January 1st: Winter herbed roasted salmon & Roasted potatoes with bacon and chives

I was torn between starting the new year off with a full-on detox, or easing into it. I opted for the latter. G & O are on a Christmas candy/chocolate/sweets & treats strike until O's birthday in 20 days. I'm not quite so die-hard, but I cut my sugar way back today. For supper I opted for salmon (heart healthy!) with potatoes and bacon (not so much). This is a pair of recipes I pulled out of the Citizen a year or more ago, so this was at least our second time trying them out. We decided on tossing the salmon recipe and keeping the potato, although both have their pluses and minuses. Here they are:


Winter herbed roasted salmon
2 garlic cloves (or more if you really dig garlic, as we do)
4 sprigs fresh sage (my sprigs were huge; I only used one)
4 sprigs fresh thyme (my sprigs were tiny; I used six)
4 tbsps olive oil (may be overkill)
2 boneless salmon fillets
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


Preheat oven to 350°F.


Finely chop garlic, sage and thyme, then mix with olive oil.


Place salmon fillets on baking sheet and rub the oil mixture on top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 10-15 minutes.


Serves 2 (or 2 and a little one!).


This recipe was good, just not knock-your-socks-off good.


Roasted potatoes with bacon and chives
3 potatoes (baking or otherwise)
4 slices bacon, diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 sprigs fresh chives chopped (I subbed in one green onion)


Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook 2 minutes, then drain.


Meanwhile, lightly fry bacon over medium just until the fat starts to render and the bacon starts to darken. Transfer the bacon and fat to a large mixing bowl.


Once the potatoes are drained but still hot, add them to the bowl with the bacon. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the potatoes in fat. If there are not enough bacon drippings to coat, add some olive oil.


Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. When done and outside is crispy, place potatoes in serving dish and stir in the chopped chives.


Serves 2 generously.


The bacon gets super crispy (AKA overdone). I skipped eating it. It does keep the potatoes nicely oiled. I'm wondering about skipping the frying step, and maybe just laying whole slices of bacon over the potatoes on the baking sheet; it might serve the same purpose. Perhaps the next time around...

Not seen in photo: side dish: salad!