Salmon, the wonder food

We seem to be on a bit of a salmon kick. That might be because it's in season locally, and it might be 'cause it's just so yummy!

Dinner tonight was, yet again, a slab of salmon. This time, I bought fresh local king salmon from Cosentino's market. I marinated it in Veri Veri Teriyaki, and grilled it on a hot fire. Before that, though, I made a pile of veggies. I grilled some zucchini, which is utterly trivial, and yummy according to people that like those nasty green squash. I also grilled some artichokes. There's a bit of a trick to that - I slice medium sized 'chokes in half and remove the bitter choke in the center. (Be sure to rub them well with lemon to keep them from browning.) I brush them with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill them over indirect heat, with the cut side up, and then flip them when they start to brown. Serve with a bit of melted butter. In addition to all of that, we had a bit of fried okra - slice okra pods into small disks, coat them with some corn meal, and fry in canola or soybean oil heated to near smoking. Be sure to not overcook the okra - that's not so delicious.

Okay, we've got the salmon, the zucchini, the okra and the artichokes. Oh yeah - the potatoes. I sliced some red potatoes in half and boiled them. Once cooked, I dropped them into a skillet of melted butter and added some minced savory. Oh, and there was a bit of multi-grain bread.

Finally, there was the wine. We have a small stash of 2001 St. Supéry "Elu". This is their signature red meritage, and is an extraordinary wine. It was a bit tannic on first taste, but opened very nicely. It's full of fantastic berry flavors and toasted oak. The finish is smooth and silky. It's a consistently good wine year to year, and the 2001 is above average. (We have a couple bottles of the superb 2000 vintage, but I'm saving those for a special occasion.)

I would offer pictures of the feast, but we ate all of it before I got around to remembering the camera. At some point, I should be able to add pictures of the wine bottle, at least.

Happy cooking, and bon appétit!