Miso Salmon to Impress the Parents
Plus: avoiding DoorDash; eggs; Molly Baz's new wine
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Baby showers. Job interviews. Birthdays. Meeting the parents. The LAST thing I’ve wanted to do is work on bigger cooking projects or test new recipes. Uber Eats and Doordash — as expensive as they are underwhelming — have been more alluring than ever.
Here are my tips for resisting their siren call (at least most of the time):
Become besties with your freezer: Anytime you make a delicious meal, one you really knock out of the park, do future you a favor and freeze at least one portion. Freezing it flat in a large ziplock bag will expedite the defrosting time and maximize the storage. Just remember these other other tips and you’re on your way to a freezer-full of options that are better than takeout.
Beans ‘n Greens: A few (very cheap) ingredients. Barely 30 min. Absolute satisfaction. This recipe is a good place to start and completely riffable.
Chili Oil: It makes the most uninspired dish suddenly crave-worthy. Roasted sweet potatoes? meh. Over it. Roasted sweet potatoes with butter and chili oil??? Done. Here’s a decent reference for those who are new to the condiment.
“Impress the Parents” Miso Butter Salmon
I’ve tried SO MANY salmon recipes and techniques, but I keep coming back to this one. What makes it great? Low and slow and LOTS of butter. If there are any parents you have to impress, I highly recommend it (seemed to work for me!).
Pre-heat your oven to 420 degrees.
Take your salmon out of the fridge, pat dry, and season with salt. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let it rest while you make the miso butter.
Combine equal parts miso and butter - melting the butter completely before adding the miso paste (I use this kind). Add a splash of soy sauce, honey (or hot honey if you have it), chopped cilantro, a bunch of minced garlic, and ginger. Whisk until well incorporated. Make sure you have enough of this mixture to cover the entire salmon.
Pour miso butter mixture evenly over the salmon.
Slice a lemon thinly. Place lemon slices on top.
Bake until just tender and comes apart with a fork (15-25 min depending on the size of the salmon).
Soft Boiled Eggs make the perfect lunch.
I’m a big fan of the 6.5-minute-to-immediate-ice-bath egg. Add leftover rice, avocado, chili oil, and a quick squeeze of lime (or lemon) for a complete and perfect meal. What I didn’t realize is how popular this would be on Instagram (16 responses!). I guess eggs are as photogenic as they are delicious.
Bonus points for making a few extra eggs to keep marinated in the fridge for later.
THIS JUST IN: Molly Baz is also really good at wine.
While I know more about gin than I do about wine, I DO know that a chilled red is a crowd pleaser. And as she does with most things, Molly knocked this one out of the park. This week she launched an orange (or by its “proper” name: skin contact white) that I’m dying to try as well.
I’ll just close with this…
You should really get the curry from Daisy Mint in Pasadena. I forgot how good it is until I had it last night and realized that it’s even better than MY curry??? I’m a little offended, but mostly grateful that my girlfriend’s apartment is in delivery range.