Seared Salmon with Red Potatoes and Dijon Broth

I really wanted to make a salmon dish so I eventually I came across this recipe on epicurious.com which has recipes from a bunch of different food magazines.  The recipe serves 4 so I just cut it in half.  I also substituted tarragon for a little bit of rosemary and basil. This meal turned out so delicious that I'd definitely make it again. It is healthy and pretty quick!

The dijon broth was such a great part of the dish; the flavor wasn't overbearing and it really paired nicely with the salmon.  The only mistake that I made was boiling the potatoes too long initially because I forgot that they were going to go in the oven with the salmon, so in the end they were a little mushy.... but we still ate them anyway!

Sushi

I love love love sushi.  So why not make it myself?  Looks legit right?!  The process wasn't actually that bad and it was fun too!  My shopping list consisted of: sushi grade tuna and salmon from Citarella in NYC and other ingredients like nori (seaweed wrap), sriracha (Asian hot red chili sauce), avocado, carrot, cucumber, wasabi powder, sushi rice, and seasoned rice vinegar.

As a team, Dave and I made 3 rolls: spicy tuna roll, philadelphia roll, and salmon and tuna roll.  For the philadelphia roll, we rolled it "inside out" which made the rice the outside layer instead of the nori.

Isn't the display plate so pretty? Dave got that for me from Hawaii; it's handcarved and matches the sushi theme so nicely!

Baked Ziti with Beef Ragù and Roasted Eggplant

This recipe comes from a Williams-Sonoma Pasta cookbook. Besides making a homemade beef ragù beforehand, the recipe was pretty quick and easy. You may notice that is not a traditional baked ziti with ricotta, but the eggplant is a nice touch! I actually cut the recipe in half but I will post the full recipe here for you. You can also quickly make this a vegetarian recipe by simply using regular tomato sauce instead of a meat sauce... so have fun sisters!

Ingredients:
2 cups Beef Ragù
6 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
3 small Eggplants, cut into chucks
3/4 lb Ziti, penne, or other tubular pasta
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 lb Mozzarella Cheese, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

1. Roast the Eggplant: Preheat the oven to 450. Line baking sheets with foil. In a bowl, combine the oil and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Drizzle eggplant chucks with oil arrange on the baking sheet so they are not touching. Roast until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temp to 400.

2. Cook the pasta: Bring pot of water to boil, and add 2 tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook, until still very al dente, about half of the timing on the package directions.

3. Assemble and bake the dish:  In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, sauce, roasted eggplant, and tomatoes. Spread half the dish, layer with half the cheeses, spread the other half, and top with the rest of the cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake about 5 minutes longer, until the surface is golden and bubbly.