"...rolly-polly fish heads..."

Disclaimer and Spoiler Alert: okay, today it's gross but it ends with a nice glazed salmon.

I should eat more fish and I know that. But I'm not a fan. It probably comes from spending 2 weeks in Canada on Devil's Lake for the Quattrocchi + Gillis families summer vacation from about the time I was in 6th grade through a couple of early college years. Oh, the vacations were FABULOUS--sun, boating, skiing, bonfires at night--it was the Fish Nights with which I had a hard time dealing.

About 2 times per week, the menfolk would behead, gut and scale the fish that had been caught up to that point, usually large-mouth bass and pike--delivering them to my mom who would hold the raw white fillets up to the kitchen window so she could meticulously cut out the grubs. Yeah, not cool. I guess it didn't help matters that we were kind of gruesome kids and would often line up the newly-removed fish hearts on the cement fish cleaning slab and make bets on which one would beat the longest. PETA, come get me.

Pan-fried to perfection, I'm sure those fishies made for lovely dinners but I opted for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on those nights. So for decades, I said "No, thanks, I don't eat fish." And that was true until we started taking my own children to the Outer Banks for vacations and I began trying things like swordfish, sea bass, halibut, and salmon with varied success since I turn on a dime if something seems even a little bit "fishy." Now I pretty much just stick to salmon if I'm feeling the need for some fish. If I see it on a menu and it sounds like it's prepared in a particularly appealing way, I usually order it.

One evening, when cooking at home for guests who are pescetarians (will eat fish but no meat nor fowl), I decided to glaze and broil some beautiful looking salmon purchased from Sam's Club. I have to admit, Harvey and I thought it was the BEST salmon we'd ever had!! I adapted a turkey-glazing recipe (yes, I'll be posting it as we get closer to Thanksgiving)--adjusting amounts and ingredients by instinct--and came up with the following.

Pomegranate-Honey Glaze for Broiled Salmon

✔ 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
✔ 1/4 cup honey
✔ 2 tablespoons orange juice
✔ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
✔ 1 tablespoon honey mustard or similar (raspberry mustard works, too)

Boil all in a saucepan until the volume is reduced to half (mixture will thicken), about 10-15 minutes. Baste salmon fillet with the syrup a number of times during the broiling process.

(And thanks for sticking with this to the end--sometimes too much information is just that...! LOL)

Buon appetito!