Somethin' Fishy

Tex here, and you gotta love a 14 year old who asks, "Can we have salmon for dinner?" Of course, the fact that he's red-haired and oh-so-cute helps, despite his age. Like Virginia mentioned yesterday, surly teenagers. Oy!

Lucky for him (or it was his inspiration), I had a nice salmon fillet in the freezer. Mom was smart and scooped up the prettiest slab when it was on sale (from a reputable store, of course).

There was a time when the only fish I cooked did not have skin, and it was generally white fish, but Bobby Flay convinced me otherwise.

**WARNING: While no animals were harmed in the cooking of this fish, arteries may have been damaged due to a mom who got a little heavy-handed with the olive oil--Oh, wait...it's olive oil. That means we're in the clear. Nonetheless, it does pay to adhere to proper measurements as opposed to guesstimating.

Just look at this cut of fish. Isn't it pretty? Now all we need is some lemon pepper, a little bit of lemon juice, olive oil and a little bit of butter. Yep, it's that easy.

  

 Heat your oil (1-2 tablespoons) over medium-high heat in a large skillet.

In the meantime, cut up and season your salmon--a tiny sprinkle of salt, followed by a generous sprinkle of lemon pepper on both sides (not to mention the counter always needs a little too).

Once your oil is hot, I mean almost smoking, add your fillets, skin side down.

Now let the pan do the work. No flipping back and forth.

Oops, I almost forgot. Once your fillets are in the pan, add a tablespoon of butter. This is going to crisp that skin up nicely. You can see the edges are getting cooked already. You'll want to press down on them with your spatula/turner to make sure every bit of that skin comes in contact with the heat. Let them go for 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets.

Mine sizzled for 4 minutes, then I flipped them and pressed down again to get every inch in contact with the heat.

3-4 minutes later.... Aren't they pretty. Moist and flaky on the inside. And as you cut it with your fork, the meat falls away from the skin.

Add a little brown rice, some broccoli, and you've got one healthy meal.

Yes, even with a little bit of butter.

Love it!

Now, if you will join me in a toast.... Go ahead, raise your cuppa in the air....

To Bobby Flay. Thank you for changing my mind about salmon. And for being such a great teacher. (And he ain't so bad to look at either. I'm just sayin')

Happy Tuesday, y'all!