May 27 – June 2, 2024

Monday:                  Hot Dogs, Turkey Burgers, Slaw, Beans – Memorial Day

Tuesday:                  Melon Salad with Jalapeños and Feta

Wednesday:          Caesar Salad, Rotisserie Chicken, Crostini with Ricotta

Thursday:                Dunning’s Meeting

Friday:                     Citrus Salmon with Mashed Butternut Squash

Saturday:                Margherita Pizza (with anchovies on my slices)

Sunday:                   Harry Hamlin’s Linoleum Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

THE SACRED SALMON

I have recounted, in previous posts, the Friday night meals we (suffered, enjoyed, devoured) being raised in a Roman Catholic home during the ascendancy* of the Church in America – in the 50s and 60s.  My mother could bake a wonderful flounder, but there were also tuna noodle casseroles with crumbled potato chips on top and the insidious Mrs. Paul’s Frozen Fish Sticks.  [Would some enterprising food journalist please look into what these things were made of?  Fish, as we now know, in our more scientific era, do not come in stick form.]  And, of course, there was Kraft macaroni and cheese.

*When I grew up there was the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) – a great basketball league with dances and an occasional Mass added on – and associations of Catholic doctors, lawyers and God knows what else.  There were carnivals at most parishes, parish picnics, and Catholic schools and hospitals strewn around town.  (I attended St. Paul’s Cathedral Grade School and then Central Catholic High School. Beez is a graduate of Our Lady of Mercy Academy).  Pastors were widely respected, Bishops were celebrities and Popes were bigger than most Hollywood stars – come to think of it, they still are.

But the Church has come down a peg or two from those days, to put it mildly.  And now there is no longer a reason for Catholics to eschew (how appropriate a word in this context) meat on Fridays.  But nostalgia, an understanding that omega-3 fatty acids are healthy (though I wouldn’t put that unappetizing name on your menu board) and simple inertia, lead many of us to do so.  And I’m very traditional, Beez is very nostalgic and I am a very anvil of inertia – had I been a boyhood friend of Isaac Newton he would have developed his laws of motion sooner.

When we’re feeling flush we do indulge in the occasional flounder or sole or snapper.  But most Fridays we’re doing something with shrimp or salmon, which are ubiquitous in American grocery stores.  Most often, we grill or bake shrimp, or sear salmon in a very hot pan, skin-side down, and then finish it off in the oven.  I love the crispy skin this recipe creates.

But last Friday, we tried a new salmon dish because the side dish that went with it – mashed butternut squash – appealed to us.  And I must say that this will be one of our new throw-back go-tos for Friday dinner.  I’m going to share the whole menu with you, though I’m going to offer an alternative, more savory squash than the sweet version that the recipe calls for (which I liked but Beez eschewed – there’s that word again). 

This dish is from a recipe by Misty Copeland, an exquisite dancer and a pretty good cook.  She cooked this for Ina Garten and Ina’s rave review piqued our interest.  I’m glad we tried it, and you’ll be glad if you do too.

CITRUS SALMON WITH MASHED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

(adapted from Misty Copeland’s recipe from ‘Be My Guest w/ Ina Garten’)

Timing:                                                 1 hour

Ingredients:                                      Serves 4

For the salmon:

1 lb., skin-on salmon filets, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons half-and-half, 1 tablespoon white pepper

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, bunch scallions, thinly sliced

For the Mashed Squash:

1 large butternut squash

Copeland’s sweeter version ingredients, below

1/3 cup maple syrup – for a more savory mash, reduce or eliminate the syrup, add minced thyme leaves and one or two tablespoons of cream cheese or créme frâiche

½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons half-and-half

Prep:

Combine the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, pepper, salt, vinegar and scallions in a large bowl and whisk thoroughly.

Pour half of the marinade into a small baking dish and add the salmon fillets, making sure they are covered. Cover the baking dish and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Pour the rest of the marinade into a small saucepan and cook over low heat for 25 – 35 minutes until thickened.

Peel and cut the squash into 1 – 2-inch cubes.

Preheat your broiler.

Cook the squash:

Put the squash cubes in a large pot and fill the pot with water to cover by an inch.  Bring to a boil over high, then cover and reduce to medium low and simmer until the squash is tender – 15 or 20 minutes or until a fork pierces them easily.

At this point, drain the squash and transfer to a mixing bowl.  For a sweet mash (not overly sweet), add the maple syrup, salt, pepper and half-and-half.  Mash with a potato masher or hand mixer.  Taste for seasoning.

For a more savory mash, add the cream cheese or créme fraiche, the thyme leaves and the salt and pepper.

Cook the salmon:

Cover the bottom of a flameproof casserole dish with a little bit of the liquid in which the salmon was marinating (you can discard the rest).  Place the salmon in the dish, skin side down, and broil for about 12 minutes – until the salmon is done to your liking.

To serve:

Spoon a mound of the mashed squash onto a warmed plate and rest a salmon filet partially on it.  Spoon the reduced sauce over the salmon and serve.