Recently I admonished the Twitters to fear my salmon log.
While perhaps laden with entendre, this does capture a bit of the prep-work I did over the last day and a half catering a friend’s bridal shower.
I knocked off of work early to go shopping.
Green beans land artistically among the potatoes while shopping.
I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing food to cook the next day.
Salmon roulade after preparation
I decided to try out making a salmon roulade, and cooking it sous-vide style. I layered two skinned salmon fillets together, with chopped fresh spinach in between, lightly seasoned with salt.
This assembly was rolled tightly into many layers of plastic wrap, creating a salmon log. I left this in the fridge over night. The following day, I cooked it sous-vide style by dropping the whole log, still wrapped, into a big roasting pan and covered it with warm water. On the stovetop I brought the water up to 125º F and left it there for an hour (periodically adjusting the temperature by removing some hot water, and adding cold).
When it was done, I carefully sawed the log into disks with a bread knife (plastic wrap and all) and deposited the disks onto a serving platter.
The piece(s) I stole sampled were quite good. Very moist and tender. To the platter I added a tidy stack of blanched purple asparagus and a nest of blanched green beans. At the party I included a lemon and rosemary aioli for dipping, seasoning, or spooning into your face when no one is looking.
I also tried out making some twice baked potatoes. I boiled two small bags of potatoes, then let them cool. Once cool enough to handle I cut them all in half lengthwise-y and laid the halves out on cooking sheets. Then, using a little spoon, I scooped out the innards into a bowl, leaving the potato shells on the cookie sheets.
To the potato innards, I added salt, pepper, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, 4oz of melted butter, and dill. I whipped this into a smooth consistency with a hand mixer, then piped it back into the potato shells. I baked these (400º F) for about 30 minutes, until browned. I served these with a small dollop of caviar on top.
Potatoes and salmon
I also made roasted vegetable skewers (with two more flavored aiolis) , crab and avocado dip, and two loaves of bread (with a selection of cheeses to go with).
Overall, I’m proud of myself.
Ready for guests
Unfortunately, this was a bridal shower, so I didn’t get to hang around and eat my food (unless I was willing to dress as a fireman and dance).
