June 1, 2014 New Recipe – Grilled Boiled Artichokes with wasabi mayonnaise dipping sauce with Teriyaki Salmon grilled on cedar board and pan sautéed potatoes and onion with fresh garlic and mint

June 1, 2014 New Recipe – Grilled Boiled Artichokes with wasabi mayonnaise dipping sauce with Teriyaki Salmon grilled on cedar board and pan sautéed potatoes and onion with fresh garlic and mint

We made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then after cleaning our shed, we decided to go to Costco because we needed paper towels.  Suzette said she would like to grill a teriyaki salmon for dinner, so we bought a large filet of Atlantic farm raised salmon, which we like the best for cooking because it seems to have more fat and therefore is usually more tender and more flavorful.

When we returned home we made a teriyaki marinade by heating to a simmer 7 Tbsps. each of soy sauce, Aji Mirin, and sake plus 1 tsp. of sugar.   Then Suzette put the salmon in a gallon freezer bag with the teriyaki marinade for about three hours.

We discussed what green vegetable to eat with dinner and I suggested grilling the artichokes I had bought at Trader Joe’s yesterday, which won out over sautéed chard.  We then discussed the starch and thought about rice, until Suzette said we should use up our old potatoes and onions.  I suggested roasting the potatoes, but Suzette thought it would be easier and quicker to pan sauté the potatoes with onion, olive oil, some of our fresh garlic and chopped fresh mint from our garden.

So we had a menu.  We wanted to watch game 7 of the L.A. and Chicago semi-finals.  I peeled and chopped five or six potatoes into ½ inch cubes and then diced about 4 Tbsps. of white onion.  I then cut the cloves out of two stalks of garlic and cut them in half and we soaked them in Moroccan olive oil for a minute.  Then Suzette started sautéing the onion, garlic and potatoes in the olive oil and as soon as the potatoes were covered with olive oil, she covered the pan and reduced the heat a bit, so the potatoes would sweat and soften and after about fifteen minutes we added 1 cup of chopped fresh mint to the potatoes and let that the mint crisp up and become impregnated with the olive oil flavor by cooking together.

New Recipe – Grilled Boiled Artichokes with wasabi mayonnaise dipping sauce

Yesterday I had bought a four pack of medium sized artichokes at Trader Joe’s for $2.29 and had boiled them for 45 minutes in water covered with a brick to hold them under the surface of the water, when I came home and drained them and put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, so technically they are PPIs.

Before Suzette started sautéing the potatoes, she cut two artichokes in half, removed the hairs in the center and brushed each half with the garlic soaked olive oil.

Then Suzette suggested that we make a dipping sauce for the artichokes.  Since we were grilling teriyaki salmon we decided to make a Japanese dipping sauce with mayonnaise and wasabi. I added 1 tsp. of wasabi to 1/2 cup of Kraft mayonnaise.  Suzette then suggested using Japanese rice vinegar instead of lemon, so I added 1 tsp. of rice vinegar.  I was afraid that the wasabi would overpower the flavor of the sauce so I also added 1 tsp. of aji mirin to soften the spiciness of the wasabi.  As if turned out the mayonnaise had such a strong flavor that it obscured the wasabi and I could have added more wasabi, but the sauce was creamy and smooth because I made the sauce in the cup that had had the last ¼ tsp. of Moroccan olive oil plus had added the rice vinegar and the aji mirin, both liquids.

Suzette grilled the artichokes on the grill with the salmon for about five to seven minutes of the fifteen it took to grill the salmon until their edges took on a little color and the char broiled smoky flavor of the cedar wood permeated them.

We sautéed the potatoes a total of about thirty minutes covered until the salmon and artichokes were grilled and the potatoes had started to turn golden brown.

We decided to drink Modelo Especiales with dinner.

The salmon filet was over three pounds and so we had a pile of grilled salmon.  The cedar board keeps the fire from burning the teriyaki sauce and the salmon flesh so the salmon is juicy and tender in the center and strongly flavored with teriyaki sauce.  The artichokes were also grilled and charred on their edges but soft and tender in the center.

salmon, artichokes and dipping sauce

We loved the meal and must have each eaten a pound of salmon meat, because it was so delicious.  But the stand out part of the meal was the newly discovered char grilled artichokes impregnated with the wood smoke flavor of the charred cedar.

As overtime started in the Game 7 of the L.A. v. Chicago, we sipped cognac to wash down the gorging of fish, artichoke and potatoes.

It seems to me that this is not only a Pacific fusion meal but a perfect California Indian meal.  I can imagine the Indians living near Monterrey in northern California having access to artichokes, salmon and even potatoes in not in pre-historic days, surely in the present.

What fun to create a new recipe.

Bon Appétit