Terrapin Ridge Farms Review & Giveaway...Featuring Cumin-Lime Salmon with Blueberry-Corn Salsa

One of the really fun things about being a food blogger is having the opportunity to review food products and share my thoughts with my readers. I’ve discovered several really great gourmet food vendors over the past year or so, and I’m really excited to share my latest “find” with y'all today! Terrapin Ridge Farms is a Clearwater, Florida-based gourmet food company that specializes in unique salad dressings, dips, and spreads. They recently sent me a few of their products to try out in my kitchen. My package contained the following yummy condiments:

• Pomegranate-Citrus Dressing
• Blueberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip
• Sweet Pickle & Onion Burger Topper
• Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Sauce/Deip

I tried each of the products and was really impressed with the flavors! The dressing is sweet-tart and works really well with my go-to salad: field greens, candied pecans, feta, and sliced strawberries. It’s also a fantastic marinade! We tried the burger topper on cheeseburgers last weekend...it has all the flavors I love in one yummy spread: mayo, mustard, ketchup, onion, and sweet pickles. 

It’s sort of like a Secret Sauce on steroids! All the burger needed was some fresh veggies and melted cheese to round it out. I enjoyed the blueberry honey mustard dip with pretzels during a recent TV night...it’s sweet and tangy, with a nice kick from stone-ground mustard. 

I think this spread would also make a fantastic spread for a grilled chicken sandwich with caramelized onions and melted jack cheese! I sampled the strawberry cheesecake spread by dunking graham cracker sticks into it for a quick after-work snack...it was like eating strawberry cheesecake!  I’m saving the rest of the jar to combine with Philly’s white chocolate cream cheese and pipe into mini phyllo cups for a quick no-bake dessert.

I wanted to pick one item to showcase in a featured recipe...so I decided to use the Pomegranate-Citrus Dressing to make a warm-weather seafood meal: Seared Cumin-Lime Salmon with Blueberry-Corn Salsa. I love salmon because it’s naturally healthy and full of Omega 3. This is my riff on a recipe that I found in Better Homes & Gardens. I took a lot of liberties with the recipe, but want to credit them with the inspiration for this dish. The sweet-tangy dressing pulls double duty in this recipe, acting as a marinade for the salmon...and a flavoring for the salsa. This definitely ain’t your mama’s salsa, though!

Cumin-Lime Salmon with Blueberry-Corn Salsa

inspired by Better Homes & Gardens

Step 1:  Combine 1 cup Terrapin Ridge Farms Pomegranate-Citrus Dressing, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 2 grated garlic cloves in a large bowl. Add 1 lb. salmon that has been cut into three equal pieces and submerge in the marinade. Refrigerate for two hours, up to overnight. Make a spice rub by combining the following ingredients in a small bowl: 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder, a few grinds black pepper, and the zest of one large lime. 

Step 2:  When you're ready to cook the salmon, remove the fillets from marinade. Pat them dry and sprinkle each piece with 1/3 of the with the spice rub. Press the rub into the fillets and set aside while you make the blueberry-corn salsa.

Step 3:  To make the blueberry-corn salsa, combine the following ingredients in a bowl: 1 cup corn kernels (thawed frozen kernels work great), 3/4 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup diced seeded tomato, 1/4 cup finely diced shallot, 2 sliced green onions (green portion only), 1 small finely chopped serrano pepper (seeds removed), the zest of one lime, 2 tbs. maple syrup, 2 tbs. of the Pomegranate-Citrus dressing, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Step 4:  Add 2 tsp. olive oil to a large non-stick skillet. Heat it on med-high heat for five minutes. Add the salmon fillets, spice side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes. Flip over and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes...until the fish is opaque and just cooked through. Serve each piece on a plate with some of the blueberry-corn salsa spooned over the top.

This recipe is the perfect example of the kind of Big Flavor cooking I love! The salmon is moist and flavorful from marinating in the dressing...and the cumin-lime spice rub gives it just a bit of heat. And the fruity salsa? It’s AMAZING!! The corn and blueberries work really nicely together...the tomato is a great bridge between their flavors and textures. The shallot provides a mild onion-garlic flavor without the harsh bite of fresh garlic, and the chile pepper brings a little heat in the background. The maple syrup-dressing combo will likely have everyone wondering what that “little something” is. No worries...it can be our little secret! This is definitely going to be one of my go-to recipes this summer: it was light, but filling...I served it with parsley-butter rice on the side last night. This fantastic salsa would also be great over grilled chicken breast.

Now...who wants to try some Terrapin Ridge Farms products?!?!? They're going to give one of you three items from their amazing line of products. To enter, go to the Terrapin Ridge Farms website and take a look at all their fantastic condiments. Then come back and leave a comment telling me which three items you want to try. For a second entry, you can follow Terrapin Ridge Farms on Facebook. For a third entry, Like ’s new Facebook fan page...or tell me that you already Like my page! Please make sure to leave a separate comment for EACH entry, and make sure that one of your entries has your e-mail address so I can find you if you’re the winner. Entries will be accepted until 1159 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24th. Good luck!


Disclosure: Terrapin Ridge Famers sent me four free products to facilitate this review and giveaway. The opinions expressed within this post are completely my own.

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