More Meadow Creek & Copper River Salmon

Tonight I grilled Copper River salmon on the grill pan with only a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. I use my grill pan so rarely that I don't think I've quite mastered the timing- tonight was probably my best foray into stove top grilling. I was able to maintain the filet's moisture even while achieving some nice charring (too bad that's carcinogenic), but coming off the pan a few minutes earlier probably would have been ideal.

Remember how I said I don't cook with butter? I think I lied a little. Both of tonight's veggies had a scant amount of butter. I steamed green beans that I then tossed with lemon zest, lemon juice and a small pat of unsalted butter. I also cut fresh corn off the cob and sauteed the kernels with butter, diced shallot and lots of Old Bay- not so much butter in either case, but enough of a flavor difference that I prefer it to olive oil with these particular vegetables.

Not so much cooking over the weekend because most of our eating revolved around Ryan's house-warming party- so much grilled meat (which Ben is doing a lovely job modeling)! My contributions were a crock pot of baked beans (McCall- do you remember when we went through a phase where we ate baked beans with rice for dinner our first year out of college? yum) and a cheese platter.

I decided to try Whole Foods' other local cheese (sadly, only two in the store), also from the Meadow Creek Dairy- this time Meadow Creek Mountaineer, which was firmer and more flavorful than the Grayson. I also had Maytag Blue cheese from Iowa (a Christmas favorite when I visit Grinnell for the holidays) and extra-buttery St. Andre triple creme brie. My first choice for the soft cheese was Brillat Savarin, but sadly they were sold out. So cheese of the week two weeks in a row, which means I can take this next week off!