Strange Bedfellows

The title of this post is a tad more titillating than intended....the strange bedfellows are actually ingredients. The ingredients are part of a Black Bean Salmon recipe from Sam The Cooking Guy's cookbook. The Cookbook Challenge #16 had me searching out salmon recipes as we had been craving it and I was looking for a new way to cook it. I chose Sam's Black Bean Salmon as well as his Roasted Potatoes with Feta. The recipes seemed almost deceptively simple but the two primary ingredients with the salmon gave me pause...apricot preserves and Asian black bean and garlic sauce. It didn't even sound good at first but Sam insisted that this recipe rested among some of his best, so I threw caution to the wind and made it, along with the potatoes.

The result was truly and surprisingly delicious. Sam says it best....the combination of the salmon with these two other ingredients tastes like there's fifty ingredients. The potatoes were quite good, as well...the feta cheese really set them off. Recipes to follow...

Yeah, I know...this post is a bit....well, blah. This time last year, however, I was feeling pretty hopeless and would cease blogging and cooking, for that matter, for what would become a long, bleak winter. For now, it's good to just cook dinner in my own kitchen, filling the kitchen with mouth-watering aromas while the winter winds blow outside. Keith would arrive home from work and we would settle in to enjoy this simple meal. Sounds sedate.....but now I know all too well that this, today, for me is bliss and for this, I thank my lucky stars.

Roasted Potatoes With Feta

• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary - or 2 dried
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup baby red onions, peeled or 1/2 large red onion cut into a big dice
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 400
2. Put potatoes, garlic, rosemary and onions in a large bowl
3. Add olive oil and mix well
4. Place on baking sheet and bake until brown and crispy - about 30 minutes, but don't burn
5. Remove from oven, place on serving tray or plates and sprinkle with feta and more rosemary
6. Sit back and enjoy the praise!

Black Bean Salmon

• 1 cup apricot preserves (which is pretty much the same as jam)
• 1/4 cup black bean & garlic sauce
• 1 whole salmon filet, about 1.5 pounds
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• Sesame seeds

1. Mix apricot and black bean in a small bowl and stir well
2. Spoon over top of salmon to cover
3. Broil about approximately 7 minutes an inch
4. Remove to a platter or serving plates and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds