Back to Margaritaville with Cherry-Chipotle Glazed Salmon

As promised, but probably sooner than you might have expected, we are back featuring the fantastic margaritas from post 12. We really love these margaritas, and they inspired us to plan a complimentary menu. You must try these margaritas in order to understand our budding addiction!

The salmon recipe is from a recent “Cuisine Lite” magazine. Having already selected the margaritas, the chipotle salmon was meant to be. Fresh corn on the cob is starting to show up in our markets, and Meg wanted to replicate a dish she remembered from a now defunct restaurant.  We are both fans of slaw and set about creating a version with a more Mexican flair.

We always, not intentionally, seem to pick one ingredient that requires visiting all of the stores in our area. The winner this week was the Fresno Chili, which was hiding at Winco. The person stocking the vegetables warned us that it is very spicy. The Internet agreed; so we only used ½ a chili in our corn recipe.  We have included a picture of these elusive chilies; so that you will recognize them and stock up, should you encounter them in your stores.

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

The recipe doesn’t specify wild caught salmon, but that is what we chose. Buy it skinned if you can. Not only will this save time, but you will not be picking things off of your fingers and wondering what they are. If you have had one margarita you will recognize them as fish scales. More margaritas require a lot more scrutiny. We loved the chipotle cherry glaze. It is not too spicy, but full of flavor. Sue, being a big lover of chipotle, would have used more; not so much for heat as for the smokiness it imparts. Meg was happy with it the way it was.

We think we hit a home run with the slaw. Try it at your next barbecue and let us know what you think. We liked the slight bitterness and crunch of the English cucumbers.  The cumin was lost a bit behind the cilantro; so adjust according to your taste. 

For those of you watching your calories, pretend the corn is dessert (to better justify the calories). We did use a lower fat cream cheese, but lost our heads and added whipping cream. It is rich and creamy and wonderful. Just go for it. We both agreed that we should have used the other half of the chili.  The fruitiness of the chili adds another dimension to the dish.

Cherry-Chipotle Glazed Salmon

Recipe source: Cuisine Lite, Spring 2012

Prep Time:  10 min

Inactive Prep Time:   

Cook Time:  10 min

Level:  Easy

Serves:  4 servings

Ingredients

Glaze:

• ¼ c cherry preserves
• ¼ c ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• ½ tsp. minced fresh thyme
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt

Salmon:

• 1 ¼ pounds of salmon, skin removed, cut into 5oz fillets
• ¼ tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper

Directions

Puree preserves, ketchup, lime juice, chipotle, thyme, cumin, and ¼ tsp. salt in a food processor.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Coat fillets with nonstick cooking spray.

Heat a grill pan over medium. Place salmon fillets flesh-side down; cook 4-5 minutes. Flip fillets, and cook until fish flakes easily when touched, 4-5 minutes more. Baste fillets with cherry glaze in the last minute of cooking.

Weight Watchers: 7 points

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  Meg and Sue’s Slightly Mexican Slaw

Prep Time:   20 minutes

Level:  Easy

Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients

• ½  head green cabbage, shredded
• ½ medium English cucumber, sliced
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
•  ¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing

• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (1 large juicy lime)
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Put all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together, pour over slaw, toss and let sit for 15-20 minutes for best flavor.

Weight Watchers: 3 points per serving

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Decadent Creamed Corn

Prep Time:   30 minutes

Inactive Prep Time:   10 minutes

Cook Time:   5 minutes

Level:  Easy

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients 

• 6 ears fresh corn
• 4 oz. low fat cream cheese
• 1 c. whipping cream
• ½ Fresno chili pepper, diced 
•  Salt to taste

Directions

Cook corn on the cob, let cool, then cut kernels off, scraping the cob to get all of the milk.   In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the cream cheese in the cream, stirring until smooth. Reduce heat to low and add the corn and the chilies. Salt to taste.  This dish is best served right away. If you

Weight Watchers: 8 points per serving

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After burning some corn calories planting flowers in the front flower bed at Sue’s house, we were ready to move on to our planned dessert. We previously mentioned the Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka and here is another plug for it. We paired it with a square of Lindt Dark Chocolate with Chili. Let the chocolate slowly melt in your mouth, then take a sip of the vodka.  Mmmm . . .  We highly recommend this combination at the end of the day.