dinner with the grandparents

i put together a rather large meal, and i'll be posting the courses one by one. we love having people over and i love cooking for those people, so i went all out when we had my grandparents over for dinner friday night.

cheddar chive biscuits, shrimp kabobs, maple glazed salmon, mushroom-green bean risotto, fudge brownies and fruit salad for dessert.

with this being such a big meal to make from scratch i had to start a day early to get some things out of the way. there's only so much i can accomplish in a day with two babies under two.

the salmon i always start a day ahead - you have to give it 24 hours or else it won't be as good as it should.

maple glazed salmon marinade:

• 1/2 cup maple syrup - if i'm out i always use regular syrup, it's still good.
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• grated ginger to taste. i always put in a table spoon or more, we love ginger. ginger is an ingredient i use a lot because it's something we can get in a small town and it keeps so well in the freezer you don't feel bad about paying a little more for it. and i find grating it frozen is easier and once it's grated it thaws instantly.
• fresh cracked pepper
  

marinate salmon then prior to baking coat top of salmon with freshly cracked pepper. bake at 400 for 15-20 min, depending on the thickness of the salmon. it's done when it flakes with a fork, it can over cook easily.

*first time i had this our friend alysia had us over for dinner. that was about 6 (??) years ago. thanks alysia, this is still a favourite - the ginger is a great addition to your already awesome recipe.