Monday, December 31, 2012

Gently-Baked Salmon with Cabbage, Bacon, and Dill

This is the "Slow-Roasted Salmon with Cabbage, Bacon, and Dill" recipe from serious eats.


It's quite quick and easy to prepare and tastes fantastic.


I wouldn't have thought it'd be possible to make salmon come out so soft and succulent, but baking it at low temperatures works wonders.  And the mild sweetness of the cabbage cooked with bacon really compliments it.


  • savoy cabbage, 1 head (halved, cored, and roughly chopped)
  • bacon, 6 slices
  • onion, 1, diced
  • water, 1 cup
  • salmon fillets, 4 (4-6 ounces each, skin removed)
  • fresh dill, chopped, 1 teaspoon (plus more for garnish)
  • olive oil, 4 tablespoons 
  • butter, 2 tablespoons
  • lemon juice, from one lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 120 degrees celsius (250°F).

Cook the cabbage
  • In medium saucepan, place bacon and heat over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered from bacon and bacon is beginning to crisp.
  • Add onion and cook for an additional minute, then add cabbage and water.
  • Bring to a boil, then simmer until cabbage is tender, 20-25 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary.
  • Once very tender, season with salt, pepper, and half the dill.

Prepare and cook the salmon
  • In the meantime, season salmon fillets with salt and pepper and place salmon on non-stick sheet pan.
  • Drizzle olive oil over fillets, top with half the dill, and finish with small knob of butter.
  • Cook 15-18 minutes for medium rare, or up to 25 minutes for medium, depending on thickness of fish.
  • Remove from oven and drizzle with lemon juice.

Serve
  • Divide cabbage and salmon among plates and garnish with more dill, if desired.
  • Serve immediately.

Books I read in 2012


The best:

Wool - Omnibus edition, by Hugh Howey
Great bit of storytelling


.


Ones that were decent:

We Are All Weird, by Seth Godin
A touch wishy-washy but an interesting, brief look at broad cultural currents.

Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge
Fairly good, but mainly as a plausible near-future (c 2025) world of pervasive augmented reality & wearable computers.


A number of Kindle Singles, all of which were decent:

My Seinfeld Year, by Fred Stoller
Memoir. A couple of interesting insights into how the writing process for Seinfeld worked.

Gutenberg the Geek, by Jeff Jarvis
A look at Gutenberg as an entrepreneur

Cautionary Tales, by Stephen Tobolowsky
Memoir of bad (but funny) mistakes the author made.

The First Light of Evening, by Mark Ernest Pothier
A day in the life of a guy 3 years after divorce and still dealing with it. Pretty nicely done.

Shakedown, by James Ellroy
Pretty sharply written. Somewhat salicious.


A number of books on ancient Rome, all pretty decent. Working on slowly building up my understanding of history.

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire, by Simon Baker.
Decent, readable basic overview. Focus mainly on politics and major political figures

The World of Rome, by Michael Grant
This one was a bit less readable than the others, but fairly informative.

Rubicon: The Triumph and the Tragedy of the Roman Republic, by Tom Holland

Julius Caesar, by Philip Freeman

Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician, by Anthony Everitt

Antony and Cleopatra, by Adrian Goldsworthy

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor, by Anthony Everitt


.


Ones I really didn't like. I'd avoid these: 


The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect, by Roger Williams

Accelerando, by Charles Stross


.


And several that I read bits of but didn't around to finishing. Not because I didn't like them, just didn't get time:

Stop Stealing Dreams, Seth Godin

The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction 23, by Gardner Dozois
I read about 5 stories from this, and didn't think much of most of them.

Pro Git, by Scott Chacon

Poems of Emily Dickinson, series 1, by Emily Dickinson