Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon

Remember last August when I started an oven fire, and 5 firemen had to come and save me help this nincompoop who couldn't properly operate a broiler?

That was an embarrassing day.

This is the recipe that caused the fire! I know you're all dying to make it now, given that I'm prefacing the recipe with a story about it bursting into flames.  For obvious reasons, it took me about 7 months before I decided to make this again, but now that I know how to cook it without it igniting, it will be on the regular dinner rotation. This is officially my new favorite way to eat salmon. It gets popped in a quick marinade, broiled until crispy, and topped with a sweet, gingery glaze. Serve it with brown rice and you've got yourself an easy dinner for two.

When I first cooked this in August, I made the grave error of putting the oven rack as close to the broiler as possible. Don't do that. This is an oil-based marinade that's going to spit and splatter while cooking, and you do not want it to splatter on the broiler coils.  I'm no expert on oven fires, but I'm pretty sure that's why things went awry last summer.

I can't say I'd mind if 5 firemen showed up again, but I'd prefer that it be for reasons other than extinguishing my kitchen fires. Just sayin'...

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

You know how you're supposed to bring new parents stuff like casserole?

That's not how I roll. Unless its my dad's awesome hash brown casserole, or has the words french toast in its immediate vicinity, casserole is usually not my thing.

However, friends of mine just had an adorable new baby, and when I went over to their house a couple weeks ago to snuggle her, and pet her soft hair, and inhale her new baby smell I wanted to bring them something edible. So, I brought them cookies using two of the most delicious flavors known to humankind: chocolate and peanut butter.

Thank God I gave these cookies away. You may not be able to tell from the photos, but that's a regular sized Reese's cup in the center of the cookie, and tiny peanut butter cups in the cookie itself. These suckers are 4-5 inches across each. Ginormous. If I'd made these for the heck of it without having a recipient in mind, it would've been super dangerous to have these sitting around.

P.S. If you like these, you may want to check out my small-batch peanut butter cupcakes with fudge frosting, peanut butter and fleur de sel brownies, and my peanut butter cheesecake swirl brownies!

P.P.S. This is completely unrelated to cookies, but if you need a laugh, go read this hilarious post from Don't Quote the Raven. I found this a few weeks ago, and have been meaning to share it with you guys ever since. I sent it to one of my friends, and she started laugh-crying so badly that she had to leave her office. You've been warned.

P.P.P.S. I'm writing this at 11 p.m. Tuesday night, and I keep peeking out the window looking for snow. DC is about to get its first significant snowfall in 2 years, and I'm vacillating between excitement and annoyance. Mostly annoyance, since I'm mentally ready for spring, and don't feel like dealing with the power outage that will most likely accompany this storm. I wanted snow in December, not now! Blergh. I know this snowstorm is supposed to hit a lot of areas, so stay warm, friends!

Chicken Quesadilla Pie

 

I *just* made this chicken quesadilla pie yesterday afternoon, and it was so delicious that my planned cookie post for today is being postponed until later this week. The cookies are amazing too, but Mexican food beats cookies any day, at least in my world. I wanted to share this as quickly as possible, so that every single one of you can add it to your dinner plans this week. Seriously. Do it.

Not only is this pie delicious, it's quick and incredibly easy. All you do is fashion a makeshift crust out of a tortilla, dump in a bunch of shredded rotisserie chicken, cheese, jalapenos, and cilantro, whisk together a quick batter that gets poured on top, and bake it for about 20 minutes. It's kind of like a quesadilla crossed with a quiche.

Blammo. You just made yourself an awesome dinner. 

This isn't very spicy with the specified amount of jalapenos, so feel free to toss in more if you like your food with a kick. I think that pepper-jack cheese would be a great sub for cheddar if you feel like mixing things up!

Also, a quick Public Service Announcement: I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Best Simple Recipes. I've been using this thing like crazy over the past couple months, and every single thing I've tried from it has turned out perfectly. If you're in the market for quick dinner ideas I could not recommend it more.

Okay. Time to go get my weekly dose of secondhand embarrassment and watch Girls. Have a happy Monday, friends!