What’s Cooking? Stuffed Salmon

Now don’t start thinking I cook something so fancy every night! And the fact that I think this is fancy should give you a bit of a clue about what's in store for future meals! My definition of fancy is pretty much having to use three or more pots and/or pans.

My husband and I decided to change things up a bit when we went out for dinner last week. We headed to Madison to . I worked there years ago and while I like to say I go there for the great salads (don’t you love when salad is included with your meal?) and homemade bread, I’ll admit it’s really for the mud pie–Oreo crust, coffee ice cream, thick homemade fudge and homemade whipped cream!

Anyway, I digress. We were there in time for the early bird dinners and while I love a good bargain, the salmon special jumped out at me–lobster stuffed salmon with hollandaise sauce and asparagus. It was well worth not going for the bargain!

So I did my best to give the meal a go at home. While we didn’t have any fresh-picked lobster meat on hand (surprising!), I had some minced clams and I substituted béarnaise for hollandaise (what’s the difference, anyway?) and broccoli for asparagus.

I defrosted the salmon–I like the individually fresh-frozen ones–most of the way and then slit them (not as easy as you’d think so some weren’t that pretty). I made some instant stuffing, adding the minced clams, some garlic and some lemon juice and stuffed the salmon.

While the salmon was cooking (400º for about 25 minutes), I steamed the broccoli and cooked the béarnaise sauce, only slightly burning the bottom when I got distracted making a bottle for the baby. And that was that.

It looked pretty on the plates and tasted good, too, evidenced by the empty plates. Even my four-year-old, who is a notoriously slow eater, finished before we were done cleaning up the kitchen!

Quick Fix

Ingredients

• Salmon filets
• Instant stuffing
• Minced Clams (can)
• Garlic (to taste)
• Lemon Juice (to taste)
• Béarnaise sauce (you need the mix, milk and butter for this)
• Broccoli (frozen or fresh)

What to Do: Slit the salmon filets. Prepare the stuffing. Add the minced clams, garlic and lemon juice. Mix. Stuff the filets. Bake at 400º for about 25 minutes. Prepare the sauce and steam the broccoli.