Sunday, October 3, 2010

Roasted salmon on a heap of veggies and, oh yes, another giveaway

The funny thing about these giveaways is that you often have an odd phrase to work with. The point is to drive traffic to the sponsoring website, of course, and I'm sure they have a calculated way of determining what the magic words are. But it takes a little effort to gracefully work in something about floor lamps or organic cotton comforters or upholstered dining chairs.

Hm, like how I did that? I'm not sure what CSN will say about that one. This just might be my last giveaway. But I hope not, because I think they're fun to do, plus I think you guys like them. I mean, free stuff? And CSN owns a bunch of websites, including cookware.com. Tell me you couldn't find something there to spend some of your not hard-earned dollars on!

Since I like to make you work a little bit for it, to enter to win a $65 gift certificate to any of CSN's websites, tell me what your go-to, speedy dinner is. And don't say something like a bowl of cereal and a martini. I mean real food, that you cook, that takes little time but satisfies in a big way.

Mine is roasted salmon on a heap of vegetables.


Here's my method:

Heat oven to 425. In a small oven-proof frying pan, heat a little canola oil. Salt and pepper a fillet of salmon. Place skin-side down and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and cook until your liking--for me, about 4-5 minutes, for the husband, about 7-8.

While the salmon is roasting, heat some olive oil in another pan over medium-high heat. Add a smashed clove of garlic and let sizzle. Quickly rinse and tear up some leafy greens, preferably some that wilt rapidly, like swiss chard or spinach. But you can use any vegetables you like, as long as they cook fast. Snap peas work nicely, as does does zucchini. If you have a carrot, skip the peeling, chop it up, and toss it in, just for variety. Everything will be done by the time your salmon is ready. Place the fish artfully over the heap of veggies, pour yourself a large wine, and enjoy.

Deadline is Friday, October 8, with the winner announced Monday the 11th.

13 comments:

  1. It's not pretty or fancy, or probably very good for us, but when strapped for time (or just because we crave it) we will slice up a ring of sausage and brown it in a little dab of oil. Stir in some baked beans, extra brown sugar and BBQ sauce and a squirt of Dijon mustard and heat through. With brown and serve rolls or a pop-can of Pillsbury biscuits.

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  2. Why doesn't martini count? I'm definitely not eligible but I really like how you did that. I'll be hosting a similar giveaway soon too, so thanks for ideas :) Have a great week HD!

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  3. This looks good and I am a huge fan of speedy dishes. Here is my quick dish go to dish.

    http://alittleyum.com/2010/04/07/curried-chicken-drumsticks-with-carrots/

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  4. My go to is pasta and marinara sauce. I make the sauce in batches, so I have plenty in the freezer... pan to bowl to table in 15 minutes

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  5. If I have shrimp around, I like one of two recipes:
    This one from the recipe book *you* gave me: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/recipe-of-the-day-garlic-soup-with-shrimp/
    I also add in chopped, blanched tomatoes, skinned and seeded to make it heartier.
    Or this one, over rice, squeezed with extra lemon and with a side salad: http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/01/melissa-clarks-roasted-broccoli-with-shrimp.html

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  6. A large wine! Ha! Don't mind if I do...

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  7. As soon as I read "what is my go to ready menu" I immediately thought a big bowl of frosted mini wheats ,and then you warned me that my response would not be acceptable ( i smiled, you know us well). I would have to give it more thought....Hmmm.

    I have given this real thought and the answer is a quick meal in my house is fried eggs over rice. I am serious.

    Your quick meal looks divine and it's so damn healthy too.

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  8. I tend to keep ramen noodles on hand for a quickie yet satisfying pasta meal. Recently, I made it with deli sliced ham, scallions, and fried egg with a soy sauce mixture. And there you go... din, din in ten minutes! :)
    lyndadawinda1074 at yahoo dot com

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  9. So I guess a Lean Cuisine won't count?? :)

    OK then, my second most go-to dinner:
    Pan seared scallops and oven roasted fennel. Not kidding here...I love it and have it often.

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  10. You can never go wrong with wild salmon. If I could afford to eat it every day, I would! ;)

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  11. Mine is actually salsa chicken with broccoli. So simple, yet so much flavor. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Chris

    zekks at yahoo dot com

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  12. My go to meal is what my dh calls goulash - but isn't - it's a pound hamburger cooked with garlic, onion and a little beef broth, then mixed with 8 oz of large macaroni shells. I add them to the pan with seasoned salt & some pepper, and cook for a short time, until the shells are lightly browned on the bottom

    nblexp at gmail dot com

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  13. That's a fantastic-looking meal! And I typically like to eat anything that is described as 'such and such on a heap of such and such." Heaps of things are almost always better.

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