Pan-Roasted Copper River Sockeye

Pan-seared salmon over grits, morels, asparagus, and snap peas with lightly pickled radish on top.

I was pretty determined to check out one of Tom Douglas’s restaurants while we are here, and Palace Kitchen did not disappoint. Since it’s Copper River salmon season here (we’ve barely been able to go more than a few steps without seeing a store or restaurant heralding that fact), I felt compelled to order some for our first night in Seattle.

My fish was cooked absolutely perfectly, and the skin, which I usually discard, was crisped up almost to the point of being a cracklin, which made it SO good. I also liked the minced radish garnish, which cut some of the richness of the fish. Unfortunately, all the other stuff on the plate was only so-so. The grits were kind of bland and loose, and the peas were so sweet they overpowered everything else on the plate.

Troy had the pork chop, which was absolutely incredible. We have a bit of a jokey competition when we eat out of who ordered the better dish (we never both get the same thing), and he won this round by a landslide.

Still, after the amazing clam appetizer we had, I really had no cause for complaint. Garlic, chorizo, lemon aioli…OMG, I wanted to take a bath in the broth. We had to ask for extra bread just so we could sop it all up.

Almond-crusted Tilapia

Almond & Parmesan crusted tilapia, with baby spring greens. I squeezed some fresh lemon juice on the fillet and greens as well.

I’ve started keeping individually frozen tilapia fillets on hand since they are super versatile and can be cooked quickly.  I used this recipe from Allrecipes, but I baked it in the oven instead of pan-frying, mostly because I’m lazy and I knew it would be faster.  It was a huge hit with the family, and the kiddo even asked for seconds!

Oven-fried Fish

Cornmeal-crusted tilapia and roasted asparagus.  I know, looks a bit sparse, but this was really what we ate.

Sorry for lateness. Had a little too much fun and relaxation on Mother’s Day and forgot to get to this since we went out for dinner. This was actually Saturday night’s meal.

My friend, Holly, recently gave me an awesome recipe for oven-fried catfish.  I think it’s about as close as you can get to the real thing without the deep fryer.  My picky 4-year-old wolfed down an entire piece without complaint, which says it all.