Dinner # 9 of the 12 Dinners of Christmas -- Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes

Have you ever bought something at the grocery store and end up throwing it out because it gets moldy and/or spoiled and/or slimy before you a chance to prepare it? I bought 5 pounds of sweet potatoes to make sometime the week before Christmas and ran out of time to prepare them before leaving on vacation for 9 days. Luckily potatoes last and last and last.

I picked up a side of salmon at Costco and decided to make a dish for dinner using half of my Christmas sweet potato stash. Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes appealed to both The Kids and The Parents. The Husband and I liked the combination of salmon and roasted sweet potatoes; it is a restaurant-quality union. Upon waking the morning after our salmon/sweet potato dinner, The Husband proclaimed, "I really, really, really liked last night's dinner." I guess he was dreaming about it. The Kids loved the maple glazed salmon and sweet potatoes with a touch of Asian flavor from the hoisin and soy sauces in the glaze.

Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes

I'll be adding Maple Glazed Salmon and Roasted Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes to the "Make Again" list. Any leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave on 70% power for about 1 - 2 minutes. If you have any leftovers that is.

Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes

serves 6

1 tablespoon butter
about 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/2" slices
olive oil
salt
pepper

3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
juice of 1/4 of a lemon

3 tablespoons brown sugar

6 salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a large baking dish and add sweet potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, sprinkle the potatoes with brown sugar and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine maple syrup, apple juice, mustard, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and lemon juice. Place salmon in a resealable bag and add half of the maple syrup mixture. Set other half of mixture aside. Allow salmon to marinate while the sweet potatoes bake.

After the sweet potatoes bake for 40 minutes, remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove salmon from marinade and place on top of sweet potatoes. Discard marinade. Pour the other half of the maple syrup mixture on top of salmon and return to oven. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and the salmon is just cooked through.

Remove from oven and serve.