Lemongrass Ginger Salmon Skewers are the juiciest, full of flavor, and most delicious looking kebobs you have ever laid eyes on. The combination of herbs, spices, and sweet vegetables, give it intense flavor, and amazing texture. It may be winter but our grill is still hot and going.

Song of the day: "Oceano" by Josh Groban.

[Disclosure: We received free products from Cookina, but as always, all opinions are our own.]

Lemongrass Ginger Chinook Salmon Skewers are a great way to entice your family to the table. Their aroma hosting citrus and spicy hits. The nice char can be seen as crispy golden bits linger on the edge of these morsels, and the fact that salmon is good for you makes it an all round great dish!

Lemongrass is one of my favorite spices to use. If you ask anyone who knows me, especially Nicoletta, they will say he puts that s--t on everything. For me it is a happy herb, its citrusy and spicy aroma always evokes a smile and I love the way those little tiny grated morsels just burst with flavor and awaken your senses. Another thing I love are skewers, I love the look and that they cook quite quickly and you get such a nice char on them, and the fact that they are easy to eat. When we go to different food celebrations here like our Heritage Days or Taste of Edmonton, the smells of skewers whether chicken, beef, lamb or salmon drift in the air for my nose to follow and sample, even satay can entice me and we have a wonderful recipe coming up in the near future with a little twist and play on this type of skewer.

For today, we are going to stick with fish and Lemongrass Ginger Chinook Salmon Skewers are grilling in our wintery backyard wonderland.

There are many types of salmon, and ones you may know include Chinook, Sockeye, and Atlantic. There are numerous more to mention but in our neck of the oceans this is what we see most. Each salmon has its distinct flavor and aroma. The Sockeye being quite strong and pungent and then sliding down the scale comes the Chinook followed by the Atlantic, both of which are on the mild side and perfect for marinating and grilling. We only buy organic and fresh salmon; as a matter of fact we only buy fresh fish or seafood whether at the farmers market when available or at some of our local fish markets. We are not blowing at the seams when it comes to fish markets as we are a distance from the ocean, but thanks to modern day flight and passionate fish mongers we can get some pretty tasty fish and sea food. One thing I will mention is that the Atlantic salmon is only farm raised. Get to know your local fish farmers and their product, we have some great fisheries and their product in my eyes is very tasty. If you want wild fresh then the Pacific is where to buy from. So let's get to the nitty gritty of making this wonderful Lemongrass Ginger Chinook Salmon Skewers!

When I am making a marinade, I would have to say that I mix a little Canadian, with some Italian and leaving some room for those Asian flavors. With that being said the marinade for this lovely Chinook salmon is a combination of some condiments, mayo, mustard, and just a bit of maple syrup to sweeten the mix a bit. Add in some herbs, basil, rosemary a touch of dill, finishing with sesame oil, ginger and of course my favorite lemongrass. I did want to mention that you can deal with the lemongrass two ways. Buy it in stalks and beat it with the dull end of the knife, which releases its juices and fragrance, or you can find it in your local Asian markets all nice and grated ready to use. I used the grated ginger as I have not perfected my technique with fresh stalks.

So your marinade is done, and you have a nice piece of Chinook salmon, oh try and get a nice thick piece about 1 inch in thickness, this allows you to cut it into good size cubes for the skewer. I leave the skin on as it helps keep the fish together on the grill and also intensifes the flavor and moistness with that nice layer of heathy fat. Think of all those good omegas and all the good they do for you. Did you know that certain fatty acids control blood sugar and lower the risk of diabetes, how about that. The only thing you have to do is chop up some garlic and green onion, and get the marinade all up into the salmon cubes and I added some yellow pepper as I thought it would add just another level of flavor, not that we didn't have enough to begin with, but I am who I am and love playing with my food, lol. Into the fridge it goes to mingle and marinate for a few hours or even over night. Oh I almost forgot, I had a jar of mango chutney in the fridge that needed to be used and so into the plate it went, a quick massage and that's that!!

Get that grill nice and hot because these Lemongrass Ginger Chinook Salmon Skewers are coming!

One thing about winter is the temperatures are a little on the cold side. If it is like -20 I would not grill, the BBQ does not get hot enough, but if the temperatures hover below the low teens or even better below -10 then the grill is on and you may have to be patient as the BBQ heats up to that nice temperature perfect for grilling these babies. At the FBC conferance in Ottawa we meat these amazing people from Cookina Co. They make incredible cooking products which we were gifted with. We received a Cookina reusable baking sheet and also a Cookina reusable grilling sheet, ideal for grilling sticky marinated food, reusable, reversible, and easy to clean. I have to say I love it, especially for fish skewers. The fish does not stick to the surface, it's easy to turn the skewers and the best part the grill marks still appear on the salmon. I was amazed at how well this product works and even better, a quick wash and it is ready to use again. As you can see in the pictures, the salmon had a nice char and the caramelization that happened on the surface was incredible. By the juices coming off, I knew that these were going to be so moist!

These look absolutely smashing, the beautiful color of the salmon, the sheen of all those herbs and flavors shimmering on the surface in between the lovely charred bits. The juices lingering through the folds of this wonderful fleshy fish and that chutney with these morsels of mango just begging to be eaten, my mouth is truly watering. I use my fork to slide the morsels off and it is evident that the salmon is tender and succulent. The aroma of ginger, lemongrass, garlic, basil, rosemary just fill my nose with pure heavenly essence and my first bite takes my taste buds into skyrocketing bliss.

The salmon coming forth with those moist folds of pure Chinook goodness, rich with the pacific ocean coming through, the ginger adding a nice tongue spice with the lemongrass following behind with that cheerful and awakening bite. The acidity of the lemon is soothed by the sweetness of the balsamic cream. The chutney offers diversity in texture with those charred and caramelized bits just melting on my tongue along with bits of sweetness from red and yellow peppers. I absolutely love this dish. It is beautiful and oh so tasty.

If fish is not a favorite in your household, especially kids who are sensitive to fishy smells, I would highly recommend these Lemongrass Ginger Chinook Salmon Skewers. The kids will have fun just eating them right off the bamboo, while the juices run down their chin and fingers. Talk about finger licking good, lol. I know it's winter and many of you are in the deep freeze, if the temperatures are willing fire up that grill, if not, just do them in the oven on a grilling pan. If you can find the Cookina cooking sheets get them, they are truly amazing and I bet you won't be disappointed. Have fun cooking and release that passion for good food!!

Enjoy!

Song of the day: "Oceano" by Josh Groban.