orange juice and soy salmon glaze

we adopted another chihuahua recently and named her dear prudence. our other adopted chi is named lucy . . . in the sky with diamonds. we call them the m&m sistas. one girl shrinks back, the other one sparkles. one girl trots, the other one prances. while it's fun and joyful to add a new member to our family, it's sobering to consider their lives before coming to live with us. 

 

prudence was neglected. now she is cherished. 

       lucy has hopefully forgotten about being given up. my intention is to help prudence forget about her previous life all-together. boiled chicken helps . . . she cautiously began taking little bits from my hand, but for days she cowered behind our sofa when i so much as glanced at her. 
       now the sistas flutter in together when i'm in the kitchen cooking. lucy dances around my feet. prudence waits and grunts. they know i will cut them chi-sized bites of raw carrot. and, i like to surprise them with peeled apple . . . that makes them so happy. for dinner last night i made salmon with an orange and soy sauce glaze to serve with haricots verts. on the cue of my chef knife chopping, the twinkle-toes-twosome hovered under my cutting board for nibbles of the french beans. i held still so i could listen to their mini-crunching sounds.

in this recipe i used orange juice instead of lemon or lime for a swap of tart for sweet, and yet didn't lose the zip of citrus. once it was cooked, the salmon reflected back a sugary-shimmer, and i reduced the excess marinade with wine to drench the fillets for serving. it was rich and smooth tasting with a hint of heat–zesty, bright, sweet, and salty, pairing well with the un-fishy-fish. jim and i ate in the dining room like every other night, but when we finished we each had a girl to hold.

ingredients (enough for 2 large salmon fillets)

• the juice of 2 large oranges

• 1-2 tbl. soy sauce

• 1-2 tbl. brown sugar

• 1 large clove of garlic, minced

• 1-2 tbl. grated ginger

• a pinch of cayenne

• cracked pepper

• about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of white wine

directions

1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. mix all of the ingredients except the wine and pepper in a large mixing bowl.

3. add the salmon fillets and turn to coat well. allow them to marinate for 30-45 min.

4. pour off the marinade into a small sauce pan and add the white wine. reduce by about 1/2 over a low simmer.

5. coat the bottom of a large stainless skillet with safflower oil. lay in the the salmon fillets, skin side down, and crack some pepper over them. cook them in the preheated oven for about 12 min. until the flesh turns opaque.

6. plate the salmon with some quinoa or rice and strain the reduction over the top.

 the dynamic duo: lucy and prudence