Salmon Baked in Foil

By Paul Briand

Chef Jackie Oliver has been a constant guest as part of the NBC Today Show’s coverage of the Olympic Games in London.

Conveniently enough, I stumbled across this Oliver recipe in the August/September issue of AARP The Magazine.

His recipe for salmon that’s baked in a foil parcel with green beans and pesto is an easy, flavorful, and all-in-one method of cooking your main dish and vegetable side dish.

Ingredients
2 handfuls of green beans
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
2 chunky salmon fillets (about a half pound each), skin on
2 heaped tablespoons green pesto
Olive oil

Directions
(See before and after shots above.)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees;
2. Trim the beans by cutting off the stalk ends but leaving the wispy ends;
3. Halve the lemon;
4. Take a yard of aluminum foil and fold in half;
5. Take a handful of green beans and put at center of foil;
6. Layer a salmon fillet skin side down on top of the green beans;
7. Spoon a heaping tablespoon on top of fillet, then drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and douse with juice from lemon half;
8. Repeat process with second filet;
9. Fold the foil over the mixture and seal all the edges to create a parcel and place each on a baking sheet;
10. Cook until the salmon is done, about 25 to 30 minutes, depending on thickness;
11. Remove from oven and let sit one minute;
12. Carefully unwrap before serving, the steam is very hot.

Click here for recipe card.

Cherry Tomatoes and Almond Pesto

By Paul Briand

When you think of pesto, you think of a combination of basil and pine nuts.

But pesto, by Genoese definition, means "to pound, to crush." So just about anything that you can pound or crush together can become a pesto sauce.

I was inspired by an article about pesto in the Wall Street Journal to try one made from cherry tomatoes and almonds.

The article offered a variety of interesting combinations: pecans, parley and dates; pumpkin seeds and spinach; walnuts and grapeseed oil, as examples.

I wanted to try the cherry tomatoes and almond combination because, as it turned out, I had cherry tomatoes and almonds readily available in the house.

Here's the short and sweet recipe that the Journal said came from PBS chef Lidia Bastianich.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes

Salt

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, almonds, and garlic clove;

2. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and a bigger pinch of salt;

3. Puree the mixture and add the olive oil in a steady stream until the pesto emulsifies into a thick puree.

It is heartier and nuttier than your store bought pesto and certainly different from the basil and pine nut pesto that most people are accustomed to. But it's a welcome change when you can do it yourself.

Click here for recipe card.

Pesto-Parmesan-Topped Burgers

By Paul Briand

I'm going to go on a burgers and dogs rant for the next few weeks. It's been ideal grilling weather, and I've been looking for new takes on the traditional grilling fare of hot dogs and hamburgers.

Today's burger comes from the "Flat Belly Diet for Men" book that I've written about in the past. Making use of the diet's recommendations and using many of the recipes in the book, including this one, I've lost more than 20 pounds since March. Read about it here.

What intrigued me about this recipe was the topping: pesto, which gave the whole eating experience a nutty quality to it.

Ingredients

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

4 Portuguese rolls, split and toasted

4 Boston lettuce leaves

1/2 tomato, cut into 4 slices

1/4 cup pesto

1/2 red onion, cut into 4 slices

Directions

1. Heat the grill to medium high heat

2. Combine the beef and pepper and form into four patties;

3. Set the burgers on the grill rack coated with cooking spray and grill 4 minutes, turn the burgers, grill another 4 minutes and top with Parmesan. Grill about 2 minutes longer, until the cheese melts, then remove from grill and set aside;

4. Set the roll bottoms on a work surface, top each with 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, 1 tablespoon of pesto, 1 onion slice and 1 burger. Complete the burger with the top half of the bun and enjoy.

Some notes: I grilled my red onion slices first, giving them a nice bit of carmelization. I used a lot more Parmesan than what was called for, and I used fresh Parmesan, not the stuff out of the can ... what a difference.

Next week: Kielbasa Chili Dogs

Pesto Penne and Chicken

By Paul Briand

Faced with entertaining my wife, my daughter, my son, my stepdaughter, and my step son-in-law for dinner this week, this one came about solely by inspiration fueled by desperation.

I needed something that could easily feed a lot of people (pasta is usually a good bet there) but that had some bulk, some taste and some flair.

I basically pieced this one together as I shopped, choosing the chicken thighs because of how well they fry up in olive oil and how it all might be enhanced when combined with sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Ingredients
Eight pack of chicken thighs
Box of penne pasta
11-ounce ready made pesto with basil
Package of sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
1 cup sliced portabello mushrooms
Minced garlic to taste
Olive oil
Sherry
Pepper to taste

Directions
1. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and over medium high heat cook the chicken thighs. Once no longer pink, remove and set aside. Let rest about three minutes then cut into strips;
2. Add a little more olive oil to same skillet and sautee sun-dried tomato strips and mushrooms, adding minced garlic as vegetables start to go limp;
3. In the meantime, cook the pasta in large pot of water with a splash of olive oil. Cook to al dente and drain;
4. Add a splash or two of sherry to the skillet to deglaze the bottom and pick up all that flavor from the chicken rendering;
5. In large bowl, add drained pasta and pour in all the contents of the skillet and give a big stir;
6. Add pesto to the pasta bowl and mix in thoroughly;
7. Serve by first adding penne pesto mixture to the plate, then top with several strips of chicken.

This serves six easily with enough for seconds and/or leftovers.