Because Mohegan Sun is so generous, I’m also giving away two Weber Smokey Joe Grills (pictured above) courtesy of Mohegan Sun!

Please note that the tickets will be to one day of the BBQ fest of your choice, but transportation and accommodations will NOT be provided. If you would like to enter to win the tickets, keep this in mind!

To enter, just leave a comment below with which prize (or both) that you’d like to win, and what event you look forward to most about the fest and/or what you’d like to grill first with your brand new grill!

Usual disclaimers apply: I was not compensated for this post (though I will be attending the fest courtesy of Mohegan Sun), family members of FF (both actual and writers for FF) are not eligible to win, and prizes restricted to those who live in the continental US (the tickets are restricted to those who can actually attend as well).

Good luck!

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Post tags: BBQ, contest, giveaway

(Side note: about nicknames and abbreviations, since this seems to be something people keep asking me about. All I’ll say is: I’ll keep this one my Dirty Little Secret… just another regret…)

The salmon adorably comes wrapped in brown paper listing off just some of the positive attributes of the Verlasso salmon. Fun!

The salmon was brilliantly vibrant and orange, gorgeous.

I chose to make the salmon en papillotte - which is just a fancy pants way of saying ‘in a pouch’. Honestly, though, I realized much later that I did it wrong… I’ve never cooked this way before, and I didn’t realize you need to add liquid to the packet. But… well, you’ll see.

I served it with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts, but due to a miscommunication about when dinner should be served, they got a little over browned. Still delicious and super crispy, but not burned, just not the prettiest to look at.

On the other side, I added more veggies – Earthbound Farms baby kale and dried Calimyrna figs with a simple lime vinaigrette. This went over very well!

And the salmon, which I cooked to the rare side of medium rare, came out gloriously. This was also very well received!

One of the lightest, healthiest meals I’ve made for DLS to date. I had a lot of fun working with the Verlasso salmon, and found it flavorful and delicious. I highly recommend it for those who care about the origins of their fish, the sustainability and about a fish’s life before it gets to your plate.

Lime Dill Salmon en Papillotte (sort of)

2 6-8 ounce fillets of Verlasso salmon
dried dill
slices of lime
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take a measure of aluminum foil and lay each piece of salmon on its own piece of aluminum foil. Season the salmon liberally with the dill, salt and pepper, then lay the slices of lime on top to make it look pretty. Lift the ends of the foil (along the longer side of the salmon) and bring the edges together, then fold down twice. Roll the short ends up, crimping as you go. (If you want to make this truly “en papillotte” you would do well to add a tablespoon of water, wine or broth before you close it up.)

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes for rare to medium rare, up to a full 20 minutes for medium.  Be careful when you take them out – it’s hot!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Batali-style

1 lb of Brussels sprouts, cut in half
Olive oil
salt/pepper
5-10 peeled whole cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 475 degrees with sheet pan inside. (I line mine with foil for easy cleanup, but that’s up to you.)

In a bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic cloves. Once the oven has come to temp with the sheet pan inside, take the pan out and quickly spread the Brussels sprouts across it in a single layer, then replace inside the oven. Roast for about 20-30 minutes or until it’s as tender/cooked as you like.

Try not to eat them all while they cool.

Baby Kale & Calimyrna Fig Salad

1 box of Earthbound Farms baby kale, chopped
5-8 chopped dried Calimyrna figs
juice of one lime
extra virgin olive oil
salt/pepper, to taste

In a bowl big enough for everything, add olive oil, lime juice, salt/pepper and taste. Whisk together until it emulsifies. Add kale and figs, tossing to coat, then store in fridge until you’re ready to eat. (The kale wilts a little bit and softens as it sits.)

Happy eating!!!

Please note that as a result of the $20 gift certificate to Fresh Direct that I received, I did not pay for the salmon or the Brussels sprouts. I also received the Earthbound Farms kale mix from a Food Fete event that I attended, as I did with the Calimyrna figs as well. However, I was under no obligation to post about any of these items and received no monetary compensation to do so.

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Post tags: brussels sprouts, DLS, figs, kale, salmon

In any case, I was pleased to see that the oatmeal is no longer a sugar & calorie bomb – this one clocks in at just under 300 calories. Not bad – it’s a positive step forward, anyway…

Please note that I attended this event courtesy of McDonald’s, but was under no obligation to post about it and received no monetary compensation to do so.

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Post tags: chain restaurant, press event

Based on the responses when I Tweeted about this, I am not the only one who never thought to make lasagna in a slow cooker. Won’t the pasta get too soft? was most people’s concern over my super late dinner. As it turned out, there was some rigging that needed to be done to make the lasagna, including some sort of tin foil cuff… In any case, the pasta didn’t come out too soft, and this was probably one of the better non-pulled pork dishes I’ve had come from a slow cooker, though it still had some of the problems I’ve had with dishes. The seasonings were fairly muted, with the flavors sort of mushing together after a while. The pasta itself was great – and EL said, “with about 3 pounds of cheese in there, how can it bad bad?” – though I thought the sausage could have been cut more uniformly so it would cook more evenly. I also would have liked the sausage to be smaller, but EL said he liked it the way he had it (some pieces weren’t fully cooked, to my taste).

Overall, though, I was pretty pleasantly surprised with the result. If you want the recipe, you’re going to have to ask, as I didn’t take it from him… but he said he’ll share if people want it.

Experimenting with letting my friends cook for me is definitely sometimes an exercise in restraint. And to those who are curious: yes, I washed the dishes afterwards – those are the rules! One cooks, one cleans! And no, I didn’t like cleaning. I think I’ll stick to cooking

Happy eating!

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Post tags: lasagna, slow cooker

Crazy woman slaved away all day and the results were fantastic. My personal favorites were the BLT bites and the deviled eggs, but those two items were just chockful of things I love – and nothing was overly spicy. The Tabasco played a nice supporting role, but never overwhelmed.

For all the fun ways to use Tabasco, Sarah’s posted all her recipes over here, so click on through and check it out!

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Post tags: cocktails, party