Pillsbury Bake-Off Prize Pack Winner...Plus Yummy Tequila-Lime Glazed Salmon!

I meant to get by here last night, but never managed to...but I'm here now to announce the winner in my Pillsbury Bake-Off prize pack giveaway. Per the random number generator, the winner is:

#8: Katrina of the lovely blog In Katrina's Kitchen. I  hope you're able to put the cookbook, pen, and apron to good use baking up something lovely to share on your blog!!

Now, about that salmon...

At Casa Garcia, Lent means seafood for dinner on Friday. While I love fried shrimp and fish as much as the next Texan, it’s not friendly to the waistline to indulge in fried goodies every week! As a result, I try to mix up my seafood cooking techniques and try a few new recipes along the way. Last year, I discovered a really great bourbon-glazed salmon recipe at Cooking Light’s website. I decided to tinker around with it a bit last week, and the results were really delicious.

I didn’t have any bourbon on hand, but the marinade has lime juice…and I figured, what goes better with lime juice than tequila? So I subbed tequila for the bourbon and increased the amount of lime juice in the marinade. I kept the other ingredients pretty close to the original recipe: brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and minced garlic. I added a bit of olive oil and some cumin to add some more spice in the background. After a two-hour soak in this delicious marinade, I simply seared the salmon in a hot skillet.

The marinade was simply too delicious to waste, so I reduced it in the skillet and poured a bit over each piece of salmon. Talk about good! The sauce is a sweet-savory…and you can really taste the cumin and ginger. I love this recipe! I served each piece of salmon on top of basmati rice flavored with chicken stock, shallot, and sliced scallions. I tossed together the strawberry-field green-feta-candied pecan salad that I featured in my Newman’s Own video…and dinner was on the table in about 30 minutes.

Tequila-Lime Glazed Salmon

adapted from Cooking Light

Step 1:  Make the marinade by combining 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 3 tbs. tequila, 2 tbs. soy sauce, 2 tbs. olive oil, the juice of two limes, the zest of one lime, 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger, two finely minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. ground cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk to combine the ingredients and completely dissolve the brown sugar.

Cut a 12-ounce piece of salmon into two pieces. Place the marinade and the fish into a zip bag and toss to coat the fish with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least two hours, up to overnight.

Step 2:  Heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a non-stick skillet over med-high heat for five minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and put into the skillet skin side down. Sear for approximately five minutes, then flip over and sear the other side for an additional five minutes.

Step 3:  Remove the fish from the pan and place on a serving platter. Tent the platter with aluminum foil to keep the fish warm while you make the sauce. Pour the remaining marinade into the skillet and reduce until it's a thick glaze...about 3-5 minutes. 

Step 4:  Serve each piece of fish over basmati rice flavored to your preference. Spoon a bit of the glaze on top of each piece of fish just before serving. The tasty marinade provides a nice glaze on the surface of the fish, which stays incredibly moist and tasty. A little sweet, a little savory, and a little spicy!

Note: this recipe is easily doubled to make more than two servings...

I’m always looking for great seafood meals to cook for our Friday dinners during Lent. What’s your favorite fish or seafood dish? I’m planning to make a shrimp stir fry and the yummy-looking Baked Shrimp Egg Rolls from Sandra's Easy Cooking for dinner this Friday night. I’ve never made egg rolls at home, but I figure we can eat some and freeze some for later.

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