“Dish It Your Way” Blogger Challenge Week 5 Recap

We just wrapped up Week 5 of our summer-long “Dish It Your Way” Blogger Challenge, where we ask food bloggers to showcase their versions of American regional dishes. We’ve also migrated the challenge to our new home, The Feed. Thank you to those who participated in this week’s challenge: salmon! All of this week’s participants made great use of fresh seafood, and we certainly had some fervent Pacific Northwesterners. Stay tuned, because we’ll be revealing the winner here tomorrow. And don’t forget to join us next week as we dish about burgers.

If you would like a chance to win a free 1-year subscription to CooksCountry.com, check out the contest details and tell us a story about your all-American favorites.

Below are some excerpts from all of our submissions this week. Make sure to visit these great food blogs and read their salmon stories in full!

Dairy Free Gourmet, by Claudia Olsen: Orange Tarragon Salmon
“The star in this recipes is tarragon, a nice spicy, anise flavored herb that, in combination with the orange juice, is unbeatable for grilled salmon.”

F for Food, by Elliott Shaffner (@FforFood): Grilled Salmon with Market Relish over Jasmine Rice
“…While, over time and use, this dish has changed – become wrinkly, even – its taste and the memory it elicits remains steadfast.”

The Girly Girl Cooks, by Haley Carroll (@GirlyGirlCooks): Salmon with Tomato Basil Sauce
“You just broil the salmon for 5 minutes and turn it off. Nobody wants to have the oven on when it’s 90 degrees outside!”

Kimberly Belle: Food Maven, by Kimberly Belle (@kimberlybelle): Roast Side of Salmon with Garlic Aioli
“I want to dispel the myths surrounding fish and its preparation. It isn’t difficult to prepare–it doesn’t need heavy braising, attentive basting, lengthy marinating or any of the other processes involved with the pork, chicken and beef in our lives–in fact, it’s one of the easiest entrées par excellence.”

Jackie’s Happy Plate, by Jackie Alpers: Healthy Lox and Cream Cheese Fritatta
“Growing up, in my family we liked our salmon smoked. Preferably on top of a bagel and cream cheese… I still love the lox and cream cheese combo, and I love it even more with red onion, tomato and capers.”

Tasty April, by April Hall (@mediaapril): New World Gravlax
“I don’t know about where you are, but it is freaking hot here! So when this round of the Dish It Your Way Challenge was salmon, I decided to go another way. Let’s cool things down, and add a little tequila.”

The Evolving Epicurean, by Carmel Montgomery (@nopogal): Easy Salmon Cakes
“Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve been completely spoiled with some of the best salmon in the world. I’ve even had the privilege of getting fresh Alaskan salmon in my youth when a friend’s uncle would go fishing for a couple weeks up there and bring us fresh and home-smoked salmon (this is where my bagel, cream cheese, and any-kind-of-salmon combo obsession comes from).”

Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, by Megan Pence (@CountryCleaver): Oven Fried Salmon Wontons
“Here in Seattle, we love our salmon. I don’t know about the rest of the nation but here we thrive on it. Perhaps it’s rooted in our affinity for Flying Fish down at Pike’s Place Market, or spending hours out on the rolling water out-fishing your Dad (like I did) – but either way it’s a staple here and when I think of culinary culture in Sea-town, I think Salmon.”

It’s Not Easy Eating Green, by Rebecca Richmond (@easyeatinggreen): Spice Crusted Salmon with Watermelon Salsa
“Strangely, until I was an adult I only ate shellfish. Oh the regret I feel over all that other fantastic fish that drifted under my nose and on to someone else’s plate. Then I moved to the Boston area as an adult, where I was confronted with a tough problem. Fresh out of college and dirt-poor, I couldn’t afford the local shellfish. I was forced to teach myself to like finned fish.”

Lynn Deasy, by Lynn Deasy (@LynnDeasy): Savory Poached Salmon
“ ‘My recipe for the salmon challenge! They published it! Cook’s Illustrated stole my recipe!’And with that, my Ace in the hole was gone…”

Chicago Food Snob, by Joe Campagna (@chifoodsnob): Sautéed Salmon with Perfumed Forbidden Rice, Bok choy and a Honey, Orange Soy Glaze
“To overcook or wastefully butcher the fish is not only a waste of the salmon’s life but also the hard work that went in to raising, catching and transporting the fish. This lesson is something I apply to all my ingredients, respect.”

Dessert by Candy, by Candy Wong (@DessertByCandy): Gravlax
“For the time being, I’m all salmon’ed out. One whole fish really is a little too much for one person but I think my fulfilled my quota on omega 3.”