Salmon Round 2

So, if you haven't realized, I have been experimenting with ways to cook salmon lately.  I was terrified the first time I cooked it (just a week ago!) and now I feel like I have a handle on it, and it is even simpler to tinker around with than chicken.  It defrosts quickly in a bowl of warm water, which I love.  It also doesn't bleed as you prepare it, which makes it more appealing to me than a variety of other meats.  I don't like the blood taste of most meats -- nothing to do with animal rights, trust me.  Just a taste thing.  Once I think chicken tastes like blood I have a hard time eating it, and I never know what sparks the weird taste.

At first I wasn't a fan of the "fishy" taste, but I am getting better at finding ways to cook it that help get rid of it.  Today's recipe isn't my favorite.  I made a salmon today that is the best, so far, but I don't want to post that yet. Let's get you warmed up to the idea of salmon, so your dishes will only get better from here.

As a starting point for this meal, I had a big-sized container of nonfat, plain yogurt.  If you aren't familiar with that, it is essentially sour cream.  I also had a bit of Greek yogurt left, so I mixed the two together and was pleased with myself for using some stuff that was about to go bad.  I ended up with about a cup of yogurt.

At the store, I bought some dill and some green onions.  I used to never use dill, but now it is one of my favorite herbs.  I have found the more you try something, the better it starts to taste.

Anyway, I chopped up some of the dill, and about a third of the green onion bunch. To season, I added some salt and some WHITE PEPPER.  Stop here for a moment.  How do we all feel about white pepper?  I have used it twice now, and I can't help thinking it tastes and smells really weird.  I want to like it.  To be honest, my book on CD mentioned a mother-in-law who simply had to have white pepper, as an example of her pretentiousness.  It reminded me I had some and made me want to try it again :)  I don't think I like it! I know I just said the more you try something the better it gets, so I will have to give it another shot but...does anyone else have this same problem?  It tastes off in the way almost-sour milk tastes or slightly too-old lemons.  Something doesn't seem right. 

Anyway, I mixed all this up and put the salmon in a "baking dish."  I don't have any normal sized casserole dishes, so I have been using my trusty cake pan and it works just fine. I baked it at 350* for twenty five minutes.  Here was my big hurrah - I had just picked up parmesan FLAKES at the store, and was excited to use what I had left.  Yes, I did eat about half the container whilst cooking the salmon.  I put some (a lot) of flakes on top, and let it melt on top.

This salmon grew on me.  It wasn't an immediate favorite.  However, I started eating it and thinking a bit to myself..."oh man, I am being quite indulgent tonight, this is quite the meal..." and then I realized, "Holy cow, this stuff is all actually quite phenomenal for me."  So basically, it tasted like a rich meal with a cream sauce and cheese on top, but in reality, it was very healthy and perfectly filling.  It also made good leftovers.  The one thing it did not do well?  Photograph.

Tomorrow I will get to the failed (utterly) dessert I am continuing to chip off the pan and eat in bits and pieces.  It was a series of bad mistakes and, like I said, still the most delicious mistake ever. Maybe it didn't matter it turned out so poorly. I had about half of it eaten before it was even done cooking.

PS: One day left to decide whether my weekend adventures will involve what seems to be a close race between shopping for gargoyles or eating bread pudding. I'll put one more survey up tomorrow or Thursday morning to decide one more weekend activity! So far I am going to Birds of Prey and people watching from Thomas Hammer (something I think will work well during the Saturday market) as well as whatever else you decide!).