Fish on Fridays and a Family-Friendly Cooking Class

It’s time for Lent again, which means I’ll need to feed my Catholic husband meatless Friday night dinners.  He’s not a big fish fan but this is the time of year when I can tryout new recipes and dust off the old tried and true ones.  Below is a family favorite and one that’s elegant enough for company.  We’ve made it numerous times in cooking class at The Herndon Community Center and it’s been eaten by students young and old.  If your kids balk about eating the capers and shallots, just scrape them off before serving.  My daughter loves this dish but she won’t eat the topping.  Of course she doesn’t realize that the salmon tastes so good because the fish has been infused with the briny capers and aromatic shallots.    Please see recipe below.

Most grocery stores have Lenten specials and I have had good experience with farm and wild caught salmon from Safeway, Giant, Harris Teeter and Bloom.  I prefer to purchase fish   the same day it will be cooked.  Most farm raised salmon hasn’t been frozen so you can put it in the freezer to be cooked later in the week.  Wild caught salmon is usually frozen right on the fishing boat and then thawed at the store.  I make it point to ask the fishmonger if the fish has been previously frozen.  If it has been, you can also ask for a still frozen piece if you won’t been cooking it right away.  I often do that with tuna steaks, when they are on sale ($6.99 a lb).  Having fish in your freezer means tomorrow’s dinner can be healthy, easy and delicious.  Allow 24 hours for thawing in the refrigerator.

There is still room in my “Family-Friendly Meals” class on Thursday March 1^st from 10 – 12 pm.  We’ll make turkey tenders, fruit salad and more (depends on what’s on sale at Giant that week).  I’ll also have coupons and copies of the Penzey’s Spice Catalog filled with great priced spices and delicious recipes.  I guarantee we’ll have fun and eat well.  Bring containers for any leftovers to bring home to your family. 

Lemon-Pepper Salmon

Epicurious.com

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dillweed
1 1/4-pound salmon fillet
1 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 tablespoons butter

Lemon wedges

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place large sheet of foil on baking sheet. Spray foil with vegetable oil spray. Mix shallots, capers and dill in small bowl. Place salmon on foil; sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning. Spread shallot mixture over salmon. Dot with butter. Fold up foil edges to enclose salmon; seal.

Bake salmon just until opaque in center, about 28 minutes. Open foil; transfer salmon to platter. Spoon any juices over. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.