Uncharted Waters: Salmon Wellington

I can't remember remotely how I came up with this one, but I knew it needed to involve frozen puff pastry. Puff pastry is one of the most understated ingredients I can think of. Found in the frozen section with two (2) sheets per box, they are delicious, versatile, elegant, and most importantly easy to incorporate into anything.

I have big plans for my pastry sheets but they first started as Salmon Wellington With Tarragon Beurre Blanc. If you recall, the more common Beef Wellington is tender meat tucked away in the a flaky puff pastry with various herbs and spices. Though I'm confident I didn't invent it, I decided to replace the meat with Pacific Northwestern Coho Salmon that I just happened to have in my freezer, (true story). Puff Pastry sounds intimidating but the recipe is quite easy:

Salmon Wellington

4 4oz salmon fillets

1 pastry sheet, thawed

3 shallots, sliced

tarragon

dill

1 egg, room temperature

Pre-heat over to 425. Flick some flour down on flat surface and gently roll out pastry sheet until fold marks are gone. Work quickly because you want the pastry sheet to stay as cold as possible before reaching the oven. Cut into pieces and place 1 salmon fillet in each square. Use your best judgement here. If the fillet looks too large, get the other pastry sheet. Be mindful though to use as little pastry as possible since it puffs up so grandiosely.

Salt and pepper each fillet generously. Place several shallot slices on top of salmon, then stack a frond of dill and a frowd on tarragon. Press down lightly. Drizzle with olive oil.

To package the salmon in the pastry, pull the pastry up along the longer side of the salmon. Line each side up above the fillet and fold into each other until taught. (Like how they wrap a sandwich at the deli). Curl the edges of the pastry on the short corners in towards the salmon. Secure by pressing with fork.

Lightly beat egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush each salmon package with egg wash and place in 425 oven for 2o minutes or until the pastry if puffed and golden brown.

Tarragon Beurre Blanc

I'm sure there's a great recipe online for Beurre Blanc but this is roughly what I did:

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup white vinegar

several dill fronds, chopped

several tarragon fronds, chopped

2 shallots, minced

1/2 stick butter

Reduce wine and vinegar with shallots and herbs for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Slice cold butter and add to saucepan. Stir constantly until butter is completely melted and sauce thickens. The object is for the acids of the wine and vinegar to breakdown the milkfat in the butter. Take off heat and drizzle on fillets when they come out of the oven.

We had ours with sautéed mushrooms and basmati rice and it was a slam dunk!

Make Your Man Love You Steak Dinner

This was one of the last meals we had in our old apartment. My man was craving meat and I think I delivered! It's filet mignon, boursin mashed potatoes (see earlier Father's Day post for recipe), garlic broccollini and for a personal and feminine flair, a simple caprese salad.

I seared the filet mignon seasoned with only salt and pepper in a cast iron pan and finished them in the oven until perfectly medium rare. I pulled them off and set them aside. It's always key to let meat sit for 10-15 minutes before serving, especially red (and expensive!) meat for the juices to reincorporate.

The sauce pictured is the inspiration for the "Make Your Man Love You Forever" title. A food critic/best friend of mine told me that after she pulls the meat off of the stove she adds a container of creme fraiche to deglaze the pan. The creme fraiche mixes with all of the delicious fatty bits of meat and melts in to pure divinity. I added thyme to mine to add more flavor and woodiness and it was spectacular. Thanks, Mullete!

In case you are wondering what creme fraiche is, it's a tangy soft french cream most comparable to sour cream, but much more delicate. You can find it in the specialty cheese section for about $6. It's worth trying out! I add it to pasta dishes to make an instant cream sauce and it's fabulous. Its tanginess adds another dimension of flavor to whatever you add it to!

As for the caprese salad, it is the quintessential salad at my house at home and I can never get enough. For this one I put down a bed of spring greens, diced red onions and of course the sliced mozzarella and tomatoes. I salted and peppered them generously but I didn't pour the balsamic vinegar and olive oil until we sat down. If you do it too early, as with ANY salad dressing, it makes the lettuce leaves soggy.

The broccoloni I did super simple with a splash of olive oil and two garlic cloves. I detest floppy veggies so with this method they soften only slightly on the outside and they keep their color. Broccolini tastes and looks very similar to broccoli with longer stems and less florets. They're an attractive alternative although apparently not related.

The way to his heart is through his stomach, right? Enjoy!