Pesto Roasted Wild Sockeye Salmon w/ Cauli-Mash & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This evening I made one of my favorite meals because each of the 3 items I prepared are my faves (Pesto Roasted Salmon, Cauliflower Mash, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts). I picked up a couple of large wild sockeye salmon fillets at Costco this weekend ($9.99/lb). Each was a little over 1-1/2 lbs. I cut one fillet up into portions, wrapped them and froze. The other one I prepared and roasted as a large fillet that I coated first with pesto. I usually use Mezzetta's pesto that comes in a small jar, but Costco had a large jar of their fresh pesto on sale so I decided to pick up a jar to try. It was really good and I would definitely purchase it again. Now, to be honest, I have never really been a big pesto fan. I find the taste to be too intense most of the time, but when you baste the salmon with it before roasting, the pesto cooks and goes from brilliant green to a more muted color and a delicate milder flavor. I do think that the pesto in its fresh state would overpower the mild salmon flavor but it mellows out perfectly when roasted atop the salmon. I typically roast smaller individual portions of salmon for 12 minutes but since I roasted the large fillet intact, I added 3 minutes for a total of 15 minutes which was perfect. You simply brush the salmon fillet with pesto (as much or as little as you like), place it on a foil covered sheet pan and into a preheated 450 degree oven that you immediately reduce to 425 degrees after placing the salmon inside. I roasted it at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, removed it from the oven and then immediately covered it with heavy duty foil and allowed it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. It turned out tender, moist and so delicately flavored by the pesto that roasted along with the fillet.

I roasted quartered brussels sprouts tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper on another sheet pan at the same time and they were done at about the same time. I had a large head of fresh cauliflower that I cut up into florets and cooked in 1 cup of water with about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt. I cooked it until tender and then uncovered the pan and turned up the heat and cooked until all the water evaporated. I then added a couple tablespoons half-and-half, 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 to 3 ounces of brick style cream cheese and then pureed it with my immersion stick blender in the pan. I absolutely love my stick blender for things like this. I seasoned the mashed cauliflower with salt and pepper to taste. Hubby couldn't stop oohing and awing over how delicious tonight's meal was. It was so good to cook again. Our a/c has been giving us problems over the last 2 weeks (4 service calls and 9 days without a/c in a 2 week period). That is part of the reason I haven't posted much because I haven't wanted to turn the oven on and we've had so much rain that we didn't get to grill other than maybe once I believe! I snapped a few photos our tonight's meal and included the link to the Pesto Roasted Salmon. Enjoy!