Salmon with Rosemary, Lemon & Capers

I'm very lucky that fish has always been a big seller with the kids. They love both raw and cooked fish. I find the key to getting anyone (especially kids) to like fish is to properly season it and not to overcook it. 12-15 minutes is all you need, which is just about enough time to throw together a side dish to compliment the salmon.

This easy recipe combines all of the ingredients into individual foil packets. It simultaneously bakes, poaches and steams the salmon. You're guaranteed to infuse the salmon with the great flavor of the herbs, capers and lemon. 

Salmon with Rosemary, Lemon & Capers

With us, versatility is the key. If I don't have lemon, I'll substitute a dry white wine. No fresh rosemary? Use dried rosemary or fresh/dried thyme.

All ingredients into one foil packet

I ♥ those beautiful steam beads on the foil!

Salmon with Rosemary, Lemon & Capers

Salmon with Rosemary, Lemon & Capers

Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis

Ingredients

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
4 Tablespoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. 

2. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. 
3. Top each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of capers. 

4. Tent the foil and seal the foil packet tightly. Place packets (seam side up) on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

5. Remove from oven. Let stand for 2-3 minutes and then slightly open up the packet to release steam (be VERY careful, the steam will still be pretty hot).

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!

Scallop BLT's with Garlic Chive Aioli

I drooled when I saw the picture on Bite Sized.  Yes. I actually drooled at a photograph. 
A Scallop BLT?  Did they discover the perfect food?

The visual simply wasn't enough.  I had to recreate the dish for two reasons.  First, I had to taste this deliciousness and second, I wanted to take my own drool-worthy picture.

Here's my attempt at the later:

The kids knew that it was going to be a special night when they saw the cleaned scallops hanging out on the counter, in between paper towels. Luckily, they were well occupied so I wasn't distracted while searing the scallops.

Sear the scallops in butter and olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side

Cool scallops on paper-towel lined plate, just to remove some of the excess oil.

Slice tomatoes that are similar in size to your scallop.  I used small Roma tomatoes,.

Seared Scallop BLT's with Garlic Chive Aioli

Scallop BLT's with Garlic Chive Aioli

Makes 10 Scallop BLT's

Bacon

Line a baking sheet with foil and place 2 strips of thick cut bacon.  (I line the baking sheet with foil for an easier time pouring off the rendered bacon fat and for easier cleanup.)  Place into a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until crisp.  You can use the opportunity to make more bacon, but you'll only be using 2 strips for this dish.  Remove bacon from oven, cool on a paper-towel lined plate, then cut each strip into 5 pieces, about 1' each.

Scallops

Clean 10 scallops and dry excess moisture from them using paper towels.  

*Best to work in two batches so that the scallops aren't crowded onto the pan.

Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil and 2 TBSP of butter in a skillet.  Salt and pepper the visible side of the scallop. When the pan starts to smoke, place the scallop onto the oil: salted/peppered side down.  Salt and pepper the visible side of the scallop.  Let the scallop cook for 2 minutes, until a nice seared crust forms. Flip over and allow to cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove onto a paper towel lined plate, so that the excess oil will drain off.

Tomatoes & Greens

Find tomatoes that are similar in size to your scallops.  My local market had small Roma tomatoes.  Large cherry tomatoes would also work well.  I liked getting interior slices of tomato so that both sides are flat.  You'll need 10 interior slices, from 3-5 tomatoes.  

10 small leaves of your preferred salad green.  Spinach or arugula work best.

Aioli

I modified the Easy Aioli Recipe from epicurious

Mash 2 cloves of garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl until paste forms. Whisk in 1/2 mayonnaise, 2 TBSP olive oil, and 1 TBSP lemon juice. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped chives.  Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.

Building the BLT

Using a very sharp knife, slice the scallop in half, lengthwise.  Place a piece of spinach or arugula on the bottom scallop "bun".  Follow with tomato, bacon, 1 tsp of aioli and then top with the second half of the scallop.

Enjoy!

Eat, Drink & Be Yummy!

Orange Glazed Salmon

As much as I love food, I love good food prepared simply even more. When you get great quality base ingredients, I find that there isn't a need to over complicate the preparation. The other problem with complicated preparations is that they're usually time consuming.  With three kids singing the "when is dinner gonna be ready???" song, time is usually at a minimum in my kitchen.

Orange Glazed Salmon

Ingredients

2 pounds salmon fillet
1 cup orange juice (about 2 squeezed oranges)
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated ginger

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Thinly Sliced Tangerines (optional)

Orange Zest (optional)

Parsley (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Place orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. 

3. Cook and stir 10 to 15 minutes, until reduced by about 1/2 and thickened. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.
4. Stir balsamic vinegar and ginger into reduced orange juice.
5. Line a medium baking dish with parchment paper. 

6. Place salmon on paper, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper. 

7. Cover with 1/2 the orange juice mixture. 

8. Optional: Place sliced tangerines on top of salmon.

If you like LESS sauce (as pictured):

9. Bake salmon in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.

If you like MORE sauce:

9. Bake salmon in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

9b. Remove from oven and cover with 1/2 of the remaining marinade.

9c. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.

9d. Once salmon has been plated, add remaining marinade to each piece.

10. Sprinkle with orange zest and parsley. (Optional)

11. Prepare yourself for comments like "Ooooh, fancy dinner!" (Guaranteed!!!)

Eat, Drink and Be Yummy!

Shrimp Toast Bites

Very often, I eat something that I immediately want to learn how to recreate. This leads to frequent trips back to the restaurant, during my attempt to mimic the dish, so that I can try to hit each flavor and texture mark. Great for my palate, not so much for my waist and wallet.I love shrimp toast. And when I have small dinner parties where I can serve them immediately, these have become my go-to appetizer. When making these for the kids, they rarely have enough time to make it through the cool-down stage before being devoured!

Sesame Shrimp Toast

Ingredients:

½ inch piece ginger, peeled
2 garlic cloves
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup water chestnuts
1 egg white
2 ramps (when ramps aren't in season, I use 2 scallions)
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium, i you prefer)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 loaf sourdough or pullman bread, crusts removed and cut into 1 inch squares
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Into the cup of an immersion blender, place ginger, garlic cloves, cilantro, water chestnuts, egg white, ramps soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Puree.

2. Add shrimp and pulse immersion blender just to combine into a coarse paste.

3. Spread about 3/4 tablespoon of mixture onto a square of bread and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

4. Pour oil into a heavy bottom skillet and heat pan on medium heat.

5. Carefully place ONE square of bread, shrimp-side down and fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Flip square over and fry (on bread side) for another 2 minutes, until bread becomes golden brown.  

7. Remove from frying pan and taste for salt. Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a few more sesame seeds.

8. Add additional salt to main batch of paste, based on "test square".

9. Repeat steps 5-8 with remaining paste and bread, working in batches, until all bread squares have been fried with shrimp paste. 

10. Serve hot.

Eat, Drink and Be Yummy!