Grilled Salmon and Grapefruit Salad

The sweet-sour 1-2 punch. In a bowl. // Instagram @kguymon

Ho-lee cow. Or, fish.

I made this salad on a whim, thinking it would be a sufficiently healthy Monday night meal. You know, one to counteract the Thai take-out we binged on over the weekend. I did not expect to keel over after I licked my bowl clean, but I had serious weak-in-the-knees stumbles thanks to the awesome sweet-sour combo of the onions and grapefruit in the salad, of the honey and mustard in the vinaigrette.

And with fewer than 500 calories per serving, it's like I went to the gym. You can't beat that with a stick.




Grilled Salmon and Grapefruit Salad [adapted from Cooking Light] [serves 4]

For the salad:
-2 6 oz. skinless salmon fillets (1 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
-1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
-1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
-1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut into 1/2-thick slices
-olive oil
-cooking spray
-8 cups of mixed baby salad greens
-1 24 oz. jar red grapefruit sections, drained

For the vinaigrette:
-1/2 cup of fresh orange juice
-1 tablespoon of minced shallots
-2 tablespoons of honey
-1 tablespoon of olive oil
-1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
-1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt
-1/8 of fresh ground pepper

1. Heat a grill pan over medium to medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray.

2. Drizzle fillets and onion slices with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

3. Place fillets and onion slices on the grill pan for 4-5 minutes per side, until the fish flakes easily and the onions are tender. Take off the grill. Break fish into chunks; cut onion into bite-sized chunks.

4. Place 2 cups salad greens in bowls; arrange grapefruit sections, onion, and fish evenly over greens.

5. To make the vinaigrette, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl, whisking well. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over the salads.

American Pies

Recently, I discovered the simple joy that is the summertime pie. I mean, if you're going to bring a dessert to a backyard barbeque, it's got to be cold and fruity. That's all there is to it. With the Fourth of July coming up next week, I think it's high time you got busy in the kitchen. And by "get busy," I mean bake a pie, you dirty birds.

The difference between my lemon cream pie and my key lime pie is a mere citrus fruit. God bless easy. And America.

Lemon Cream Pie
-1 store bought graham cracker crust
-2 large eggs
-1 14 oz. can of sweetened, condensed milk
-1 cup of fresh lemon juice
-1 lemon, zest divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the eggs, condensed milk, lemon juice, and half of the lemon zest.
3. Add the mixture to the pie crust and bake for 18-20 minutes or until set in the center.
4. Chill the pie in the fridge for at least two hours.
5. Top the pie with homemade whip cream and the remaining lemon zest before serving.

Key Lime Pie 
-1 store bought graham cracker crust
-2 large eggs
-1 14 oz. can of sweetened, condensed milk
-1 cup of fresh lemon juice
-2 limes, zest divided
-1 cup of sour cream
-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the eggs, condensed milk, lime juice, and half of the lime zest.
3. Add the mixture to the pie crust and bake for 18-20 minutes or until set in the center.
4. Chill the pie in the fridge for at least two hours.
5. Mix together the sour cream and powdered sugar. Top the pie with the sour cream mixture and remaining lime zest before serving.

Spicy Citrus Mozzarella Bites

Photo by Katie Guymon

Last week, I tried out my first two recipes from my new cookbook purchase, Claire Robinson's 5 Ingredient Fix. My girlfriends got together for - what else? wine - and so, I made a couple of cocktail-y type snacks. Both were easy, both were tasty.

Up first...

Spicy Citrus Mozzarella Bites
These, to me, are better the longer they marinate. They definitely have a unique flavor!

-8 ounces of fresh cherry-size (ciliegine) mozzarella balls, drained
-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
-zest of one 1 lemon
-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
-sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and serve immediately or chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.