Out of the Frying Pan, and Into the Parchament

O.K. I have to confess that I did not have parchment paper last night when I prepared salmon en Papillote. I'm in P-town with a modestly equipped kitchen. But you can substitute aluminum foil and it only impacts the presentation. This was the first time I'd cooked salmon. Hell, this was the first time I'd eaten salmon. I was a bit nervous--last weekend I tried poaching cod with disastrous results.

First the good news; I finally found a good place to buy fresh fish. Townsend Seafood is at the end of Fisherman's Wharf and it's the kind of place where they know what the local fisherman are catching. You can ask what's fresh, and you get an answer. (Last weekend, we asked the clerk at Clem and Ursie's what was fresh, and he said, "It was all here when I got here." Infuriating!) I'm pretty sure the local fisherman weren't catching salmon, but the fish was indeed fresh.

Now for the complications. I didn't have a recipe. I found plenty of them online, but nothing struck my fancy. Either they were too basic (Lemon and Dill) or had ingredients I didn't have or didn't like. It was late--8 PM. I had fish but no other ingredients or sides. I was hungry, and a trip to the grocery was necessary. And I was paralyzed with indecision. It was a recipe for disaster (pun 100% intended.) But I felt I had a good grasp of the cooking technique and types of veggies and herbs that people put in the pouch along with the fish. So I tarried on to the grocery.

I had in my head that an aioli or flavored mayonnaise would go well with the fish. But neither of these could be incorporated into the pouch. I thought to myself, "Coleslaw. Coleslaw has mayonnaise in it." So I grabbed cabbage and carrot and onion. (Had mayo and vinegar at home.) I wanted a starch, but couldn't think of anything appropriate. I just took my cabbage to the checkout and was on my way.

Back home, I discovered a box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice in the cupboard. I grabbed that and told Jess he was in charge of it. Meanwhile I made the coleslaw.

Just then, there was a knock at our door. It was a dear friend of ours whom we hadn't seen in forever. We welcomed him in, sat and had a nice, long conversation (and some wine.) By 10PM, our visitor was gone and we were starving.

Back in the kitchen, I sampled the coleslaw and it had way too much onion. So much so that it burned my mouth. Jess started the rice. He dumped the flavor packet into the boiling water, and a horrible smell began to waft through the kitchen. The packet of rice was not the traditional flavor, but some roasted garlic crap. It had a really fake garlic smell. It was disgusting. I was unable to consume any of the rice. I felt pretty sure this meal was going to suck.

But it didn't. The fish was really great. It had a perfect texture. And the lemon and fresh basil that I layered in worked really well with the flavor of the fish. (Having never had salmon, I wasn't sure if the basil was compatible.) The coleslaw was botched. The rice was inedible. But I had broken my bad fish streak. And I have another in a growing list of fish that I actually enjoy.

I'll get my sea legs, yet