Salmon in Parchment

I love salmon. It works so well with almost any type of cuisine and cooking method. Terrific in the summer on the grill with veggies or in a Cioppino stew in winter. Plain and simple or all jazzed up its a champ!
One of my favorite methods of cooking fish is in parchment. It's pretty easy, but looks impressive. Below is a recipe I adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. I substituted broccoli for the cabbage and scaled it down to two servings. Enjoy!

Salmon in Parchment

Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
3 large carrots, julienned
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
4 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds)

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. Add 3 large julienned carrots and 1/2 head shredded Napa cabbage; toss to combine.
3) Set four 15-inch squares of parchment on work surface. Use a slotted spoon to mound carrot mixture on one side of each sheet; reserve liquid in bowl. Roll 4 salmon fillets (1 1/2 pounds total) in reserved liquid. Place a fillet on each pile of vegetables; season with salt and pepper.

4) Fold parchment over contents; pleat edge to seal, forming a half-moon. Bake on a baking sheet 20 minutes. To serve, cut paper with kitchen scissors to open.

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About: Bacon "Fried" in the Oven

Let me tell you about… Bacon Fried in the Oven.

Frying bacon in the oven provides all the put-it-in-and-forget-it convenience of microwave cooking but results in all the crispy, crunchy goodness of pan frying. As an added bonus, with no grease splattered stovetop and counter, clean up is easier.

No real recipe here. Just preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay bacon out evenly over a cookie sheet lined in aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When done to the desired crispness, drain on paper towels.

A few hits and suggestions:

Cram as much bacon on the cookie sheet as you can. Overlapping a little bit doesn’t affect the outcome since the bacon shrinks as it cooks. Refrigerate (or freeze) leftovers to use on salads, burgers, sandwiches etc.

Before cooking sprinkle raw bacon with crushed dried rosemary and freshly ground back pepper. (YUM)

Fold the edges of the foil up to form a rim to help contain the rendered fat.