Lunchbox: Citrus-Roasted Salmon and Asparagus

The last time at TJ's, I picked up some gorgeous looking sockeye salmon fillets, which have a beautiful color and flavor but are not as prohibitively expensive as the Copper River ones coming up. I dusted off a Martha cookbook I'd asked for for Christmas - somehow the winter recips didn't get me going, but there's some lovely spring entrees hidden in there. This one is a gem, and supersimple to do.

I made this twice during the week - I don't like to keep cooked fish around for very long in the fridge, and it really doesn't take long to put together. The first time (above) I put the asparagus under the fruit. It turned out well, but was slightly overcooked. Second time I roasted the asparagus on top of the fruit while waiting for the salmon to come to room temperature, and this worked much better - you already have to wait around with that time, and the asparagus can be cooked to your liking. If you're like me and planning to reheat it for lunches, undercook it a bit so it won't get destroyed by the microwave. And don't be shy with the white pepper; its kick really put this dish over the top.

CITRUS-ROASTED SALMON AND ASPARAGUS
adapted from Martha Stewart Living Annual Recipes 2005

for two lunch portions:
1 6-7 oz fillet of salmon, boned
1 large navel orange
1 lemon
few drops lime juice or 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp white pepper
heaping 1/2 tsp coriander seed
extra virgin olive oil
16-20 asparagus spears
salt and pepper

Pat salmon dry with paper towels and place skin side down in a nonreactive dish large enough for it to lay flat.
In a small bowl, finely grate the zest of the orange and lemon (and lime if using - I forgot, so I just used the juice). Stir in the salt, sugar and pepper. Crush the coriander seed with a meat mallet and add to the bowl. Stir together, along with about four drops of lime juice if using.
Rub spice blend all over salmon flesh. Cover with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Wipe spice blend from salmon with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a small baking pan with foil or spray with nonstick cook spray. Slice the orange and lemon into about 1/4 inch thick slices and lay in the bottom of the pan. Arrange the asparagus spears over the fruit. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, turn to coat. Roast the asparagus at 400 F about 7-8 minutes or until done to your liking.
Remove the asparagus from atop the fruit slices and set aside. Rub the salmon with some olive oil and transfer to the pan on top of the orange and lemon. If the fillet is not of an even thickness, curl thinner sections under (note the left side above). Roast until cooked through, 15-17 minutes.
Divide the salmon and asparagus into two portions; leftovers reheat for about a minute and forty-five in a high microwave.

Craving in Overdrive: Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

There are sometimes when a woman just needs chocolate. Lots of it.

In particular, since starting the chocolate craving study at work, I have never wanted chocolate more. There are hundreds of little individual chocolates all around me all day long, and I cannot eat a single one of them. Last week I couldn't take it any longer, and I needed to bake something. Something very much chocolate.
After seeing all the inspired entries for last month's Browniebabe, a new monthly hosted by Myriam of Once Upon A Tart, there are no shortage of recipes I want to try. But I figured as long as I was baking, I might as well blog it too and join in the fun.
There's a standard brownie recipe I almost always use: I like it, it works, and I've never branched out too much after finding it. Eight ounces chocolate, two cups sugar, two sticks butter, six eggs - no wonder it's good enough to keep coming back to. But perhaps due to discovering recently that oreos in milk taste good (yes! crazy, I know), I had oreos on the brain, and started thinking about putting them in the brownie.
It turns out like so many great ideas, many people have done this before. And I appreciate their efforts, but was kind of disappointed that my great original idea wasn't really all that original. But then while idly clicking on images, I came across a description of an oreo brownie and a picture so pretty I didn't just want chocolate, or a brownie, or even an oreo anymore, I wanted that oreo brownie. Go look. You'll see what I mean.
I could not find a recipe for that brownie, and would not be satisfied with anything less - so I made one. It has chocolate in gobs: dark chocolate too, and tons of oreos. Nestled in between the chocolate layers is a thin layer of cream cheese cheesecake mixture, to add excitement and a different texture. It satisfies cravings for chocolate, brownies, oreos, and the baking bug, all in one pan. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


OREO CHEESECAKE BROWNIES
adapted from Good Housekeeping's classic brownies and the Betty Crocker Cookie Book

brownies
1 c butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used a 70%; the brownies are also good with a semisweet if dark's not your thing)
2 1/4 c sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt (I still like vanilla salt for baking)
1 1/4 c flour
24 oreos
cheesecake layer
14 oz cream cheese
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 -1/2 c sugar (I used the lower amt)
1 T flour

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease a 9x13 baking pan.
In a measuring cup or large bowl, crush the oreos - I found stomping them with the end of a wooden spoon worked pretty well, just don't reduce them all to bits - to a consistency of your liking. You should have about 2 1/2 cups. Set aside.
For the brownies: In a 3-4 qt saucepan over low heat, melt together the butter and the chocolate, stirring every so often that it doesn't stick or burn. Remove saucepan from heat and let cool until just over warm, about 5-7 minutes.
Whisk in the sugar, then beat in the eggs two at a time and stir until well blended. Stir in the vanilla and the salt. Fold in the flour until just blended. Stir in 1 cup of the crushed oreos.
For the cheesecake: In a mixer bowl or using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium high until lightened and smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, sugar, and flour and stir until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.
Assembly: Pour about half the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Gently spoon and smooth the entire cheesecake layer over the brownie batter. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the cheesecake layer and carefully smooth it out so the layers remain distinct. Once the top is even, sprinkle the remaining crushed oreos over the batter.
Bake in the 350 oven for 45-55 minutes (cover the pan with foil if it seems like cookies are burning), or until a tester comes out almost fully clean. Cool fully in the pan and cut. Store brownies at room temperature; if keeping for longer than one-two days store brownies covered in the refrigerator. Because of the cheesecake layer, I like these best at room temperature or even from the fridge, when both layers get firm and the cream cheese taste is heightened.

Last Week's Lunchbox: Stories and Mango Salad

I'm at work right now, using my lunchbreak to make an entry. Work is awesomely busy recently, and while very satisfying to have something to do during the day especially in the countdown to grad school (classes start end of August!) eating has become secondary, something to do on the go between subjects. This is so vastly different from what I'm used to that it is almost puzzling, and I realize I am insanely spoiled by a 35-hr work week in a mildly paced environment. The reason things picked up is because we're currently running a study on chocolate craving, and it's a pretty hot topic. The only thing I don't like is there are literally pounds of chocolate in my office, and I cannot eat any of them but instead must talk to other people all day about chocolate. It is good, but it is also very bad.
Several things involving food happened to me recently.
The first: I totally missed Elena's Muffin Monday 2, and I even made muffins but just didn't get it all together to get them. So here they are: Nigella Lawson's Peanut Butter and Snickers muffins, straight from How To Be A Domestic Goddess. After I let them sit for a day, I can assure you: yes, they are every bit as good as pb and snickers sounds. They are goopy burnt caramelly peanutty bits of delightfulness.

The second: I ate Oreos dipped in milk for the first time ever over last weekend. You know what? They're actually pretty tasty. Seems there's a reason all of America eats them that way. I am still not budging over the milk in cereal thing, though - that's still flat-out wrong.
The third: Last week I took a trip to Trader Joe's to find - of all things - chocolate for work. They didn't have the chocolate, but they did have lots of stuff I wanted including a mango chili vinegar which I'm going to get to later. I went to check out, and the very nice cashier man got all excited when I hit an even dollar amount. I didn't get it, but he explained that that means I got three Tiki Tosses (read: Nerf basketball) and I could win a free item up to $7 if I got it in. I missed horrendously, but the kind manager let me do a total girly underhand throw that somehow wormed its way in. I was torn between being thrilled that I won and embarassed that it took such a wimpy way out to do it, but hey, free stuff makes up for a lot. I sat my groceries down with the cashier and perused the shelves a bit, and ended up with a package of beef. I went to show it off, they were all very excited for me and were about to wave me off. Except that none of us could find my groceries. It seems the woman behind me must've taken my bag. I then had to reshop for all my groceries. Everyone was incredibly sweet about it, laughing with me instead of at me - even while I threw the basketball - and not only did I finally get my groceries and my free bool kogi/bulgogi, the manager gave me a bouquet of mini white roses for my patience. People: seven bucks goes a long way. I'd never heard of this before. I love them.
I have also decided I love mango chile vinegar and urge you to seek it out. It is tasty beyond belief.
Once I had it, I knew it deserved a dish to stand out in. Sometimes, when you think about concocting something in your head without having tried it, you make it and it comes out really, really bad. I know, I've been there, and I've made some really hideous things that originally sound great (beer cheese soup, anyone?).But sometimes you think about it, and you try it, and it's so good I can't be bothered to write more because I want to lick my Tupperware. It is a mango salsa with everything that my grocery store had on sale for Cinco de Mayo, and a conglomeration of several different recipes - I couldn't decide what one sounded best so I threw everything in together. It is loaded. It is sweet. It is spicy. It is savory. It is smooth and it is crunchy. And it is here, pictured sans avocado and tomato so they don't get soggy. It is this week's (ok, ok, last week's) Lunchbox.


MANGO SALAD

2 Tbsp mango chile vinegar, or other fruit or white wine vinegar plus some chile flakes
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
salt and pepper to taste
1 large ripe mango
1/2 English cucumber
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 c frozen sweet corn, thawed
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 small ripe tomatoes
1 ripe avocado

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar and lime juice. Slowly, while whisking, drizzle in the oil. Using a fork, whisk in the garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Dice the mango. (For useful mango-preparation tips, check out Rachel of Coconut and Lime's recent helpful post - I wish I'd found it sooner!) Seed the cucumber and dice. Add the mango, cucumber, beans, corn, scallions and cilantro to the bowl with the vinegar dressing. Gently fold to combine.
Before serving, dice the tomato (seed it if you like) and avocado and gently fold to combine in with the other ingredients.
The salad recipe makes two very generous portions, and will keep refrigerated and covered for a few days if you don't have the tomato and avocado in already. I ate it with some seared swordfish sprinkled with more vinegar, but it would go well with almost any fish and chicken as well for the summer.