Miriam's Foodie Fridays!

I'm starting a new tradition here at HWSL: Miriam's Foodie Fridays! As part of my New Year's resolutions (I'll have a nice long post about those this weekend), I want to cook a new recipe at least once a week for the entire year. I want to share that recipe, along with some serious food porn shots of the cooking process and end results, along with my reviews, here on the web for you to a) drool over and b) hopefully try on your own!  Since good food is better shared, Miriam's Foodie Fridays will be open to anyone on the blogosphere who'd like to participate!

How can you participate in Miriam's Foodie Fridays? It's simple!

1. Snag the badge- grab the code here.
   
2. On Friday, post to your blog a new recipe that you've made over the past week. Make sure to cite your source, if applicable.
   
3. If you got some food porn, include that too. Everyone loves a tasty macro shot.
   
4. Tell us how the new recipe was: was it delish? Was it a bust? Would you make it again? Dish!
   
5. Leave a comment on the latest Foodie Fridays blog post here with a link to your post.
6. Ta da! That's it :)

I'm hoping that by opening this up to others I a) actually commit to doing this and keeping my resolution and b) discover some really great recipes and recipe resources out there.

And the inaugural recipe?

Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach 

Ingredients
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons dried thyme Leaves , divided
2 pounds salmon fillets
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Paprika, Smoked
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (unground)
1 bag(10 ounces) fresh spinach leaves

Directions
1. Mix orange juice, 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon of the thyme in small bowl. Place salmon in glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat. Cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix brown sugar, smoked paprika, cinnamon, orange peel, remaining 1 teaspoon thyme and sea salt in small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Place in greased foil-lined baking pan. Discard any remaining marinade.
3. Rub top of salmon evenly with smoked paprika mixture. Roast 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Serve salmon over spinach.

Source: TheNest.com (link to recipe here).

Paired with a lil homemade garlic bread, and accompanied only by the finest Virgil's root beer. Candles optional.

This recipe was really a hit Thursday night! I thought 10oz of spinach would be too much, but I ended up using an entire 5oz box of baby spinach. It was just the right amount of spinach to the portion of fish. I used a little bit too much of the rub - I forgot I was only working with 1.5lbs of salmon, so I thought I needed to use all the extra rub. Smoked paprika is fantastic - the smokey, earthy flavor reminds me of campfires and autumn; it's delicious. A tip: mash up the dried thyme in your hands before adding to the marinade and rub to release the oils. If you use a salt grinder like I do, don't grind the sea salt. The crunch and texture of the salt is a nice contrast to the soft give of the salmon and the softness of the spinach. The richness of the rub would actually pair really nicely with a spicy red wine, but alas, it was root beer tonight.

What recipe do you have to add to The Collective Cookbook for Miriam's Foodie Friday? Leave a comment on the most recent Foodie Friday post here with your link to your recipe post!

Also, feel free to snag the handy dandy sidebar badge below: