Cooking Secret from the Pierson Kitchen

You know how the Supermarket pulls out all the stops for their Saturday afternoon or Sunday post-church rush? Energy drinks, cookies, and exotic fruit samples wait for hungry shoppers at the end of every aisle, hoping to fill their bellies while loosening their grips on their wallets. We usually pride ourselves on not being a member of that group. We like to enjoy the wide empty aisles of Target on a Friday night where you can meander at your own pace without distraction or bumping into crying children, and pick up your feet and ride your cart down the ice cream aisle if you so please (hehe). Who needs samples to enjoy shopping, right?

Well, sometimes those Sunday one o'clock samples really do pay off.

The other weekend we were grumbling along in Lunds (well okay, we never really grumble in Lunds, it's our favorite store, but we were disappointed in ourselves for shopping during the crazy hour) going down our list of Lunds staples (mostly produce), when something distracted me from the butt-end of the pineapple I was attempting to select.

What's this? They're sampling salmon today? Only at Lunds do you receive such a glorious consolation prize for shopping during nutty hour.

So I headed right over to the salmon booth and sure enough, it filled my belly and loosened my grip on my wallet. The real product on display was a lemon oil that can be used as a marinade on chicken and salmon, or in pasta dishes and stir fries. Honestly, this is the easiest way to create wonderfully tasty dishes. Such a light lemon flavor, but strong enough you don't need anything else - except maybe some parmesan cheese for the pasta (and the lady sampling the salmon used some dill-type seasoning called 'Fish Fry'). So far we have only used it in stir fries and pasta, but I am excited to bring out the grill this spring and continue the inspiration. We purchased our bottle on sale for about $11, so it isn't the cheapest thing in the world, but you don't need much at a time (and only at the end of cooking) so it will last for a while. I'm not sure where you can find this product besides Lunds or Byerlys (upscale MN grocery stores, like Wegman's in NJ) but I'm sure there are similar products.

My favorite creation thus far is probably the photo below. First stir fry a ton of veggies (asparagus, snow peas, broccoli, green pepper, onion, whatever!), with chicken. Only add the oil at the end as a finishing oil, and not much! Try a teaspoon or tablespoon and taste. We served ours over angel hair pasta with parmesan, feta cheese, and peanuts (Evan likes having the peanuts included with the stir fry veggies so they get crispy and warm).

Go buy a bottle and have fun!