Salmon = Summer

As some of you may know, I was once an embarassing picky eater.  While I have come around to all kinds of food and become a very adventurous eater...some of those weird tendencies followed me into adulthood, for example my refusal to eat eggs and seafood.  In the last year or so I decided to give them another try, because frankly my refusal to eat them was based on some strange mental block, and not on whether I actually enjoyed them.

Suffice to say, I have been a big fool for the last 28 years.  Eggs and fish are two of life's most amazing things.  Who knew!  (I guess everyone who kept pushing me to try them).  I will post on eggs separately, because tonight is all about salmon...and how much I love it, with all my heart.  It is literally one of my very favorite things in life and this is my first Summer eating it.

Copper River!  Sockeye!  King!  Oh my!  Make no mistake, I am eating it at EVERY chance I get.  Grilled salmon, baked salmon, sauteed salmon, smoked salmon...and lastly cured salmon (lox) which I have yet to try.  That will be remedied very soon.  In an earlier post titled, "Recent Cooking Adventures," I shared a recipe I attempted with my Dad called Salmon with Lentils and Mustard Herb Butter.  It was an incredible dinner and great experience to get to cook it with my father who is an incredible cook.  I had never cooked fish on my own and he gave me some great tips.

Tonight I decided to go out on a limb and try salmon on my own with no supervision.  This may seem reasonable to you, but it was terrifying to me.  Especially since I bought a $10 wild king salmon filet for myself and did not want to ruin it!  So here is what I made - Foil Wrapped Salmon w/Lemon & Rosemary.  Now, I don't want to toot my own horn, but it was INCREDIBLE.  Please make this for yourself at your earliest convenience.  It is simply delicious, easy, healthy and impressive.

 The fillet of wild king salmon on tin foil.  I put a little olive oil on the foil and placed the salmon skin down.  Then sprinkled the fish with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and fresh chopped rosemary from the garden.

 Next put 2 thin pats of organic pasture raised butter on top of the fish (over the herbs).  Place very thinly sliced lemon pieces on top of the salmon.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this, but thinly slice a shallot and 4 cloves of garlic.  These should be placed all over the salmon.  Then fold up the foil and crimp on all sides to make the package airtight.  Place package on a cookie sheet and place in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Serve immediately!

 I served the salmon with a side of blanched green beans with shallots and some roasted beets in a raspberry vinaigrette.  I also made a rainbow quinoa with miso butter below:

I have become obsessed with miso butter which I found in the Momofuku NYC cookbook.  Combine a cup of white miso with 5 tablespoons of organic pasture raised butter.  The butter and miso should be room temperature.  Combine in a bowl with a wooden spoon.  Keep in an airtight container and the butter will last for weeks.  I have been adding it to all kinds of things - corn, asparagus, green beans, bread and now quinoa!  It is so simple and incredibly flavorful. You can buy miso at an health food store or Asian market, but I personally like the Westbrae Natural brand found at Madison Market.

This is where I ate this incredible meal, with a glass of rose (my fav) in hand.  Happy Summer folks!