Honey Rubbed Dijon Charred Salmon

There is a long story about exactly why I was called from my home to grill salmon for my mother, but I can't repeat it without my head exploding.

Salmon steaks
dijon mustard
honey
garlic powder

Preheat grill

1. Rub garlic powder onto top side of salmon (both sides, if salmon is already scaled). Spread dijon mustard over salmon and honey over the dijon mustard and rub the salmon down.
2. Place salmon on hot grill, skin side down. After a few minutes, turn it - the skin will peel off easily. Feed it to your mother's cat.
3. Use a brush to repeat the garlic-mustard-honey process on the now skinless side of the salmon.
4. Grill, turning occasionally, until the inside is pale and flaky, and the outside is slightly charred. This happens quickly, so don't walk away from the grill! Ten minutes on each side should probably do it. (I turned it on high when it was cooked through and scorched it for two or three minutes to char it.)

This doesn't take long. My father has historically hated salmon (part of the reason, in fact, that I had to go cook it myself), but while he was standing guard over his brats, he said, "Wow, that smells... really good!" He broke off a piece, popped it in his mouth, and said, "Wow that... tastes... really good!" He said it didn't taste as strongly of fish as salmon usually does, I expect because the honey mellowed the flavor and made it seem milder.

I call this victory. And it did smell good. And Hemingway enjoyed her treat, too. And no, I don't know why the female cat is called Hemingway.

Squid and Mushroom Linguine

Okay, the grocery store had squid on sale for 2.99 a pound, and I thought it would be really fun to figure out how to make something fantastic from it, so I bought three pounds. Then I sat both my moms at a table and made them into my own personal food science lab rats. They are both foodies, plus they like eating for free, so it was the perfect scenario.

Experiment #1:

1 pound cleaned squid, cut crosswise into rings
3 large portabella mushrooms, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 can sliced black olives
1/2 large vidalia onion, sliced
1 tsp fresh basil
1 tsp fresh parsley
3 cloves minced garlic
dash lemon juice
fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
linguine, cooked
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Heat olive oil in skillet, add onions and cook until soft.
2. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, garlic, basil, lemon juice. Sautee until all veggies are cooked soft.
3. In a seperate skillet, heat 1 tbs olive oil and the squid rings. Cook squid in oil for 3-5 minutes or until soft. The squid should be white and tender when fully cooked.
4. Layer in a glass baking pan: the cooked linguine, squid, tomato/mushroom mixture. Spread sliced fresh mozzarella on top. Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese is bubbly. Remove, garnish with parsley.

At this point the curiosity became too much for me to bear and I became a raging maniacal carnivore and tasted it, meat and all, and I have to tell you. It was pretty freaking good.

Experiment #2: Stuffed Squid will be coming soon. I have to cook an actual meatless dish for my kids dinner and Amy, we're making your rice balls!