The Honey Glazed Salmon Experiment
In DepthWelcome to Better Than It Looks, a new series in which we discuss the recipes we tried (and maybe failed) to execute, and the foods that were served to us by someone perhaps more talented than ourselves.
After talking to Kelis about the joys of cooking, I promised myself (again) that I’d try to spend more time in the kitchen actually cooking instead of unloading takeout bags. Since my spaghetti with chicken sausage experiment last week turned out okay, I moved onto bigger things, onto something I absolutely hate cooking. Salmon.
It’s not just salmon. Fish of any kind intimidates me, mostly because of the cooking time. Yes, it’s quicker to make and easy in theory, but that also means you can’t leave fish on the stove and still be fine like you can with meats.
Historically, tilapia has been the easiest for me to not screw up. Sadly, the cook time for salmon fillets has led to my past attempts being either undercooked or overcooked and/or not flavorful enough.
Maybe I just can’t handle it.
I also need to feel spices on my tongue and salmon often tastes too bland to me, even with a decent marinade. I decided to try it anyway for the challenge. I’m pleased that it turned out okay, though slightly buttery. Basically it wasn’t horrible, which works for me.
For recipes, I tend toward well-known sites like Food Network, AllRecipes and Epicurious for ideas. This time, I chose a new adventure via Google and found a honey glazed salmon recipe on damndelicious.net.
Damn, delicious. Damn delicious. Sounded good.
The recipes I normally settle on, if not from family or friends, are based on two factors: whether the picture looks delicious (this one did) and the degree of difficulty of ingredients (can I get them in my grocery store?).