cream and cheese.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

 

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Creamy, cheesy, and delicious! From my friend Elizabeth Paul

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Soup

Ingredients

• ½ C butter
• ½ C flour
• 1 Quart Half & Half
• 3 C cheddar cheese, grated
• 3 C broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 pkg frozen broccoli (or 2 small heads fresh broccoli chopped into bite sized pieces)
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Combine broccoli, broth and salt – bring to a boil, simmer until broccoli is cooked.
2. Melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour gradually, whisking. Simmer and whisk for a few minutes. Add half & half four times, whisking constantly (make sure it gets thick before each addition of half & half).
3. Add cheese.
4. Add broccoli/broth/salt mixture and stir.

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