Epicure Lemon Dilly Dip

Ok, now I know that I have mentioned an Epicure dip mix before, but I just want to take time to mention the Lemon Dilly Dip Mix because it is also amazing. Having so many cherry tomatoes left over from my last recipe, plus a bunch of fresh veggies in the fridge, prompted me to find my as-of-yet-unopened jar of Epicure dip mix.

Originally I had bought the Lemon Dilly, 3 Onion and Cheese Chives & Bacon dip mixes so that I could make a batch of the "Extraordinary Cheese Dip" I had had at a party. That cheese dip was SO GOOD that I knew I had to have it again - and that's what led me to Epicure.

Anyways, I am not promoting Epicure products for any other reason than the ones that I've tried, I love. If I don't have success with something or don't like it, I'll say so. I have only tried a few things from the Epicure company so far, and I don't expect to like everything, but these dips are not included - they are amazing!

So, today I made the Lemon Dilly dip mix to accompany some fresh veggies. I mixed equal parts sour cream & mayonnaise, added the dip mix, and chilled it in the fridge. It was excellent. I won't hesitate to make this for a party, or just for myself! :) 10/10 on both counts!

Roasted Salmon with Lemon Relish

As I was sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store, pouring over this week's chosen cookbook, Great Food Fast: Everyday Food from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living, I wanted a recipe that was quick and didn't require a lot of groceries - mainly because I had plans after dinner and I only had one reusable grocery bag with me in the car.

Roasted Salmon with Lemon Relish seemed like it would fit the bill; besides, earlier a few of my friends had dog-eared it as a recipe to try. As any normal-cooking-person will know, roasting salmon in the oven is pretty easy. Even I had done it once before with some success.

Here's what I learned at the grocery store:
- Pine nuts are expensive. I better not make any recipes with prosciutto and pine nuts in it, or I'll probably go broke.
- I don't really understand the difference between Coho and Sockeye salmon. Research on this coming soon (i.e. ask Mom).
- Based on the debacle in the back of the fish department, it's not that easy to take the skin off a fillet.
- Why is parsley sold in huge bunches like that? And who would ever use that much??! I have no idea what to do with the rest of it.

I liked this recipe because it had 5 steps and said it would take 25 minutes. Great! Step one required me to toast the pine nuts for 5-7 minutes to a "lightly golden" colour. I set the timer to 6 minutes and walked away.

Mistake.

They burned. Not all of them, but many. And the ones that didn't burn were pretty darn brown. Not much "golden" in the pan after that. D'oh! Ah well, I got rid of the blackened ones, taste-tested the brown ones (they were fine), and soldiered on.

The biggest time-taker in this recipe is making the lemon zest. Especially when you have to stop part-way through to put a band-aid on the knuckle you just skinned with the vegetable peeler. Ouch! After all the lemon peel was off, it was painstaking to slice it into thin little slivers. But really, that was the hardest part. The rest was easy.

The lemon relish had raisins in it too, which I thought was strange at first but after eating it I was actually wanted more of them. I think a little more sweetness in the relish would compliment the salt & pepper in the recipe quite nicely.

Overall, I thought this was pretty good although I don't know that I would make it again. For taste I would give it 6/10 (more raisins would help, and/or less salt) and for ease of preparation I would give it 9/10.

I feel like eating something sweet after this meal. Fresh blueberries are calling!