The Quick Fancy Feast

 Food and I

A Short History

     I wasn't a terribly picky child, I ate anything my parents put in front of me unless it was something spicy, cauliflower or carrots. Spicy was just a no-no, I don't mind a little "heat" in my mouth now, but I hate when my whole mouth is on fire, its just not appealing to me. My hate for Cauliflower, was something I grew out of along with most of the dislike phases I went through growing up, pickles, onions and other random things that you find in food regularly but as a child don't want to know about. Carrots and I have a love-hate relationship. I love the taste of cooked carrots, and I love the way carrots brighten up a plate of food, soft, mushy carrots YUM, but ask me to eat them raw and I'll probably vomit on you. Texture is a huge thing for me, especially when it comes to food, and raw carrots have an ungodly texture, like eating bark chips. EW!

     I was raised on mainly home cooked meals. But there was also a 6 month period after my parents divorced that my father fed us only Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) which are the military's version of Lunchables. They're good for like 100 years... basically forever. 75% of the MREs are flat our disgusting, but when you eat them continuously for that long you start to learn which ones are almost taste good. Don't get me wrong they're great for camping trips (because the raccoons and bears want NOTHING to do with them) and compact enough for 72 hour emergency kits, they even have a cooking mechanism in the bag so you don't have to eat the food cold. They have their uses, but I don't want my home cooked meals to taste like MREs so I generally steer clear of frozen, super processed and food that doesn't expire.

     Does your husband LOVE Tabasco? Does he put hot sauce on everything whether it needs it or not? Did he spend months in the field?  Does he do field ops regularly? Don't worry its probably not your cooking. His love of hot sauce or Tabasco could be due to eating MREs consistently in the field. Every MRE comes with a little packet of napkin, fork, knife, salt and pepper (not nearly enough to make it appetizing) and guess what? .... BINGO a mini bottle of Tabasco!! My Father and Stepmom were so used to drowning out the flavor of the MREs during their Nation Guard service that they basically just started putting it on everything. Nowadays they only use it when they actually want something spicy (so don't worry its curable!) They're both fantastic cooks now and every time Hubby gets leave and we go home, I try to spend as much time in the kitchen with them as I can. I wish I had spent more time in there with them while I was growing up, and now they always send me recipes and cooking tips. I'm learning to be a better cook but basically I'm undomesticated at this point.

This recipe is super quick and easy and has a really nice basic flavor to it, you can embellish it a million different ways. My grandmother actually gave me this one and its perfect for one or two people, you can even make it in a toaster oven! I PROMISE IT TASTES BETTER THAN IT LOOKS! Please pardon my MAJOR camera faux-pas of taking the picture of it on the aluminum foil vs. a plate :[ We were super hungry!

Prep: 10 mins  Temp: 350 Cooktime: 10-20mins maximum 

Ingredients

• 1 salmon steak per person (or one giant filleted whole salmon then you put all the ingredients in the middle not on to, but I've never tried this so be careful!)
• Mayonnaise
• Mix of seasonings (I use salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion powder)
• Capers
• A bit of fresh lemon squeeze

Directions

1.  Line a cookie sheet or pyrex pan with aluminum foil
2. Arrange salmon as desired and sprinkle lemon queeze sparingly
3. Season lightly
4. Spread mayonnaise over salmon just thin enough to cover without seeing the salmon, I like to leave the edge of the salmon out, they get a little crispy
5. Drain capers and sprinkle on top, they become more tangy and less tart after they're cooked
6. Bake in Oven at 350 until top starts to turn golden brown  normally around 10-15 minutes
7. Use a large spatula to serve, the salmon should slide right off the skin which will be stuck to the aluminum foil, ball the foil up and throw away = no stinky fishy dishes

We normally let it bake a little longer so the tops are more golden but the stove we currently have is awful, it dries the salmon out if we bake it much longer. Consuming raw fish can be very bad! use a fork to check the thickest part of the steak it should open up it you poke it and then twist your fork 90 degrees.

BONUS-- If you family likes asparagus like my husband and I, you can just sprinkle them with salt and pepper, lightly roll them in olive oil and then bake them on the same sheet as the salmon! Entree and a side all in one. Be careful of your ovens hot spots though, the asparagus is fully cooked when it turns bright green, and it should still have a crunch to it.

Did you try a variation of this? Let me know I'm always looking for something new to try!