Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all of our military personnel who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for those who are continuing to fight for our freedoms. This morning I am especially thankful as I am sitting on my patio enjoying a cup of coffee, toast with Nutella and a very large brown dog...and I am very content.  I know that without our military and their dedication, commitment and loyalty the world as we know it would be a much different place.

Do you ever wonder how these oh so meaningful holidays end up taking on an association of there own? Like Memorial Day, how did it go from remembering our troops to National BBQ Day? Or Easter this holiday started as a celebration of Jesus's rising and somehow an Easter bunny got involved and we started dying eggs....huh? Or Christmas we started celebrating a religious birthday and now we have a chubby, old guy in a red suit....hmmm.Don't even get me started on the less meaningful holidays like Valentines Day...well and most of you know how I feel about that one any way. Its just strange how these holidays morph...love the word morph...had to find a way to use it.



So since Memorial Day is all about bbq's I decided to make a grilled Salmon Caesar Salad. Sure I know when you think of Memorial Day BBQs you think of hot dogs, hamburgers and steaks but seriously you all should know by now that I will put my own twist on it. So last night grilled caesar it was. And it was really good!! I do have to admit I changed the recipe more than I normally do but I was very happy with the results.



Right now Fresh and Easy has a bunch of pre-packaged vegetables that you can throw directly on the grill and I tried the sweet potatoes last night. They were really good. They cooked for about 35 minutes and they had a chile butter on them that was great. It worked really well with the salad. I paired the salad and potatoes with Toad Hollow Chardonnay and it was perfect.



Let me start by sharing a great Parmesan cheese shaving tip. Put the cheese on the counter and let it get to room temperature and take a potato peeler to it and that is how you get those large strips of Parmesan that you often see on top of Caesar Salad...I was super excited to learn the technique and thrilled it was so easy and looked so good.

ingredients

• 1
  pound fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick
• 1
  tablespoon olive oil
• 1
  teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
• 1
  tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4
  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1
  pound asparagus spears, trimmed
• 2
  cups sliced hearts of romaine lettuce
• 2
  cups torn curly endive **I couldn't find endive so I just used extra romaine ***
• 1/2
  of a medium cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2
  cup bottled Caesar salad dressing
• Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Thin slices baguette-style French bread, toasted (optional)
  

  
  

  directions
  1.
  

  Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon peel, lemon juice, and pepper. Brush fish with lemon mixture.

  2.
  

  In a covered large skillet, cook asparagus in a small amount of boiling water for 3 minutes; drain. Place asparagus in a grill wok. *** I did not cook the asparagus in a pan first I just put it on the grill for the same amount of time as the fish and it was super yum. I figure I make a giant mess in the kitchen naturally so I didn't need to add any additional dishes. ***

  
  

  

  
  

  3.
  

  For a charcoal grill, place fish on the greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill for 8 to 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, turning once halfway through grilling. Add asparagus to the grill during the last 3 to 5 minutes of grilling or until asparagus is tender and starting to brown, turning once halfway through grilling. (For gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place fish, then asparagus on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.) ***Whenever I grill fish I put it on a grill pan just because I am afraid of putting it directly on the bbq and it falling through the cracks. ***

  4.
  

  In a large bowl, combine romaine lettuce, endive, and cucumber. ***Because it was Memorial Day and I was on a grilling frenzy I also grilled the romaine and it was awesome. Just cut the romaine heart in half, brush it with olive oil and grill it on the top rack. *** Divide lettuce mixture among dinner plates. Using a fork, flake fish into bite-size pieces.  *** I didn't flake the fish because I thought it looked better just whole on the salad but I did take the skin off to allow for ease of eating. ***Arrange fish and asparagus on top of lettuce mixture. Drizzle salads with Caesar dressing. *** I bought Fresh and Easy Caesar and it was good. ***If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with toasted baguette slices.