Jason's Log

Firecracker Salmon Follow-up

Based on our experience with an earlier version of Firecracker Salmon, we decided to try it again, taking into account our feedback from the first attempt. This is what we ended up with:

1.0 lb salmon fillet
0.5 cup peanut oil
4.0 tbsp soy sauce
4.0 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1.0 bunch of green onions, chopped
1.0 tbsp Splenda
1.0 tbsp minced garlic
1.0 tsp minced ginger
2.0 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1.0 tsp sesame oil
0.5 tsp fresh ground salt
1.0 tsp fresh ground pepper
0.5 tsp guar gum (as thickener)

I mixed up all of the above (except for the salmon) in a tupperware bowl so that everyting was thoroughly integrated. I then placed the salmon filets face down (skin-side up) inside a 1 gallon ziploc bag. I then poured about 2/3rds of the marinade into the ziploc bag, pressed out most of the air, and let it marinade overnight (a full 24 hours) in the fridge. I left the remaining 1/3rd in the tupperware bowl, and kept it in the fridge.

For cooking, I crafted a few shallow aluminum foil boats, and placed them onto a preheated grill (medium high temp). I placed each of the filets skin-side down in the aluminum trays, then poured the remaining marinade over them. I cooked them for 18 minutes at medium-high with the lid closed to ensure that the thicker parts were fully cooked.

The filets were served hot, and we sprinkled on some of the left-over marinade that we'd kept in the fridge.

The results were completely outstanding. The flavors permeated the salmon but didn't overwhelm it. The increase in the redpepper flakes that Young requested turned out to be just right.

The only improvement? I would spray the aluminum trays with a bit of cooking spray before placing the salmon filets on them. After almost 20 minutes of cook time, it took some work to separate them.

Crutchfield.com Tech Support

Everyone once in a while, I have a customer or technical support interaction that is so overwhelmingly positive, that I just have to document it. This happened just yesterday after having the new Sirius Satellite receiver installed in Young's car.

I took the new Alpile amplifier and Sirius tuner module to a local 'Auto Sound and Security' tweaker shop to be installed. They assured me they'd done this sort of install many times before. Got the call 3 hours later telling me it was finished.

Once we arrived at home, I turned on the amp, selected Sirius as the input source, and called the activation phone number. I actived the unit, and the activation code was received. However, no audio output occured. Using regular FM radio, everything seemed fine.

So I called Crutchfield.com's tech support line and they had it figured out in about a minute. The support tech asked 'Does playing an audio CD work?'. I tried it. No, that didn't work either. 'Easy, you need to connect the blue-wire-with-white-line from the amp to the plain blue wire of the harness.'.

Huh? That sounded too easy, and the answer came too quickly. Apparently, it is a common mistake on Honda vehicles, related to their being internally amplified and one of the blue wires being the antenna power and the other being amplifier power.

I pulled the amp out of the dash, rewired the one connection. Turned it back on, everything worked. Yeah!

The tech support rep was incredibly knowledgeable, easy to work with. Even if it costs a bit more, I'm definitely going to send my electronics purchases to crutchfield.com in the future. Good customer service is (sometimes) really worth paying for.

Turkey Burgers and Cheese

I have now completed my set of experiments on the use of various different cheeses as binder, juicyness-ifier and flavor-enhancer in my turkey burgers.

The original recipe:

0.5 cups ricotta cheese
4.0 tbsp worcestershire sauce
4.0 tbsp dijon mustard
1.0 tbsp garlic powder
1.0 tbsp onion powder
1.0 tsp ground sea salt
1.0 tbsp ground black pepper
Results: A good baseline, but sometimes dry and crumbly.

The first twist:

4.0 ounces finely shredded smoked cheddar
2.0 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2.0 tbsp dijon mustard
1.0 tsp garlic powder
1.0 tsp onion powder
1.0 tsp gound sea salt
1.0 tsp ground black pepper
Results: Very juicy, flavorful. Possibly too strong of a cheese flavor for some.

Latest Twist:
4.0 ounces finely shredded smoked guyere
2.0 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2.0 tbsp dijon mustard
1.0 tsp garlic powder
1.0 tsp onion powder
1.0 tsp gound sea salt
1.0 tbsp ground black pepper
Results: A bit more pepper plus a milder cheese was a great combination. I loved it. I'm planning to try this combination out on Young this week. She's not a big fan of strongly flavored cheeses, that it will be a difficult test.

Follow-up: YOUNG LOVED IT! Yeah! She noticed the enhanced juicyness, and didn't even pick up the cheese flavor. This last attempt is now my 'standard' Turkey Burger Recipe.