Just a Holiday time Dinner

Winter is here and so are the nice long evenings indoors sipping on Egg Nog or those heavy ales. The food to go with these has to be a little exotic – of-course on a weekday – time is at a premium. Today’s dinner is a nice & easy meal for a lazy winter evening.

Salmon baked in a buttery puff pastry along with scallions & carrots & a basic wine dill sauce – Served with a side of caprice salad done fresh.

Goes great with a rich spiced ale – Try the Unibroue – Maudite Amber ale.

Thought for the day – Never use a wine you would not drink, for cooking. If it’s not worth sipping – it isn’t worth cooking with either.

As always – Love is the most important ingredient.

Salmon puff pastry –

Ingredients –

-          ½ cup heavy whipping cream

-          6 TBSP fresh chopped dill

-          4 salmon fillets – 5-6 ounce each

-          ¾ cup each of diced scallions & julienned carrot

-          ½ cup chardonnay

-          4 TBSP unsalted butter – at room temperature

-          1 TBSP each of Olive Oil & lemon juice

-          ½ a pack frozen puff pastry thawed – I use Pepperidge farms as a personal favorite

-          Egg wash made with one egg & a TBSP whole milk

Recipe –

-          Season the fillets with salt, pepper & dash of lemon juice (just few drops) – let stand at room temperature

-          Filling – Sauté the carrots & scallions in the olive oil till tender & let cool

-          Using a rolling pin spread the puff pastry to a 16 by 16 inch square. Use some dry flour to ensure nothing is sticking on the surface used for rolling

-          Cut the pastry into 4 equal parts & spread 1TBSP butter on each in the center – enough to be covered by the fillets.

-          Place one fillet on each part & add a fourth of the filling on top of the fillet

-          Sprinkle one TBSP of dill on each fillet & seal the pastry using some of the egg wash

-          Place the pastry on a baking dish covered with parchment paper – seal side down & cover the dish with a plastic wrapper. Refrigerate for ½ an hr

-          Take out the dish – remove plastic wrapper & dab the remaining egg wash liberally

-          Bake at 400F for 22 – 25 mts till the pastries look done

-          In parallel to the baking make the sauce –

o   Bring to a full boil the wine in a pan

o   Add the cream & cook till reduced to ½ stirring constantly

o   As the sauce thickens add the remaining dill & the lemon

o   Add salt n pepper to taste. Stir for a couple of mts & turn the flame off & let the sauce stand

-          Once the pastries are done, let stand for a couple of mts & then slice down the middle

-          Pour sauce over the pastry and serve immediately.

-          A side of caprice salad does perfect justice to this meal.