I have been challenged!

[rmg]

i live with 3 roommates and as i am currently unemployed i do most of the cooking and cleaning. i enjoy cooking quite alot and i am always trying new things, using new ingredients, and of course making huge messes in the process (which are usually always clean by the time the foods actually done.) one thing i take pride in as an amateur cook is my ability to look at an empty pantry, barren fridge, and a sad freezer and still be able to make a nice meal out of what ever i have. well it sort of started a tradition for one of my roomates. who, when he gets paid, buys random ingredients and challenges me to make something with all of them. i have no formal training in cooking, just a passion for it, and have always just kinda winged it. so my skill and knowledge is limited.

the current challenge is using these ingredients in a dish

2 pounds of fresh wild salmon
2 green bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
and a huge can of cream of mushroom @_@

i have an idea and what to do with these items but i dont know how the flavor profiles will work together

i would love some input and feedback on the possibilities for these ingredients

 

[jennyema]

Dear God, don't ruin 2 pounds of fresh wild salmon with gloppy canned soup!!

Slice the peppers thinly

Use foil to make a pouch. Place the peppers in the pouch and top them with the salmon. Pour some teriyaki sauce on top. You can buy it or make some using soy sauce, garlic and sugar. Or just generously season the fish.

Seal the pouch and place on a cookie sheet and into a 425 oven for about 20 minutes.

 

[CraigC]

Are you limited to just those? If so, there is nothing good going to be made from just these ingredients, IMO. Good luck and welcome to DC!

 

[skilletlicker]

Because I'm not very bright, I often miss the complexities that trouble others. Looks simple to me. Tell your roommate that he can use the soup when he cooks and make pan seared salmon and sauteed peppers for dinner.

 

[rmg]

maybe

Because I'm not very bright, I often miss the complexities that trouble others. Looks simple to me. Tell your roommate that he can use the soup when he cooks and make pan seared salmon and sauteed peppers for dinner.

im the one cooking, he bought the ingredients :P

and no im not limited to just those ingredients, i am limited by what we have in the house, however i must incorperate those. the best thing i could come up with was some sort of pan seared or over roasted salmon. and then using the cream of mushroom as the base to a sauce or maybe make a brown rice/ quinoa with cream of mushroom bed for the salmon and some sort of sauted peper topping. but i dont know how that would work together.

maybe make a pepper quinoa/brown rice cream of mushroom base, but that doesnt sound like something that melds together correctly

 

[tenspeed]

I would use the can of soup to hit him over the head while yelling (in my best French accent) "Toi idiot! Seul un crétin ruinerait saumon frais avec une boîte de crème de champignons!" Google translate will put it back into English with reasonable accuracy. I would then brush the salmon with some olive oil, broil it, and top it with a wine sauce made with sauteed peppers, onions, garlic, and black olives, and maybe some capers if they were on hand.

 

[rmg]

I would use the can of soup to hit him over the head while yelling (in my best French accent) "Toi idiot! Seul un crétin ruinerait saumon frais avec une boîte de crème de champignons!" Google translate will put it back into English with reasonable accuracy. I would then brush the salmon with some olive oil, broil it, and top it with a wine sauce made with sauteed peppers, onions, garlic, and black olives, and maybe some capers if they were on hand.

what kind of wine would work, we have a few different kinds but the only open one is a pinot noir if im spelling that right

i also like the idea of the broiled salmon with a pepper wine sauce, but sauces are my weakness as i have not had much experience with make them from scratch, so i like this idea as it seems like a good opertunity to learn something new. i guess ill use the cream of mushroom to make some creamy mushroom rice as a side dish :/

 

[Dawgluver]

Not a salmon fan, but I agree, don't use the soup as a sauce for the salmon! Broiled or grilled salmon with the peppers, or in foil packets sounds better, less is more.

You can dress up your COM soup with more mushrooms and a bit of sherry or port, and just serve it as soup. Precooked wild rice would also be a nice addition to the soup.

 

[rmg]

thanks for all the input guys i appriciate it.

still trying to figure out how to make a red wine sauce @_@ alot of stuff to search throughd

 

[Bigjim68]

what kind of wine would work, we have a few different kinds but the only open one is a pinot noir if im spelling that right

i also like the idea of the broiled salmon with a pepper wine sauce, but sauces are my weakness as i have not had much experience with make them from scratch, so i like this idea as it seems like a good opertunity to learn something new. i guess ill use the cream of mushroom to make some creamy mushroom rice as a side dish :/

Some Oregon/Washington Pinots are crafted to work with salmon, so it might work. My choice would be a Muscadet or Oaky Chardonnay.

If I had those ingredients, and wanted to use them all, I would coat the salmon with mayo, grill, broil or pan sear, and serve with cream of mushroom pepper rice soup. Or use make a rice/pepper side dish and serve cream of mushroom soup.

 

[rmg]

im not entirely sure how to go about doing this procedure

"top it with a wine sauce made with sauteed peppers, onions, garlic, and black olives, and maybe some capers if they were on hand."

would i saute the peppers, onions, garlic, and black olives, add the wine and capers and then reduce ?

 

[cinisajoy]

The cream of mushroom soup would make an excellent shampoo for the roommate's hair.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'll weigh in on this. With the ingredients listed, I would make broiled salmon steaks, seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon grass. A little sprinkling of garlic might be in order. Take the salt, pepper, and lemon grass, with garlic and blend with real butter. You now have a compound butter. Spread the compound butter over the salmon flesh and place on a cookie sheet, flesh side up. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and set aside.

Now it's time to transform the mushroom soup into something great. Purchase 8 oz of fresh mushrooms before starting your meal. Wash and slice them. Place 3 tbs. butter into the pot and melt over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until somewhat, but not completely softened. Add three tbs. of all purpose flour to the pan and stir to coat everything. Gently, and slowly whisk in enough milk to make a thin sauce. Add 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic, and 1/8 tsp. granulated ginger. Add 2 tbs. good soy sauce. Now pour in the canned mushroom soup. stir until smooth. Serve this as an appetizer.

Steam enough zucchini for how many people you are going to feed. Figure 1/2 zucchini per person. Steam for about seven to ten minutes.

While the zucchini is steaming, turn on the broiler. Place the fish about 4 inches under the broiler and close the oven door almost shut. Broil for 4 to seven minutes. The meat should be firm, pink, and slightly dry on top.

Plate everything and serve.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[tenspeed]

would i saute the peppers, onions, garlic, and black olives, add the wine and capers and then reduce ?

Yup, you are on the right track. The idea is to soften the peppers and onions, and not to burn the garlic. Olives just need to be heated, as do the capers. Throw in any herbs you like (thyme would go well). Use a dry white wine, as an estimate a half cup, and then reduce by half.

This is cooking, not baking, so you have considerable latitude in ingredients, quantities, etc. You can use chicken stock instead of wine (Better Than Bouillon is good to have on hand), or apple juice, which makes for a sweeter sauce. As others have mentioned, wrapping the works in foil packets works well. Without knowing the thickness of the salmon, the rule of thumb is broiling 10 minutes per inch of thickness at 450 F. If I get a salmon filet at the store (which are probably less than 1" thick), foil wrapped salmon is about 25 minutes at 350 F.

 

[LizStreithorst]

Not a salmon fan, but I agree, don't use the soup as a sauce for the salmon! Broiled or grilled salmon with the peppers, or in foil packets sounds better, less is more.

You can dress up your COM soup with more mushrooms and a bit of sherry or port, and just serve it as soup. Precooked wild rice would also be a nice addition to the soup.

That's the best idea so far.

 

[rmg]

thanks everyone

thanks for all the suggestions i sincerely appreciate it.

i ended up just keeping it somewhat simple and was limited to the stock in our kitchen. i broiled the salmon which came out wonderful, made a red wine sauce with the peppers onion garlic and since the general consensus was to throw the COM at my friend, which he thought was hilarious, i used it in a side dish with chicken stock brown rice and Parmesan. the pepper sauce went well with the salmon, and the mushroom rice also went well with the salmon, however the pepper sauce and mushroom rice as i figured didnt pair well together. im definitely going to try some of the other suggestions at a later date.

and again
thank to everyone that offered thier advice. anything after the fact is still welcome as i have a feeling we are now going to have more salmon in our diet ( from once a year, to once a month)

 

[rmg]

"i passed the challenge" :l
and got some good food and experience from it again thanks everyone

 

[cinisajoy]

"i passed the challenge" :l
and got some good food and experience from it again thanks everyone

What did you make?
Don't keep us in suspense.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Welcome to DC, rmg! Nice to have you here and follow along on your challenge. Now that you know how friendly we DC folks are I hope you come back to visit regularly. This challenge of yours was fun to follow along.

What did you make?
Don't keep us in suspense.

Psst, look above ^that^ post at rmg's previous post. Middle paragraph.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Welcome to DC, we enjoy a challenge, too! That was a fun read.