Spork and Skewer

 Wow, life can sure get hectic. As you most of you know, Miles and I are now the proud Mommy and Daddy of our new little girl, Alice Katherine. She was born at the end of December, and I think we are finally settled in. I feel it is time for me to return to my blogging. Since our life is so full of love, it seems very appropriate to post my Valentine meal from earlier this week.

Miles and I had a very low key Valentines Day this year. Since Alice is just seven weeks old, we are home a lot. We also decided it would be a smart idea to conserve funds this year, soooo... needless to say, we stayed home for Heart Day this year. Actually, it was kind of nice. Miles cooked a chicken dinner for me on Saturday, and I cooked these Salmon Love Pockets (yes, I named them) on Monday, which was Valentines Day. They look fancy, taste fantastic, and are baby friendly to prepare because they can be made ahead of time, perhaps while baby is sleeping. Miles cleaned his plate, I bet you and your sweetie will do the same.

 Printable Recipe

My mom, sister, her fiance, Ted, and myself, are all on Weight Watchers. Actually, Miles won't attend meetings, but he is also on the plan. I have been in search of new recipes that are both tasty and Weight Watcher friendly. Salmon is not the lowest point fish, but it is considered a filling food, and is therefore, a good choice for us. Good thing, because it is no secret how much I love salmon. If you are not dieting, please don't be scared away; you will love my new recipe. Weight Watchers, or no Weight Watchers, this is downright delicious.

En papillote is simply a very fancy name for cooking in little parchment paper bundles. Foil would also work for this application. There are lots of reasons why I really love this method. One, it is healthy because there is no oil needed. Two, your chicken, fish, or veggies will always come-out moist and delectable because all the juices are sealed-in. Three, it is impressive. If you serve this to guests, they each get theor own little "gift" to slice open, and oh my goodness, the mouthwatering aroma that steams out when you cut open the packets, YUM!  And, maybe best of all, you can assemble these little packets ahead of time, and then pop them in the oven 15-20 minutes before you are ready to eat. Reallly, this is a snap. This particular recipe, which is modified from Cooking Light via myrecipes.com, is soooooo good. I highly, highly recommend making this recipe as soon as possible. Wow your guests, or fancy-up a weeknight, like we did. You won't be sorry.

Printable Recipe 

At our house, we look forward to Friday nights. As often as we can, we like to fix a nice meal, something that is a little bit fancy, but still simple, open a bottle of wine, and cook together. This usually means I clean-up as Miles cooks, but when salmon is on the menu, that's okay with me. This is based on a recipe from the Bon Appetit Cookbook, and it is definitely in our Friday night repertoire. We've made salmon many different ways, and most have been good, but this is a simple method that always turns out great. This preparation would be simple to change around to fit your personal taste, or fit whatever happens to be in the fridge. I hope this turns into your go-to salmon dinner.