grilled salmon with basil aioli

What I'm about to tell you is a true story, and hopefully no one will get in trouble for it... The other day my neighbor, who works for a major airline here in Atlanta, knocked frantically on my door. She was holding a plastic bag and practically jumping with excitement. What's was in the bag? Fresh salmon fillets, each about 3 pounds, that were flown in that morning from Alaska. Why was she holding them? Because the crate they were flown in on (via a competing airline) had fallen to the ground during cargo unloading, and my neighbor was kind enough (devious enough?) to sneak several fillets away before the competition noticed they were missing. She was generous enough to share one of these with me. I have to say that it was, hands down, the best piece of salmon I have ever had. I just grilled it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and made this basil aioli featured in July's Bon Appetit. On the side I made grilled polenta squares and a little caprese salad (to use up an avocado and some extra tomato and mozzarella I had leftover). It was the perfect summer meal.

Grocery list: salmon fillet (2-3 pounds), mayo, anchovy paste, basil, garlic, red wine vinegar, worcestershire. For the avocado caprese, tomatoes, basil, avocado, mozzarella, balsamic, good quality olive oil. For the polenta cakes, just polenta and parmesan.



The original recipe calls for making your own mayo as the base for this aioli. Considering my past disasters with attempting homemade mayo, I decided to pass on this extra step and use good old-fashioned hellman's. Mix together one cup of mayo mixed with a few T of chopped basil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp each of red wine vinegar and worcestershire, plus 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste, mixed together with a dash of hot sauce.



On the side, I made a simple grilled polenta. Cook your polenta according to the package directions, season well with salt & pepper, then spread into a thin layer in a pan, about an inch thick. Make sure you brush the pan with olive oil well first; then allow the polenta to harden as it cools (refrigerate to speed up the process). Invert the pan over a cutting board, cut into squares, brush with more olive oil, then grill over med-high heat.



I also cubed some leftover mozzarella, an heirloom tomato and an avocado, plus a handful of torn basil leaves. Tossed with some good olive oil and a few drops of balsamic, this made a great contrast in texture to the polenta and salmon.

stuffed pork chops & grilled polenta

I don't normally watch cooking shows, but my sister and I caught a few minutes of a Tyler Florence episode yesterday that made me want to try his recipe for stuffed pork chops (Anthony said the guy lost all credibility when he endorsed a menu for Applebee's, but this looked so good I have to ignore that little detail).

Tyler used bone-in chops, but I prefer the center cut boneless variety -- just make sure they're really thick. For each chop, you need a slice of fontina cheese and a slice or 2 of prosciutto. You'll also need a box of polenta (look in the rice/pasta aisle), a few handfuls of red seedless grapes, thyme sprigs, butter, cream and parmesan.


I soaked the chops in a brine while I made the polenta and prepped everything else (about 30 minutes; put the chops in a gallon size ziploc with a handful of sugar, salt, and a sprig of thyme, then put the bag in the fridge). Cook the polenta according to the package directions, or make grit cakes, if you prefer. When the polenta is done cooking, stir in a 1/4 cup of cream, a handful of grated parmesan, salt, pepper, and 2-3 T butter. Spread into a square pyrex dish and put in the fridge to cool/harden.

Preheat the oven to 425, then stuff the chops -- remove from the brine, rinse, and pat dry. Cut an opening (see the picture), and move the knife around on the inside to create a pocket. I wrapped the fontina slice with the prosciutto to easily stuff it down in the pocket. Heat some olive oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Cook the pork chops for about 6-8 minutes (sear both sides basically), then place the skillet in the oven to roast the chops for 5-10 minutes more. Since mine were so thick I ended up cooking a full 10 minutes in the oven. I also put a big bunch of seedless grapes right on top of the pork chops before putting the pan in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and salt/pepper. This roasts the grapes so you have a sweet contrast to the salty pork dish.

While they are roasting, you cut the polenta into squares, brush with olive oil, and grill on a grill pan till they are brown. To serve the entire dish, place a pork chop on top of the polenta, grapes on the side (I served with a simple arugula salad on the side as well). You definitely won't find anything this good at Applebee's...