Another Delicious Valentine's Day


For my first single Valentine's Day in a couple years, I felt I owed it to myself to keep up the tradition, and cook myself a nice meal. My roommate was also home last Tuesday, so we teamed up and made a meal that we could be proud of. This salmon recipe from Giada De Laurentiis was perfect for our purposes. By the time we got home from work, we didn't have much patience to wait around for a nice meal. Really, this is a perfect every day meal, but we felt like we were eating gourmet food just the same.
I made it even easier for myself, and instead of mixing all of those vegetables, I just steamed up some snow peas, and covered them with glaze too. Couscous was an easy addition as well. After dinner, we made cupcakes :)

Giada's Balsamic-Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
Glaze:
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed or chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)

Salmon:
Four 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets, skinned
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Vegetables:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or chopped
2 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame (12 ounces), thawed
2 cups sugar snap peas (6 ounces), halved

Directions
For the glaze: In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and garlic to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thick, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

For the salmon: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the salmon on the baking sheet. Drizzle both sides of the salmon with the olive oil and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

For the vegetables: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook until the shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the edamame and snap peas and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the vegetable mixture among 4 serving plates. Top with a piece of salmon and drizzle with the glaze.

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