Broiled Salmon With Breadcrumbs

Acquired a few years ago through a couple of friends who were moving, our old toaster was unfortunately getting a little bit troublesome. It’d often take several turns for me at “high” setting for me to even get toast to a medium brown, and while I had figured out the crumb tray, it was still a little unwieldy to clean. Crumbs would also fall out of the tray without Dan and I having opened it. While it served us well, it was the old toaster’s time to go…

*Plays taps for the old toaster*

In the past, I also hadn’t attempted to broil things using our gas stove. While the apartment’s stove had a broiler, it was close to the ground, and I’d invariably have to stoop. All of these problems were solved when Dan and I bought a new toaster oven (pictured later). Now we can toast, broil, bake, and clean things out with relatively little fuss and guesswork.

Today, I gave the new toaster oven’s broiler a try, making a variation of simple recipe for salmon that my mom originally taught me (I think there’s enough variation between her version and mine that I can safely share this one…)

Only a few ingredients are needed for this dish: salmon (steaks were used in this recipe since they were less expensive at the store, but fillets work fine, too), olive oil, garlic salt and breadcrumbs.

First, I brushed the salmon steaks with olive oil.

Yeah, I know that’s a pastry brush, but I work with what I have…

The salmon steaks are then sprinkled liberally with garlic salt (naturally, sprinkle to taste). Once done, they look like they do below:

The breadcrumbs are added last before being sent to the broiler… I tried to make sure the top was as covered as much as possible. The broiler pan ws also lined with aluminum foil and nonstick cooking spray for ease of cleanup…

Here are a couple of steaks in the toaster oven. Depending on how good your broiler is, it can stay as few as 10 minutes or as much as 20 minutes…

After spending 15 minutes in the toaster oven, the steaks are done… The bread crumbs are browned a little, and the salmon is fully cooked and ready to nom!

Blue Box? What Blue Box?!

Granted, I think Kraft’s macaroni and cheese is OK, but I much prefer the homemade stuff. Dan made this batch of mac-and-cheese the other day using his mom’s recipe.

Combine the following in a large pot:

2 eggs
1 cup flour
4 cups milk

Bring the ingredients to a boil on stove set to medium heat. Sautee 2 tbsp onions with a stick of butter. Add the sauteed onions to the mixture in the pot. Add 4 cups of shredded cheese. Mix thoroughly and cook on medium heat until the cheese is fully melted. Once the cheese is fully melted, cook on low heat, stirring occasionally. (Note: This produces a thick sauce. For a less thick sauce, use less flour and/or more milk).

Cook 1 pound of pasta until it is al dente. Once the pasta is done, combine with the sauce in the large pot. Stir until the pasta is fully coated. Pour the contents of the pot into a 9×13 inch roasting pan. The mixture should be 2 to 3 inches deep throughout the pan. Liberally pour bread crumbs on top. Cook for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Substitutions: Dan uses grated parmesan-romano instead of bread crumbs atop the mac/cheese.

Adobong Manok (Chicken Adobo)

Conisdered in many respects to be the national dish of the Philippines, Adobo is the quintessential Filipino comfort food. It’s a simple dish consisting of something (often meat, but sometimes vegetables — sometimes both) cooked with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. It differs from its counterpart in Latin American/Southwestern cooking in a few ways: Tomatoes and chilles are often not found in the Filipino version, and Filipino Adobo is more akin to a stew than a meat rub.

The recipe I most often use is Corrine Domingo’s found on the Food Network:

4-5 lbs. chicken thighs
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. black peppercorns
3 bay leaves

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cover and marinate chicken for 1-3 hours. Bring to boil, then lower heat. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer until sauce is reduced and thickened, and chicken is tender, about 20 more minutes. Serve with steamed rice.