Killing Me Softly With Salmon

True Story: I received this side of salmon as a random gift from my landlady, Marlene, exactly two days after I posted my Huffington Post column, entitled, Real Food Rehab: The Recession Issue. In it, I confessed my recent poverty due to the recession and how it'd affected my eating habits. She gave it to me without any hint she'd read my column, but I knew better. Giving me that salmon was a gesture I'll never forget; it mentally snapped me out of a place of lack and into a place of abundance; I suddenly felt rich and in a way, I was.

This pristine side of wild sockeye salmon was caught by Marlene's husband Bob, on a fishing trip to Alaska's Kenai River. It was boned, flash frozen, shipped back and resided in my freezer until last week when I finally decided how I wanted to prepare it and also, to give it the honor it was due.

As is my way, I'm constantly going to the library and checking out cookbooks - I enjoy experiencing the books before I choose to buy them. I've been reading and loving Martha Stewart's Cooking School, which is her version of Larousse Gastronomique or La Varenne Pratique, both classic cooking volumes with well-documented photos of technique which, I would guess, might be a little intimidating to a new cook. I highly recommend Martha's book to anyone - especially a newbie - who wants to learn techniques such as braising, sauteing and frying; who wants to know the proper way to make all the basic essentials from scratch such as mayonnaise, tomato sauce, pasta, biscuits, pie crusts, etc.

Anyway, on page 175 is a recipe for Grilled Side of Salmon. It's salmon sitting on a bed of citrus slices and herbs directly over the grill. You don't get crispy skin this way, (which I love) but you do get subtlety and depth from the aromatics.

In the event you haven't been gifted a large side of salmon, I implore you to go to a proper fish-monger (I love Dirk's Fish in Chicago) and purchase wild, not farm-raised salmon. The taste is superior, and again - here comes my mantra - it's better for you and the environment. I also understand that a piece of seafood such as this is a dear and precious commodity in today's world and you should not expect to come by it cheaply, but if you love salmon, it is a worthwhile splurge.

I served this with many bottles of Rose wine, a simple salad and plums poached in red wine, cinnamon and star anise for dessert. In hindsight, I think a big fat loaf of crusty bread with olive oil would've been great, too.

Grilled Side of Salmon
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes For the Home Cook

Ingredients:
grapeseed or canola oil to coat grill grate
4 lemons & 2 oranges sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 bunch basil & 1/2 bunch oregano or marjoram*
1 piece wild salmon - 2.5 to 3 pounds
coarse sea salt (I love Maldon) and fresh ground black pepper

Instruction:
Prepare the grill by using a chimney starter and hardwood charcoal to prepare a medium hot fire. To gauge a medium fire, hold your hand 4 inches from the heat and you should be able to hold it there for 4 to 5 seconds. Scrub grate with a grill brush and quickly wipe down with olive oil using paper towel, a pastry brush or sauce mop.

Lay the citrus slices on the grill followed by the herbs. Make sure it's big enough to comfortably and evenly bed the fish. Lay the salmon, skin side down over the herbs and season with sea salt and fresh pepper. Cover with the lid holes open and cook for 20 minutes (check the salmon at 15 minutes to make sure it doesn't over-cook.)

Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer the fish to a serving platter - garnish with citrus and toss some fresh herbs to make it gorgeous. Serve hot, room temp or cold. You can also prepare it up to 24 hours in advance and cover with plastic wrap in the fridge.

*If you're in Chicago, Smit's Farm sells herbs inexpensively for $2 a bunch at farmers' markets all over the city, four days a week, so be sure to check them out.

The Promise of Pizza

For way too long I denied my love of good pizza. It all had to do with some screwed up notions about which foods I considered to be healthy or unhealthy. Thank goodness I'm finally unshackled because I really love pizza. I truly believe when we deny the things we love the most that's when we create an unhealthy situation. It sets up a guaranteed, never-ending, self-punishing trigger. My advice? Be honest with yourself about your most fervent pleasures; own and revel in them. Give yourself permission to enjoy them from time to time and earn your own trust around them. That way, they cease to be your adversaries. Even better if you can replace the processed versions with real ones along the way.

I love a good, blistery, slightly chewy, thin crust pizza and lately, I've had this burning desire to learn how to make it from scratch. It's seriously daunting for me - I've never worked with yeast. Not to mention, there are so many pizza dough recipes out there making all kinds of promises, it's hard to know where to begin. So, for my first foray, I went with someone who has never let me down...Martha. The one, the only.

At the library, I picked up The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics and in it, there was a recipe for pizza dough. I followed it to the letter. After the second rise, I punched down the dough, turned it out onto my pastry board and cut in into six, equal-sized discs. I wrapped each one individually in plastic wrap and placed them in my fridge. I left for a few hours, came home and checked on the dough only to find that the Michelin Man had taken up residence in there! The dough had expanded yet again, so I peeled away the plastic, punched it back down, rolled it out, cut and wrapped it once more.

The thing I've neglected to share is that it was also my good friend's birthday that evening and she had come to rely on eating very well in my home, so there was a lot riding on this. I could feel the pressure mounting.

I had planned to grill the pizzas. Our first pizza, a classic Margherita - fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella - died a slow death on the grill because of my own incompetence - I forgot to properly oil the dough and added the toppings before their time. However, there were pieces of the dough that tasted like the charred, chewy and smoky hardwood flavor I was going for which, gave me hope. I decided not to take a chance and blow the next pizza so I popped it in the oven. This one was an homage to a pizza I'd had at my favorite Chicago restaurant, Avec. Thinly shaved beets, arugula, marjoram, Manchego cheese and Nicoise olives. The toppings were stellar but the crust, honestly, had little flavor. But with enough wine, laughter and open air we managed to still enjoy it.

I declare that I am making a commitment right here and now to master pizza-making. There will be ongoing posts until I get it right. Until it meets my very high standards. Until I become fluent in the language and the feel of it. Until I can imagine that Martha's coming for lunch, and know without a doubt, she's going to be absolutely blown away.