4 six ounce salmon fillets
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups spinach leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups seedless red grapes
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine about a teaspoon each of salt, pepper, mustard powder and thyme.
3. Drizzle salmon fillets with honey and rub with spices.
4. Heat half the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and brown both sides of salmon fillets.
5. Toss spinach and garlic with remaining oil and place into a large baking dish.
6. Place salmon on spinach, cover loosely with tinfoil and bake until cooked through to center and spinach has wilted, about 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, saut? grapes in skillet used to brown salmon.
8. Add the red wine and bring to a boil, reducing half the liquid to form a light syrup.
9. Remove salmon from the oven and top with grape sauce to serve.

Makes 4 servings

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into circles
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tesapoon dried parsley
salt and pepper
water

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook carrots until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cook sugar and water over medium heat in a skillet. Stir frequently until a light caramel has formed.
3. Add the carrots to the skillet, season with salt, pepper and parsley and coat with mixture. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound asparagus
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, curls or grated
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees with an oven-proof skillet inside.
2. Remove skillet from the oven, swirl with oil and toss in asparagus to coat completely.
3. Bake asparagus until slightly tender, about 6 or 7 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Scatter parmesan on top before serving.

Makes 4 servings

This definitely isn't a meal I think of when I picture Tuscan food, but the sources for these recipes all indicated that these are Tuscan recipes. Perhaps my perception would change if I had the experience of travelling throughout Italy under my belt, but for now I have to live with the images conjured up by food websites and The Food Network.

The Red Grape Salmon is really 3 dishes in 1. The recipe will read differently than what my picture will represent since I used frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh, so I had to prepare it separately or it would burn in the oven. The grape sauce is bittersweet and almost dessert-like, like Gran Marnier soaked cherries or something similar. The salmon is great and with the touch of honey brings it closer to the grape reduction, though Shannon disliked the thyme. Of course, saut?ed spinach and salmon is classic.

After making the Bourbon Sirloins last night, I had a hankering to cook something else in a super hot oven. There's something very satisfying about throwing things into a pan hot enough to brand you. The Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar satisfied my craving for the sizzle. I was so happy with the asparagus I bought The Other Day that I had to cook up some more before the sale passed. No surprises, this asparagus was great, as well. Using fresh parmesan curls would have been far better than my pre-grated bag stuff, but parmesan reggiano is going for a pretty penny these days.

My Caramelized Carrots didn't really caramelize to my liking, but they still tasted great. I've always loved carrots and they're always affordable and the more ways I can come up to utilize them, the better. This recipe is simple and sweet, but not overly so, and works wonderfully with the other flavors on the plate. All of the dishes were lightly sweetened in some way, but I did not find this sweetness to be overbearing as a whole. My only complaint about tonight is that my camera has grown a dislike for me and started blurring my pictures. I hope it's not noticeable in the smaller sizes.

By the way, the Apple Tart from last night improved considerably after being refrigerated overnight and would work very well as a dessert for tonight's meal.