Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Rosemary and Smoky Glazed Asparagus

So easy, so delish, so juicy...you have to try this! I've been wanting to experiment with fish on the grill. I have several good recipes but some are complicated and I didn't have much time last night...plus it was a hot, humid night so I wanted something that would cook pretty quickly. I found a recipe for a beach picnic from Giada De Laurentis that includes grilled salmon that you can prep at home and bring to the beach to grill. The salmon is grilled in foil....which traps all the yummy flavors and juices and makes the grilling and the clean-up super easy. Me likey.

Brush the top and bottom of salmon fillets with extra-virgin olive oil and season with sea salt, pepper and fresh rosemary leaves. Her recipe says to mince the rosemary leaves but I just snipped some rosemary stalks from my garden and place the whole stalks on top of the fish. Some people don't like to actually eat the herbs so this way you can just remove the stalks and eat the salmon (plus the bonus of less prep time and it's really pretty) Place each piece of salmon on its own piece of foil (I did this from the start before oiling and seaoning). Top each piece with fresh lemon juice, a little white wine, and a few capers (I didn't have the capers so I just skipped this). Finally, place 2-3 lemon slices on top of the fish, then put the rosemary on top of the lemon slices....gorgeous! Wrap up the salmon tightly into foil packets.

Grill directly over a hot grill and cook for about 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. I am definitely making these again and again. I've never eaten juicier salmon and all the wonderful lemon and rosemary flavors were infused in the fish. Loved the clean-up!

To go with the salmon I made smoky glazed asparagus. You marinate the asparagus for 30 minutes in a mix of mayonnaise (I know it sounds weird but it give the asparagus a beautiful blistery crust when grilled!), extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, a crushed garlic clove, sweet smoked paprika, kosher or sea salt, cumin seeds (I didn't have this so I substituted with regular cumin). Grill the asparagus directly over moderately high heat, turning, until blistered in spots and tender. At first I thought the mayo sounded weird and I love my asparagus grilled with a simple olive oil, salt and pepper seasoning but this version is a nice change and the texture is ridiculous and the flavor is more interesting. It would also be a nice side for a juicy grilled steak...oh yeah!