Simply Salmon

For a cool summer evening


Salmon
Ingredients
(Serves 2-4)
1 pound whole salmon fillet, pin bones removed, neatly trimmed, and skin intact
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 generous pinches coarse kosher salt
6 full grinds of a pepper mill
1 sheet parchment paper (brown is not recommended)

Directions for the Salmon
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lay a sheet of parchment on a baking sheet and place the salmon fillet skin-side down in the center.
3. Thoroughly coat the fillet and an inch or so of the surrounding parchment with the olive oil, creating a slick and glossy surface.
4. Generously and evenly season the fillet with salt and pepper. Hold your hands about eight inches above the fish when seasoning for more even distribution, thus avoiding salty or peppery patches.
5. Gather the parchment by both long sides and bring them together, folding over two or three small folds with a sharp crease, until you have a neat packet. Then fold the open ends two or three times in the same way, tucking them under the fish, thus creating a tightly sealed packet from which no steam can escape during cooking.
6. Place the packet on the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven and cook for exactly 10 minutes. Remove and, in good light, check the fish's color by peeking inside the parchment without fully opening it. It should be pale pink and opaque at the edges with a broad swath of still-translucent orange flesh down the center.
7. Return to the oven for about five more minutes, or until the rare-looking swath has narrowed to a half-inch stripe. Don't overcook it!
8. Remove the salmon from the oven. Very carefully, open the packet and release the steam to prevent further cooking.

Creamy Lemon Rice
Ingredients
2 cups excellent, rich chicken broth
4 large egg yolks
½ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ cup frozen peas
1 bunch of scallions, sliced to yield a scant ½ cup of rings
2½ cups cooked rice (day-old is more than fine)
2 generous pinches coarse kosher salt, or to taste

Directions for the Creamy Lemon Rice
1. Bring the chicken broth to a simmer on the stove top in a stainless-steel pot and keep it simmering as you gather the rest of the ingredients. It will slightly reduce and intensify in these few minutes.
2. In a stainless-steel or glass heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then add the lemon juice and whisk until blended.
3. Add a ladleful of hot stock to the egg-lemon mixture and whisk thoroughly.
4. While whisking, slowly add the hot egg-lemon mixture into the pot. Stir or whisk gently over medium-low heat while the liquid ever so slightly thickens and changes color from bright to pale yellow, about two minutes. Add the peas and the scallions, which will turn bright green in the first few seconds as they blanch in the hot liquid. Stir gently until the peas are warmed through, then add the cooked rice. Stir thoroughly, then turn off the heat and let rest, covered for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. To serve, spoon the soupy rice onto a platter with a rim. Place the salmon on top and gently pull it apart into large hunks. Leave the skin stuck in the parchment.
6. Taking care not to spill, lift the parchment and pour the accumulated juices over the salmon on the rice.

Colorful Sandwich Presentation

Perfect for Entertaining

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
1 pound (scant 2 cups) fresh ricotta
Zest of 2 lemons
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 teaspoons for drizzling
2 pinches coarse kosher salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 long, even slices of very good bread
2 large, perfectly ripe avocados (approximately 18 ounces), at room temperature
1 pint mixed-color grape tomatoes, cut in half horizontally (you won't use quite the entire pint)
8 red pearl onions equaling 2-3 ounces, thinly sliced into rounds (or equivalent in thinly sliced red onion)
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Skin of 1 preserved lemon, flesh removed, finely diced
½ teaspoon toasted poppy seeds

Directions
1. Mix the ricotta with the lemon zest, ¼ cup olive oil, and salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. Arrange slices of bread on a cutting board and divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the four slices. Spread into a generous even layer.
3. Split the avocados, remove the pits, and slice each half into even slices without cutting all the way through the leathery skin. Then, with a soup spoon or a flexible rubber spatula, release the flesh and arrange the slices neatly and evenly among the bread slices.
4. Artfully and attractively arrange the tomatoes by nesting them into the soft avocado. Then arrange the red onion slices over the tomatoes.
5. Garnish each sandwich with the sesame seeds, the preserved lemon skin, and finally, the poppy seeds. Transfer to plates and drizzle with olive oil.

Scrumptious Summer Sweets

Rasberry cream cookies, chocolate strawberry candies, strawberry-pistachio tartlets, blueberry gumdrops, fruit-topped poppy seed pavlovas, rasberry candies, rosé gelée, custom Papabubble candies and berry fianciers


Wedding Cake Inspiration Four-tier cake by Kromer that feautres adornments inspired by the moldings in stately houses