Springtime Dining in Maine - Part 1



Hakim hides behind the pretty tulips he brought me



It may be Monday, but I am still savoring the memory of another excellent weekend. 

We enjoyed a lovely couple of days at the "barn-partment" preparing delicious meals, watching movies, and basking in the sunshine on the deck.  We also got in a nice, albeit windy, hike in Camden Hills State Park. 

This week I thought I'd share with you a couple recipes from the weekend. I am going to do this in 3 parts, just to make it more manageable.

On my way home from work on Friday, I picked up some wild-caught sockeye salmon for dinner.  Hakim was already there waiting for me, so after a glass of wine to unwind, we got to work making some dinner. I found a simple recipe at epicurious for grilled salmon with lime-butter (we decided to broil the salmon on account of the chill in the air).  It turned out beautifully, and I think it's the perfect spring or summer meal.

For two people, you will need:

• salmon filet (we got one that was a little under a pound, which was just right)
• zest from one lime
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• salt
• pepper 
• 1/2 a stick of butter, melted

First, make the lime butter. Purée the garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or small food processor until smooth. While it's still running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified (30 seconds). You can also make the lime-butter the night before.



Then, you prepare the salmon. You may choose to grill it, but, as I mentioned before, we broiled the salmon and it came out great!  Hakim drizzled the filet with olive oil and seasoned it liberally with salt and pepper and then popped it into the oven until it was nearly cooked (medium). This probably took about 6-8 minutes.   

The end result!



We removed it from the oven, sprinkled it with the lime zest and basted it with the lime butter, then stuck it back in the oven to finish cooking (about 2-4 minutes).

We then served it with some red potatoes (mashed with the skins on) and a colorful salad with a homemade vinaigrette (honey, dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pep). We put on the Whiskeytown Pandora Station, a bottle of pinot noir accompanied the meal, and we finished it off with some of Stone Fox Farm Creamery's refreshing lemon sorbet!

It was a splendid way to kick off a weekend of excellent eats! Recipes for sweet & savory steak tips, a spring farro salad, and light & lemony pancakes will be forthcoming!