Summer Cookout

For this celebratory meal (a reunion with friends from Colorado and my dad's birthday), seafood seemed perfect for the occasion--a little fancy, but still casual because we were eating at the picnic table. We are fortunate that Dad usually gifts us fillets of salmon throughout the summer from his afternoons on his little sportfishing boat. Salmon fishing season hasn't opened yet so I opted to buy a filet of coho from the grocery store (Dad gave me a look like I had committed the ultimate sacrilege).

Although our local waters have seen a decline in salmon recently, shrimp still seem to be in abundance. A family friend shared a bounty of fresh shrimp with us last month. Dad taught me how to clean them, portion them into zip lock baggies and freeze them for easy meals down the road. I defrosted 40 shrimp two days ago that gave us the perfect side dish for our party of seven. 

Aside from seafood, we feasted on Dill Pickle Potato Salad and a new recipe for corn on the cob which includes our Kimchi Salt, honey and butter. I've also been playing around with a product we haven't released to the public yet (shhhh!)--Madrona Smoked Sugar. As a dessert (or in our case, a dessert appetizer because we also enjoyed a rich chocolate cake that Mom made), we dipped strawberries into sour cream and then rolled them in smoked sugar. What a combo! Sour, sweet, creamy and smoky. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this strawberry recipe. It's very uniquely smokey. But our friend, Tak, was adamant. He said, "I don't like them, I love them." Maybe you will too. 

Below are the recipes from our celebratory summer meal...

Friday Harbor Seafood Blend Barbecued Salmon

Ingredients

• 2lb salmon filet
• ½ C mayonnaise 
• 2 large lemons (including 1 grilled lemon)
• 4 Tbs Seafood Blend

Steps

• Preheat BBQ with one side at medium heat and one side low heat
• Slice one lemon into ¼” rounds and place directly on the grill. Cook each side so that they get a bit charred. Set aside.
• Slice the remaining lemon in half. 
• Place filet on heavy duty aluminum foil and squeeze the juice from half the lemon directly on the fish. Then sprinkle with a tablespoon or more of the Seafood Blend
• Smear the mayonnaise to cover the filet completely and sprinkle another couple of tablespoons of Seafood Blend on top. Place charred lemon slices along the filet.
• Barbecue the fish with the tail end over the low heat and with the lid closed. The timing will depend on your grill. I left our filet cooking for about 10 minutes. 
• Check the thick end of the salmon for doneness. The meat will turn from dark pink to light pink and will become flaky.
• Garnish with lemon wedges from the remaining half lemon

Chili Lime and Miso Shrimp

Ingredients

• 2lbs shelled shrimp
• 2 limes
• 3 Tbs Miso paste
• 3 Tbs Chili Lime Salt

Steps

• Rinse the shrimp in cool water and place in an aluminum foil “boat”
• In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from one lime and mix with the miso paste
• Pour into the shrimp boat and mix thoroughly
• Cut remaining lime into eighths and toss into shrimp mixture
• Cook shrimp boat on upper level of barbecue or on low heat. They will cook pretty quickly. About 5-7 minutes

Dill Pickle Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 2.5-3lbs red or russet potatoes
• 1 whole onion finely chopped
• 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 can whole kernel corn
• 4 chopped pickles 
• 3-4 sliced green onions
• ⅔ C mayonnaise
• ⅓ C mustard
• 3 Tbs Dill Pickle Salt
• 2 Tbs soy sauce

Steps

• Cube the potatoes and boil, drain and rinse in cold water
• I like to boil the eggs along with the potatoes. They tend to need a bit more time, so I toss them in as the water is heating up.
• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except potatoes. Mix thoroughly. Then add potatoes and stir until they’re completely coated. 
• You can also stir the mayo, mustard, Dill Pickle Blend and soy sauce in a separate bowl. But I find it’s fine to just mix everything together in one big bowl
• I love making potato salad because there are so many variations. You could add celery, olives, jalapenos… If you don’t like corn or don’t have green onions, no problem. Just feel free to adapt

Kimchi and Honey Butter Glazed Corn

This recipe was inspired by and adapted from a New York Times Recipe that can be found here. 

Ingredients

• 8 ears shucked corn
• 2 cups water
• 4 Tbs butter
• 3 Tbs honey
• 3 Tbs Kimchi Salt
• 2 Tbs San Juan Island Sea Salt
• 3-4 thinly sliced green onions

Steps

• Combine all ingredients except corn in a high-sided aluminum pan. Place over low heat in the barbecue and stir.
• Place corn cobs over medium-high heat in the barbecue. Rotate every couple of minutes as each side begins to char. 
• Once corn is cooked, place each ear in the aluminum pan and coat with the warm sauce. 
• Keep the corn basted in the pan and they will stay perky for quite some time.

Smoked Sugar Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients

• Rinsed Fresh Strawberries
• Smoked Sugar
• Sour Cream

Steps

• This dessert works best when you eat it the moment it’s made. Simply dip the strawberry into the sour cream, then roll it in the smoked sugar. Done! The sour cream and sugar make a surprising combination that has the mouthfeel of a crunchy frosting. Even if you don’t have perfectly ripe strawberries, the sugar coating makes each bite sweet enough.