Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

For everyone out there who likes fish, and in particular salmon, this will surely become a favorite.  For all of you who don't like fish, neither did my friend Erica, and she cleaned her plate!  Erica is the pickiest eater I've ever met, but I lured her in with the promise of free dinner if she'd agree to try my salmon recipe, and to everyone's surprise, she liked it.  I may have to use her as my taste tester from now on!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min per inch of thickness (usually about 15 minutes)
Yield: # of salmon filets prepared

Ingredients:

•  1 Salmon fillet for each person, mine were about 1/3 lb each
• 1/2 - 3/4 cups brown sugar (or a brown-sugar substitute, like Splenda's)
• 1 tbsp garlic salt

Kitchen Items Needed:

• small bowl
• cookie sheet
• aluminum foil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
2. Mix brown sugar and garlic powder in small bowl with a fork.  The amounts given are estimates -- I always mix to taste.  You want the mixture to be sweet with just more than a hint of garlic.
3. Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
4. Rub each side of the salmon except the skin-side with the brown sugar mixture, and place skin-side down on the cookie sheet.  Sprinkle a little of the remaining brown sugar mixture on top of the fillets.
5. Cover with another piece of aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness in the thickest part of the salmon fillet.  An average of 15 minutes has worked well for me, unless you have some very thick salmon fillets.  The salmon should be fork tender when done.

The Recipe Rundown

Difficulty:  This is a fairly simple recipe; however, it may take a try or two until you discover the proportion of brown sugar to garlic salt that you prefer.  Everything else about the recipe is very straight forward, but for that reason alone, I give this recipe a 2-out-of-5 for difficulty, meaning beginner chefs should have no trouble if careful.

Taste:  If a picky eater that doesn't like fish will clean her plate, I don't think there's much else to say.  This is one of my favorites that I've been making for a couple of years now.  This definitely gets a 5-out-of-5 for taste.

Overall:  Since salmon is pretty healthy (even if covered in brown sugar), this recipe is super easy even after a long day at work, and it has been known to convert fish haters to fish eaters, I have to give this one an overall 5-out-of-5.

Suited for:  Everyone!  The sweet glaze for the fish can sway even the pickiest kids if presented well, and I have yet to find an adult that didn't like this recipe.

Serving Suggestions:  Salmon typically pairs well with rice, whether it's wild rice, rice pilaf, or just plain old white rice.  Since the salmon has a sweet glaze, some savory vegetables would round out a meal nicely, like green beans, asparagus, or a steamed medley of veggies.