Quick & Easy Brunch

I love brunch. The idea of waking up late on the weekend and indulging in the perfect combination of breakfast and lunch is one of the most appealing concepts to me. There is something a bit classy and refined about brunch (maybe it is the mimosas), yet it still gives off the relaxed, laid-back vibe of the weekend.  I love it so much that I often find myself planning and dreaming of the delectable feast I will prepare when I awake the next Saturday or Sunday morning.  However, for reasons which I won't go into in the post (but usually as a result of my over indulgences the night before), I often find myself walking up on that lazy weekend morning feeling anything but motivated to prepare the elaborate brunch feast I thought up the night before. So I found this easy go to brunch dish that I can throw together quickly and easily, but still presents that "classy" image that you think of when you think of brunch.

Smoked Salmon Pizza
Precooked pizza crust (such a Boboli)
Chive cream cheese (buy it or chop up some chives and mix into cream cheese)
 Smoked salmon
Sliced tomato
 Sliced red onion
 Capers

Spread a layer of chive cream cheese on the pizza crust
Top with a layer of smoked salmon, sliced tomato, and sliced red onion
Sprinkle capers on top
Slice, serve and enjoy with your favorite brunch cocktail (mimosa, bloody mary, etc)

Sockeye Salmon & Cedar Planks

Gotta love sockeye salmon season! This wild-caught, full-flavored, rosy- pink salmon is one of my favorite summer time treats.  You can find this sustainable fish frozen all year long, but the price is much better when it is fresh, and seasonal. I got mine for $9.99 a pound at Publix this week. There are a zillion ways to prepare sockeye salmon, but on a cedar plank on the grill is my personal favorite. You can season it what ever way you prefer, but this fish has a lot of flavor doesn't need a lot of seasoning. Plus, you get lots of flavor from the cedar plank. This is an easy fish to cook, but because sockeye isn't the fattiest salmon,  one of the biggest mistakes you can make is over cooking it. Don't be scared though, it is delicious and the cedar plank helps a lot. Here is a recipe for my lemon-dill cedar plank salmon.

The most important thing you need to know is to make sure you soak the cedar plank(s) in water for a few hours (2 hours at the least) prior to putting it on the grill. Otherwise, your cedar plank will catch fire and burn up on the grill.