Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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!






14 comments:

  1. well it looks delish but I still dunnno - me and fish barely speak (my only exceptions have been catfist which has to be aunt jemima'd and deep fried and tilapia which has to be healthy! or sorta healthy anyways..I've tried salmon a few times and even the stuff in restaurants hasn't appealed to me yet. maybe I'll give it another go..

    Susanna

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    1. I'm with you Susanna. Love me some fried catfish. But then, we do live in Texas, so it's kind of a staple. And I love tilapia, too. Part of my reference to white fish. Always steering clear of salmon, except for the sushi variety. Then is my fave, totally different flavor, but thats a different story. But this salmon...? Me likely :-)

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  2. Oh my stars, that looks wonderful and so stinkin' easy!!!! Mindy, I must try this. Absolutely, positively stress on MUST!!!

    I love the way it darkened in the pan and I bet it would be good with Cajun seasoning (to make "blackened Salmon") instead of the lemon pepper....

    THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!

    I'm leaving the home base for a few days this week, trippin' to the heartland of the great U.S. of A. but next week I'm going to play with this!

    And I bought mushroom and sage infused olive oil on my research trip a few weeks back... Can you imagine brown rice made with mushroom and sage oil????

    (mouth waters, tries to NOT DROOL on screen, fairly certain someone, somewhere is WATCHING through computer camera eye...)

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    1. I'm covering my computer's camera eye right now!

      And Ruthy? The heartland? Are you venturing west of the Mississippi?

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    2. I'm with Jan, wondering where in the heartland Ruthy might be off to. And that olive oil does sound amazing. You must share your results.

      So are you traveling to get away from all the construction at your house? And you actually expect them to carry on without you? :-0

      By the way, Ruthy, you still have a bit of drool on your chin:-P

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  3. So easy! So delicious!

    But with my family, this is definitely a lunchtime only dish. One son and I LOVE salmon. The others can't stand to be in the house when I cook it.

    I'll be watching for one of those beautiful pink slabs to go on sale :)

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    1. It does have a slight odor, but the exhaust fan usually takes care of it. Sounds like a date for you and your son, bonding over omega 3's :-)

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    2. Actually, Mindy, I'm not sure it's the odor as much as the thought of fish cooking.

      Cretans. I live with Cretans.

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  4. I love a good, easy salmon! Thanks for sharing, Mindy! I'll have to try lemon pepper. Never thought of that!

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  5. Ack! I just realized I left off one thing--the lemon juice. I drizzle just a little bit of lemon juice over the cooked fish right before I serve it.

    Sheesh!

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  6. YUMMY!!!! I love salmon! And my husband had never had any before we met, but I cured him of that aversion. My favorite? Lemon, salt, water, pan. Done. YUMMY.

    But this, I have to try!! It looks so beautiful!

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    1. Way to go, Virginia. Set that man of your straight:-)

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  7. We love salmon at our house. I can't believe how many years I wasted thinking salmon was hard!

    Yum. I also envy you. I miss teens.

    Peace, Julie

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    1. I'm right there with you, Julie. Wasted years. And I'm sure one day I'll look back and miss the teen years just like I look back now and miss them as babies.

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