Happy Spring!

One of the many pleasures of spring in Northern CA is fresh CA asparagus and salmon. Tonight Mike and I indulged in both. Abigail had a meeting at Starbucks so she ate a snack before she left but I cooked another pleasure of CA spring for her-fresh artichokes! I steam trimmed artichokes in salted water for about 20 minutes, depending on their size. I then season them with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, olive oil, vinegar (in this case balsamic) and garlic. They're wonderful leftover because they marinate. For the salmon and asparagus see below.

Salmon season is open in CA but they have not fully made the migration north but I found some wonderful salmon from Alaska.

Grilled fresh wild king salmon:

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed

Season each piece of salmon with the ingredients 10-15 minutes before cooking. Start charcoal grill-we prefer natural mesquite. Cook over indirect heat approximately 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Roasted asparagus:

~1 lb. organic asparagus
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse asparagus and trim by breaking off ends. They will naturally break about off about 1-2 inches from end.

Toss with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Check asparagus. Toss again and rearrange until all pieces have even chance for cooking. Roast an additional 10 minutes until desired doneness. We like the tips crispy and the stalks cooked through. Place in bowl and toss with feta cheese.

We opened a bottle of Spicerack Vineyards 2007 "Punchdown" Syrah from the Sonoma Coast. This is a wine from Jonathan & Susan Pey. It was phenomenal with the salmon. Beautiful evening and great food, wine and company. See the Marin Wines link. Enjoy!