Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

He Said:

Ok, this one hurt a little. I mean, I really like salmon. And I really like bourbon. I like soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds, garlic and green onions. I like all of these things. But ohmygreatgolly, put them together and WOW! This was fantastic! And super-easy to make. No really. Super-easy. And it's from Cooking Light, so it's got to be healthy, right? The only change I might make next time is to double the amount of glaze. It's just so good!

The salmon cooked up nice and flaky and the glaze had just the right amount of zingy. We had this with steamed veggies and I felt like we were eating fine restaurant food. I would have to give this recipe two enthusiastic thumbs up. And, you know, if I had a third thumb, it would be up as well.

Wow, that last sentence was sort of weird, wasn't it?

Ingredients
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
Cooking spray
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add fish to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish and marinade to pan; cook fish 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates; drizzle each serving with about 2 teaspoons sauce. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 3/4 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Yield
4 servings

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 353(36% from fat); FAT 14.1g (sat 3.2g,mono 6g,poly 3.6g); PROTEIN 37.4g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 41mg; SODIUM 281mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13g

Esther Maples, Harlem, Georgia ,
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

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She Said:

I am new on the salmon bandwagon, but when I finally jumped aboard, I did so with both feet. I love me some good salmon and this recipe is fantastic!

The glaze was so scrumptious and I love, love, love the sesame seeds and green onions on the top. Such a great combination of flavors! (Oh, to have been drinking something equally as delicious with it - a really nice riesling or a good Gewurztraminer - but, alas, no drinking during the week! Makes me think that we should try this recipe again on the weekend so I can experiment with some pairings!)

We chose not to include any carbs in this meal (simply because I'm trying to cut down on calories) but I did not miss them in the least. With my heaping helping of steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli and carrots), I drizzled just the tiniest bit of an oriental vinaigrette that I had made over the top, sprinkled the veggies with some toasted sesame seeds and felt myself transported to Nirvana.

Gotta say - this is one of the best "diet" meals I have ever had! Bursting with flavor, color and textures - it was excellent!