Oven Roasted Herbed Salmon with Herb Cream Sauce

This dish looks complicated, but it's not. It's simple... and delicious... and not my idea. I stole the idea from my son, Chris.

Chris is a lot like me. He gets his inspiration from dishes that he has been served while eating out or while trying to create something really tasty from what happens to be in the refrigerator or freezer.

When Chris made this dish for Tom and me a couple of years ago, he cooked the fish in a foil pocket which he inserted into a paper bag and placed on the outdoor gas grill. The heat from the gas grill cooked the fish and the burning paper bag provided some smokiness to the flavor of the sauce. Mmmmm.

Tom wanted to bake the fish in puff pastry, but I don't like the flavor of fish-soaked, soggy puff pastry, so we compromised. We served it on a square of baked puff pastry. It was amazing.

Oven Roasted Herbed Salmon with Herb Cream Sauce
adapted from Chris Powers' recipe by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and cut into four squares
2 shallots, sliced thin
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 handful chives, chopped
3 sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped
1 small bunch of basil, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Note: These are the herbs I used because most of them grow in my herb garden, but you can use whatever combination of herbs you like.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Lay the four pieces of puff pastry on the sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the pastry is puffed and lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 425ºF.

Line a 9X12-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, making sure the foil is wide enough to go up the sides of the dish because you will be using another piece of foil to cover the fish, making an aluminum foil packet.

Lightly salt and pepper each fillet on both sides and place the fillets in a single layer on the foil. Cover the fillets with the shallots and the rest of the herbs. Pour the wine gently over the fish. Put 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each fillet. Cover the fish with another piece of aluminum foil and seal the two pieces of foil together tightly. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish fillet.

Remove the fish from the oven and carefully unwrap the foil. Remove the fish fillets from the foil, scraping the herbs from the top of each fillet back into the wine at the bottom of the foil packet. After all the fillets have been removed, gently pick up the foil from the pan and pour the wine and herbs into a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Pour the the mixture into a small pot, add the cream and bring to a boil over high heat on the stove. Simmer gently until sauce is reduced a little and slightly thickened.

To serve, place one square of puff pastry on a plate. Set one salmon fillet on top of the puff pastry. Pour the sauce over the salmon and pastry.

Chicken Marsala with Parmesan Grits

I'd like to say that my mom was a great cook. I'd like to say that, but it would be a lie.

Mom was not a great cook, but she was an abundant cook and most of the meals she prepared were hearty, plentiful dishes: chili, burritos and beans, pork chops and mashed potatoes, pot roast, liver and onions, spaghetti. You know, the normal 1950's and 1960's family fare; cheap and plentiful. She was feeding a family of seven with 5 hungry, growing girls during a time when young girls did not define themselves by their dress size and size "zero" had not even been invented. We ate and we ate a lot.

My parents had a culturally diverse group of friends with whom my mom shared recipes, so she was always experimenting with foods from other cultures ~ Japanese, Indian, Portuguese ~ and added Chicken Teriyaki, Sukiyaki, Shrimp Curry and such to our menu. Dishes that could be supplemented with an abundance of rice, noodles or beans were the staples for their 5 growing daughters. As long as the recipe was economical to prepare, my mom would try it and more than likely make it often.

But, there were dishes that were special to our family; dishes that mom would prepare just every once in a while even though the ingredients were more costly than usual and exceeded her weekly budget. A dish we called Veal Scallopini, actually Veal Marsala, was one of those. My mom sauteed thinly pounded veal medallions and served them covered in a velvety, savory sweet sauce of butter, garlic, mushrooms and nearly a whole bottle of a good Italian marsala wine. I can taste the sauce to this day even though it's been probably 30 years since I've eaten my mom's Veal Marsala.

I rarely use veal. It is not a meat that is abundant here in Arkansas. Instead I use skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces pounded thin. I have also tweaked my mom's recipe some by reducing the amount of butter (she used 2 cubes - a full half pound) and adding a little chicken broth. My mother served this with mashed potatoes. I served this with Parmesan Grits. But, you can serve it with angel hair or spaghetti pasta or egg noodles.

Chicken Marsala with Parmesan Grits
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour, for dredging
1 tablespoon flour, for the sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 of a cube) of butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cups Marsala wine
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Slice each chicken breast lengthwise so you have four long fillets. One at a time, place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound gently using a flat mallet until each piece is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut each piece in half, yielding 8 pieces.

Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Put the 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour.

Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat and saute each piece of chicken quickly until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat until all pieces are cooked.

Add the shallots, garlic and mushrooms to the pan and saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are just cooked. Sprinkle the mixture with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix well. Add the butter to the pan and cook until it is melted. Mix the chicken broth and Marsala wine together in a 2-cup measuring cup and add slowly to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauces thickens, about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken to the sauce and cook until chicken is warmed through.

Parmesan Grits
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

I had never eaten grits until I moved to the South. I still don't care for plain, undoctored-up (I know, that's not a word) grits, but I've had fun adding different ingredients to change the flavor to compliment other dishes. This one is particularly easy.

I've tried instant grits and quick cooking grits. The quick cooking grits have more flavor and the texture is more predictable.

This recipe serves 4.

3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup quick cooking grits (not instant)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a small pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the butter. When the butter has melted, slowly add the grits to the boiling broth and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the parmesan cheese a little at a time, stirring well. Serve.