Bourbon Orange Broiled Salmon

I always try to have a couple of recipes saved in case I am in a pinch. Tonight is the perfect example. My original intention was to publish a recipe for Sole Meuniere, one of my most favorite recipes on earth. Unfortunately, the fish was a no show.

When I cross the bridge into Miami Beach, the first thing I think about is a fabulous food store called Epicure. Here you can find anything you want, with prices to match. My idea was to splurge on just one thing this week, and that was going to be filet of sole. Yesterday, I drove to the store in the middle of a torrential downpour, parked in ankle deep water and headed straight to the meat counter. You should have seen my face when I found out the price... $39.95 a pound!! Now, I think I am pretty shell shocked about everything these days, but this one takes the prize and almost beats the $18 Bellinis at Harry's Bar! Goes to show you the state of our oceans or the fact that there are still people in this world that will pay that for a piece of fish... at least in Miami Beach!

When we lived in Connecticut, I remember eating sole and flounder pretty regularly and never paying anything close to half this price. Don't think that our local fish here in Florida are that inexpensive either. Snapper, mahi -mahi, yellow tail and grouper at the docks in Key Biscayne sell for about $10/lbs, last time I checked... an extraordinary bargain when compared to the sole. Needless to say, I walked out of the store not only empty handed but with an $18 parking ticket to boot. Sometimes its better to stay in bed and call it a day.

One of the great things about this recipe, is that you can marinade the salmon in the morning before you go to work and have dinner in no time. Yes, it's not sole meuniere, but it is still quite delicious! Brace yourselves..it looks like we'll be eating a lot of salmon during this recession!

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Preparation

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag, and add salmon to bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 1/2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Prepare grill or broiler.

Remove salmon from bag, reserving marinade. Place salmon on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Cook 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting frequently with reserved marinade.