Chillin' Out in Alaska

Next stop on our Staycation is ALASKA!  About the farthest state away from us as possible, Alaska's average June temperatures have a high of 60 degrees.  Here on St. Simons Island, GA, we average a slightly warmer 88 degrees!

So what's for dinner?  If you're expecting Alaskan King Crab or Baked Alaska, you might be surprised. We are going with an easy meal cooked outside (again) on the Egg with a little help from the Crock Pot!

Cedar Plank Salmon:
I'm not sure if you are familiar with cedar plank cooking but it has become more popular in the past several years.  You can purchase cedar planks at the hardware store in the grilling section, specialty cooking stores, and sometimes you can find them at the grocery store!  Cedar planks keep your meat, poultry, and fish moist as it cooks on the grill.

The marinade I used was a simple mix of lemon juice, melted butter, green onion, chopped garlic, salt, and lemon pepper.  Just mix a little of this and a pich of that and pour over the salmon steaks.  Let them soak up the sauce for a few minutes.  While they are resting, soak a cedar plank in water for 30 minutes.  This will eliminate any chance of fire while cooking!

Before grilling, put the cedar plank directly on the grill for three minutes per side to help season it.

Now is the fun part - Put the salmon steaks on the cedar plank and the plank on the grill.  Let it cook for 15 minutes..

...and it will look like this.  YUMMY!

Crock Pot Risotto:
A quick and easy risotto that doesn't heat up the house!  Ingredients needed: 1 box of chicken broth, 1 1/3 cups of Arborio rice,  1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine,  3 cloves minced garlic,  1 teaspoon onion flakes, 1 teaspoon garlic, and fresh ground pepper to taste.

First I got out my favorite Crock Pot (yes, I said favorite, it's one of three). 

I always use a slow cooker liner to save on clean up-this may be one of my favorite kitchen tools!

Stir all ingredients together and put on high for 2 hours.  I know it doesn't look pretty but the end result is creamy, thick, and hearty!

After waiting 2 hours, lift the lid and stir in 2/3 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese.

Leave the lid off and wait about 15 minutes for the cheese to melt and the risotto is ready!  See the difference 15 minutes can make!

Roasted Asparagus:
As my students would say EASY, PEASY, LEMON SQUEEZY!  Roasted veggies are effortless and delicious at the same time.  Cut off the bottoms, toss on a sheet pan, coat with oil, sprinkle with salt, and you're done!

Put in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes and you have a healthy veggie ready to add to your dinner that makes it seem like you worked really hard!

I can't wait to dive into my Alaskan meal!  I might need to sit in front of the a/c in order to pretend I'm an Eskimo, but Chad has been keeping the house extra cool today.  I guess he is taking this staycation really serious!