Artist Visit / Tasty Salmon

Ever since my husband and I moved into our weird, artsy home (16 years ago), we’ve enjoyed hosting out-of-town artists when they come to the Twin Cities for various art fairs, events, etc.  We’ve become good friends over the years, we’ve watched their kids grow up and go off to college; they’ve enjoyed my cooking, they’ve learned to tolerate my ever-present pottery clutter.

Recently we enjoyed a visit from MiYoung Lee and family!  MiYoung is from Korea and a very successful painter.  They were here for the Edina Art Fair — Two years ago, she won ‘Best of Show.’  And of course, this was a great excuse to cook yummy things for them….

The Food:

For one of our dinners, I prepared Grilled Salmon with Eggplant/Mushroom Topping.  This topping is wonderful, and extremely versatile and has no name — It is just my ‘Eggplant/Mushroom Topping.’

I simply saute/saute/saute multiple ingredients — Chopped Onion, Yellow Pepper, sliced Mushroom, cubed Eggplant, and LOTS of Garlic.  Then toss in a bowl with some oven-roasted Roma Tomato chunks; then two (or three) tablespoons of Balsamic.

This is soooo versatile — It can be served over chicken breast, or seafood, served as a topping over pasta (with crumbled Feta Cheese), or stuffed into a pita pocket for lunch.  It’s great for entertaining, it travels well, it’s great for camping.  For our guests, I served the Salmon with a tasty Risotto (with rosemary, leek, and Parmesan), and of course, the Eggplant Topping over the Salmon.

The Pottery:

Again, I’m serving on one of my new rimmed Maasha Plates.  Wheel-thrown with a carved rim — Glazed with white slip, gold slip, then an ash glaze.  I like the earthy, friendly look of the plate with the friendly, inviting serving of Salmon (and Topping).  We all enjoyed our (very tasty) meal with good friends!

Note — Dessert was another Pear Tart with Lavender Custard Sauce (see previous post in May). 

And WebSite for abstract painter, MiYoung Lee — www.MiYoungLee.com