Brown Sugar Pecan Salmon & Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Thyme and Garlic

almost shoulda coulda taken a pic of this tonight. i haven't even posted on this bloggie in forever, and i'm pretty sure the only people who have this on google reader is Elise and maybe Shannon. :-) So hello!!!

BUT -- this dinner was so flippin good, I was just gonna email the recipe to myself (which inevitably gets lost in my inbox) then I remember this blog, and thought this is a much better place to keep it to use for future. B/c this one will definitely get used again. Probably when we have company over for dinner and get a larger piece of salmon from Costco, vs 1 pound from local grocer.

Salmon Fillets With Brown Sugar Pecan Glaze
Adapted from SouthernFood.About.com

4 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon water
4 salmon fillets, about 6 to 8 ounces each
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil

In a small nonstick pan, brown the pecans lightly over medium-low heat for a few minutes. Add the brown sugar, butter, and water; heat until simmering (about 3-5 minutes). Set aside.

Heat oven to 425°. In an ovenproof skillet (I used an All-Clad pan, but I also read in the comments section that someone transfered salmon and olive oil from pan into glas baking dish) over medium-high heat; heat the olive oil. Once oil is hot, add salmon, skin side down and sear for about 2 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the fillets for 5 minutes. Spoon glaze over salmon fillets and continue roasting for about 5 minutes longer, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.  (We ended up cooking ours for about 15 minutes total, but it's because our fillets were pretty big and thick.) Turn the oven off and let salmon stand in the oven for 2 minutes.

Thyme-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Adapted from Epicurious

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
Fresh thyme leaves from about 2-3 sprigs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (for just a tad bit of kick!)

Preheat oven to 450°F. In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss. Arrange potato slices in single layer on heavyweight rimmed baking sheet or in 13x9-inch baking dish. Place on top rack of oven and roast until tender and slightly browned, about 30-40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Also served plain white rice to round off the plate. :-) Those pecans with the brown sugar caramelized were seriously like candy. I wouldn't mind adding more of that topping.