Food In The Fort

I love cooking together with Catherine. Yes, because of our schedules it’s often harried and sometimes things don’t turn out quite as good as we might like. Such is life. But, and I think this is important, the time we take in planning and preparing meals nourishes our love for one another just as we are nourishing each other with the food we cook. We work hard to keep it interesting too by trying to anticipate each other’s tastes, making old favorites, trying out something exciting and new, indulging each other in decadent desserts, or just a heaping serving of comfort food. Everyone needs a little comfort now and then.

It doesn’t have to be complicated either. Just like in love, a plain and simple screw is exactly what you need once in a while. So it goes that sometimes the simplest meals are the best ones. Last night was like this. All we did was pan fry some salmon that had been hanging out in the freezer and served it with this uncomplicated and unpresuming lemon-dill sauce that I threw together at lunch time. On the side we had steamed asparagus because asparagus was on sale this week and I bought a mountain of it (we both love the pointy green veggie).

And you know what? The lemon-dill sauce was as good on the asparagus as it was on the fish.So here’s the recipe, but by all means, don’t feel like you have to restrict this sauce to just fish. I imagine it’d be just as good on some chicken, pork or beef. And if you don’t have a lemon to grate, don’t worry! Remember, we’re keeping it simple here and it’s going to taste as good whether you use bottled lemon juice or the real deal.

Pan Fried Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried dill
• 1 tsp. grated lemon rind
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Enough salmon to make you feel full (the fish should be at room temperature before frying)
• Garlic-pepper salt to taste
• 1-2 tbsp. peanut oil

Sauce Preparation

1. To prepare the sauce, simply whisk the first six ingredients together until the sauce is nice and smooth. Add salt and pepper as you see fit and give it a final couple of go-rounds with the whisk.
2. Refrigerate the sauce for a couple of hours before serving although feel free to make this the night before.

Fish Preparation

1. To cook the fish, first rub it with as much garlic-pepper salt as you think you’ll like
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on high
3. Fry the salmon skin-side down first for 3-4 minutes
4. Flip the salmon and fry the other side another 2-4 minutes until the flesh should is firm and flaky
5. And you’re done! Serve with lemon-dill sauce splashed over the top

About the author:  Leo is a technologist and writer living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a transplant to the Mid West from Central New York and was promised cheaper gas and better winters. He feels somewhat lied to in this respect but otherwise finds the people pleasant. Read more from this author