Jon Rowley sent me this photo of Lummi-style salmon, which immediately made me hungry for that fish. But this is the dead of winter, and it's tough to get good wild salmon. Right?
I found Copper River salmon -- previously frozen -- on sale at Met Market for $10 a pound. I'm a little leary of frozen, but it looked so good, I bit. Cooked it using Rowley's sure-fire, fool-proof method, which he's writing about in an upcoming issue of Gourmet magazine. It involves searing it on the stove top and finishing it in a 275-degree oven for 15 minutes. It was perfect, paired with Thai curry sauce and a savoy cabbage slaw. (A variation of a recipe from Terra, the beautiful restaurant in St. Helena, Calif.)
I am determined to eat more salmon this winter, even exploring canned salmon. Sure would love to hear some success stories about recipes that include canned salmon. Feel free to e-mail me at leslie.dines@gmail.com.
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I <3 St. Helena. My husband's grandparents live there (and he even spent part of his childhood there). His grandfather just retired from being a St. Helena postal worker after 42 years. Wow. 42 years at the same job! They had a big retirement dinner at Silverado Brewing Company which is between St. Helena and Calistoga, and the food was darned tasty. The steak with the chipotle butter was good on its own, but the creamed spinach was some of the best I've ever had in my life. YUM.
If you're ever down here again, check it out for some more casual dining in the Valley.
One of my favorite spots in Napa Valley is Taylor's... man, I love those seared ahi burgers.
Congrats to your grandfather-in-law on his retirement... can't help wondering if he'll be able to afford to continue living in St. Helena...
LK
Taylor's is pretty good. They actually have a Taylor's Refresher in the SF Ferry Building now, too.
The good news for my grandparents-in-law is that they own their home outright. Since they don't have to pay for the house, that makes a huge difference. They've lived in that same spot most of their lives. It's incredible, too, since the home they own is on a corner lot with a good-sized yard. They bought it for practically nothing back then, but it's worth a fortune these days, and the house isn't even that large!
Leslie, I am the master at cooking salmon at home. Here's what I do:
Preheat oven to 400. Put a couple tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick skillet, heat it over medium-high heat until browned. Salt and pepper the salmon filets, and lay them in the browned butter flesh-side down. Turn heat down to medium (if there seems to be some burning, you can add a touch of white wine or water to the pan). Let the filets get very golden brown (2 minutes) and then flip them so they're now skin-side down. Immediately put them in the oven and cook for about 4 minutes (more for really thick filets). Press with your finger--you want firm but not too firm (err on the under-done side, since carry-over cooking will occur even after you take 'em out). Eat.
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