Beautiful Salmon With Dill Sauce And Mac And Cheese For A Granddaughter Visit

As the grandkids have gotten older, we don’t see them very often so we are always pleased when they want to come for a visit.  This past weekend, Reese (Rhett’s middle child) and her boyfriend Xavier drove in for a long weekend from Charleston, SC where they attend “The College Of Charleston.”  They got in Friday night and left late Tuesday afternoon so we had nearly four full days with them. 

On Saturday, Bev took them to the Gimme A $5 discount store (one of her favorite places) and we watched the very disappointing UT/Georgia football game – the Vols played poorly.  On Sunday, while I did some pressure washing, they made a Sam’s Club and Best buy run to pick up some necessities plus buy a new TV – our old one died.  More on that in another post.

For supper on Saturday, it was grilled beef filet, then grilled shrimp on Sunday then on Monday, it was Norwegian farm raised salmon that they picked up at Sam’s.  

The fish from Norway is supposed to be the best of the farm raised salmon and it’s advertised as sashimi grade (deemed safe enough to eat raw).  I cut off the belly and thin tail part for smoking later to make salmon spread - my pan a little short.

I used a simple baked recipe for the fish along with our go-to dill sauce from “Taste Of Home” magazine.

Baked Salmon and Dill Sauce - Adapted from Taste Of Home

The Ingredients:

1/3 c. sour cream

1/3 c. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. finely chopped onion

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

2 tbsp. fresh chopped dill weed

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Pepper to taste

1 skinless salmon fillet (about 2½ pounds)

Olive oil

Lemon-pepper seasoning, to taste

1 lemon, sliced thin

Dill weed for garnish

The Directions:

1. Add the first eight ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Make the sauce several hours early to allow flavors to marry.

2. Remove salmon from the package, trim as desired, and store uncovered in the fridge to dry on top.

3. Remove from fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

4. Preheat oven to 400F.

5. Line a baking pan with heavy-duty foil and grease lightly.

6. Place salmon skin side down on foil and brush the top with olive oil.

7. Sprinkle with lemon pepper and add sliced lemons.

8. Bake for 12-25 minutes to your desired level of done – 125F in the thickest part for me.

9. Remove from the oven, cut into desired portion sizes, and serve with dill sauce, extra chopped dill, and a small bowl of capers.

Mac and Cheese

The Ingredients:

1 lb. uncooked small shaped pasta

6 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

3 c. milk, any kind

1½ c. half and half

5 cups shredded cheddar cheese *

The Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease a square baking dish.

2. Cook the macaroni to al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and return to cooking pot.

3. While pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Blend in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the milk and half and half, stirring constantly, and cook over medium-low heat for a few minutes until the mixture is just barely thickened. Reduce heat to low and slowly stir in 3½ cup shredded cheese, stirring until melted.

5. Pour cheese sauce over the macaroni noodles and toss to coat. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. 

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbling around the sides.

7. Sprinkle remaining 1½ cups cheese over the top and bake until cheese is melted.

We sided the salmon with some mac and cheese because that’s what the kids wanted. 

The Verdict:

The salmon and the sauce were both delicious as was the pretty basic mac and cheese.  Definitely a keeper meal and I even remembered to garnish it - one of my better pics of food porn.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

11/7/22 meal date