Grilled Salmon and Asparagus with Balsamic Butter

Day 10-If I didn’t feel an obligation to make myself a better cook, I would say it’s over. That I’ve given up. (I just let out a huge sigh. People at work are probably thinking what could be so hard in her life that she needs to sigh like that? If only they knew the truth!). Cooking is like a little gnat that I keep swatting at trying to keep it away, but it never ever goes away and it’s so dang annoying. I have never been as frazzled and out of it as I was last night when I was cooking dinner. I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen earlier in the day yesterday making four loaves of zucchini bread, which probably didn’t help my mood last night. I think I got a 15 minute break between when the last loaves came out of the oven and when I had to start cooking dinner. Um and speaking of the zucchini bread, why the hell did it take so long to bake? I feel like I messed up somehow, but I don’t see how that’s even possible. It definitely took over an hour to cook the bread. I do not remember it taking that long. Stupid bread, I should have known better then to cook dinner after that nonsense.

Yet here we are, Day 10. I’m a glutton for punishment. Torture is like a drug to me. The menu consisted of grilled salmon and asparagus with a balsamic vinegar butter reduction accompanied by creamy polenta. Why I thought that this recipe looked like something that I could manage I don’t know. I’ve never cooked salmon or polenta. I grabbed the only thing I saw in the Goya aisle at the grocery store that said yellow corn meal. Whether it was the right or wrong thing I still don’t know. The recipe for creamy polenta said to boil salted water and add the polenta. Then add 4 tablespoons of butter and cook 30 minutes. There is supposed to be cheese in this too, but apparently I didn’t write that part of the instructions down. Sigh.

The water boiled, I started adding the cup of polenta and in the process was getting burned by the bubbling scalding water. I had grabbed the first whisk I saw which was pretty tiny and that wasn’t the smartest move. So I’m screaming because it was hurting and Anthony comes in ands gets a bigger whisk and starts whisking wanting to know the next step. That step is adding the 4 tablespoons of butter, which I dropped in the pot without cutting it and Anthony said, “NO, you can’t just put a whole chunk in like that!” Then the butter is out of the pot and on the floor. Oops! We got new butter and put that in and then Anthony says it’s done! WHAT?! How can it be done when it’s supposed to take 30 minutes to cook? That’s why I started the polenta before doing ANYTHING else. Yet here we were with the polenta done and no instruction in the directions on when to add the cheese to it. Neither of us knew what to do with the polenta now. Anthony said it would turn into a gummy mess if we just stopped cooking it now, so I keep it on the stove a little longer.

As you can see, this dinner was a disaster from the beginning. Then there was the salmon and asparagus. Who in their right mind choices to pick a recipe with items being grilled when said person doesn’t know how to use the grill? Only me. Anthony had heated the grill for me, so I prepped the asparagus and threw it on the grill. Then I ran inside to deal with the reduction of balsamic vinegar, honey, and butter and prep the salmon. During that process I managed to burn the reduction a little. Too bad, because now I had to run out to the grill and turn the asparagus and put the salmon on. Sadly the asparagus already look as if they could be done, but I leave them alone for now because I have to finish the reduction and deal with the polenta. I add the cream cheese to the polenta, which looks thick and goopy. That’s not very appealing. I ran back out to the grill and realized I have no idea how to tell if salmon is done. So I grab Anthony and make him deal with it. He gets everything off the grill for me. Thank you Anthony!

Was dinner ruined? No. Anthony added some milk to the polenta and made it work. Everything else was cooked fine.

Final Product:

This is the only picture taken last night, because I was not a happy camper.

What are my thoughts on these recipes? I guess they are fine. I have no desire to make either one of them again. I’m over it.

Totals: 5 minutes prep, 10-15 minutes cooking time, 2 pots and a grill.

I’m desperate for tonight’s dinner to be a better experience. I can not have another frustrating night in the kitchen. I just won’t be able to handle the pressure. The other meals I will be cooking this week are: Mexican chicken, sausage curry couscous, something with gnocchi, and quinoa veggie paella. Now to decide which of these dishes will cause the least amount of madness in the kitchen tonight.

Creamy Polenta-adapted from Simply Recipes

Grilled Salmon and Asparagus with Balsamic Butter-adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray