Seared Salmon Sandwiches

....Hey(!) That's an alliteration (My English teachers would be proud).

On that note, I apologize for the lack of blog posts this past week. I know my millions of followers (ha!) have been disappointed. I have been at the beach for the past week: Hilton Head. We have gone there the majority of summers of my life since I was 6 months--a Freeman family traditions. We have always gone out to eat while there (it was the one week of the year when my mom didn't have to cook--it was her vacation as well). I, of course, would not have minded in the least cooking a meal of two, but, tradition is tradition and so we went out to eat...every night. Now that's not to say the food was not utterly delicious and I may or may not have gained a few pounds.

But I'm back and ready to cook up a storm! Still need to exchange my propane tank, so until that gets done, grilling will be put on the back burner (no pun intended) for now. I decided to mirror my meal last night after one of the hidden, off-the-beaten-path Athens restaurants I stumbled across in my last days there: The White Tiger: a little, run-down white shack with delicious homemade, organic foods and chocolates! One of the things Jared and I split there for lunch was this delicious salmon sandwich so that was my inspiration for dinner.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, Alisa and I have a sort of babysitting business we're running this summer, so I'm working 2-6pm every night. Since I wasn't sure how long it'd take me to get home (47 min, thank you Atlanta traffic), I did all my prep work earlier in the day, including cooking the salmon.



Salmon

-3 (4-6oz) salmon fillets
-Juice of 1/2 a lemon
-Salt & pepper


Pre-heat a skillet over medium heat and spray. Sear salmon on both sides 2-4min per side. Then I just placed in a tupperware in the fridge and reheated in the microwave when I got home.

To construct the sandwich, I spread (lite) veggie cream cheese on both halves of a multi-grain roll. Topped with lettuce (iceberg...it was on sale!), cucumber slices, onions, the salmon, and capers.

This was served alongside fresh veggies and pretzels. So easy and so delicious!

Girl Meets Grill

So let me first start off my saying, I never in my life thought I would be a blogger. With that being said, welcome to my first blog entry: "Girl Meets Grill." As summer approaches, it's time to get out of the kitchen and onto the grill--and almost anything tastes better grilled. I've never grilled anything before in my life...that was always my mom's job and she never got around to teaching me. And...needless to say, my dad was no help. So, with the help of Jared, we attempted our first dinner on the grill (and were lucky, because apparently we had just enough fuel to cook our food).

Grilled Pear Turkey Burgers

-1/2 lb lean turkey (This made 3 decent sized burgers)
-Thyme, Rosemary, Poultry Seasoning, Parsley, Minced Garlic, Salt & Pepper (When I cook, I don't do well with direct measurements. I usually go by smell and sprinkle a little of this and a little of that until I'm satisfied)
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-1 egg (lightly beaten)
-1/2 pear (finely chopped--save the other half for topping)


Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Form into 3 patties. Grill over medium-high heat 5-7min for side flipping ones and making sure not to press down as this will release those delicious juices (and don't forget to spray the grill BEFORE you place the burgers down.....yah, we forget, but not the worst thing that could happen for a first time griller) Once the burgers were done, they were piled high on a roasted garlic bread I had purchased from Kroger(which, by the way, was phenomenal and definitely added a whole other level of flavor profile to the burger) , toasted lightly on the grill, and spread with a fig preserve. This was also accompanied by lettuce, tomato, and the other 1/2 of the pear sliced and grilled as well (about 2min per side). This was served alongside with corn (grilled of course) and pretzels (which, no, I did not grill).

I must say, I was very pleased with myself at how great these burgers turned out and that I mastered the art of grilling!