Salmon with Lemon Caper Sauce

My husband says I'm saucy, and that doesn't really have anything to do with my personality. I just like to have sauce on my food. Fish is no different. If I'm having fish and chips, you can pretty much count on the fact that there is a yummy tarter sauce sitting nearby for me to dip into. It isn't a requirement for me to have sauce on all fish I eat. Usually I love baked salmon with no sauce, but I made this last night and now, this sauce may be a requirement indeed!

Ingredients (Salmon):

- 4 6oz Salmon Fillets, with or without skin

- Cooking spray

- Dried Tarragon

- Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large glass baking dish, cover the bottom with cooking spray. Lay your rinsed fillets in the dish without them touching each other. Sprinkle tops with dried tarragon, salt and pepper. Cover dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the center of the largest, thickest fillet is cooked through (check with a fork).

Ingredients (Sauce):

- 1/2 C Butter

- 2 T White Vinegar

- 1/2 Lemon, Juice

- 2 Egg Yolks, whisked

- 1 T Capers

- Dried Tarragon (garnish)

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter on low heat. Add vinegar and lemon juice. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in egg yolks until thoroughly combined (you do not want to create scrambled eggs, so make sure the butter mixture is not too hot). Replace back onto heat and heat to medium, stirring constantly until thickened. Add capers. Place in a small dish and garnish with tarragon. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

This sauce is great

Simple Salmon and Pesto w/Fettuccine

I made this for dinner tonight and thought I'd post the recipes. The salmon is just simple and quick, as well as tasty - my nine-year-old even likes it! I received a food processor for Christmas, so was excited to make pesto sauce!!

For the salmon, preheat your oven to 350. Place your salmon skin-side down into a baking dish. Drizzle one to two teaspoons of melted butter over the salmon (depending on how much fish you have) and one to two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the fish. Salt and pepper to taste. I use Kosher Salt as it is less likely to run off into the pan during cooking. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center of the largest section is tender and flaky.

While the salmon is cooking, cook your fettuccine pasta. For the amount of pesto sauce this recipe makes, you may want to only cook about 1/2 a box or bag. In a food processor, combine about 2 cups washed and dried fresh spinach leaves, a small bunch of fresh basil leaves, one to two cloves of peeled garlic, and about 1/2 cup pine nuts. Add about one tablespoon Kosher Salt and a good sprinkling of pepper. Close the lid up and chop until the mixture is well combined. While the processor is on, slowly add extra virgin olive oil until the pesto resembles a thin paste. Combine the pesto sauce with the fettuccine pasta and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

There are really no specific amounts in these recipes because they really depend on your personal preference for taste and the amount of food you want to make. I cook like this all of the time and rarely use a recipe for my most common meals. I just have to look at who I'm serving, how many I need to serve, and taste the food as I go along to adjust things like salt, pepper, heat, and sweet.