Baked Salmon with Mushrooms

I love fish and I love making fish at home.  But I think it's one of those things that people tend think is hard to make.  This way is really easy and has very little clean up involved.

Recipe:
1 fillet of salmon (about 1/3 pound)
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 lemon (or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)
6 - 8 baby portobello (crimini) mushrooms (or other vegetable), sliced
Thyme
Basil
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a sheet of foil with parchment paper.  Place salmon, skin side down, on the parchment paper.  Squeeze lemon juice over salmon, season to taste with herbs and salt.  Cover with sliced mushrooms.  Slice butter into slivers and place over mushrooms and salmon.  Fold and seal the foil and parchment paper.

Place the packet in a baking dish and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Serve.

The fish came out very tender and flavorful.  You really can't go wrong with a little lemon, butter, and a few herbs on fish.  I had fresh basil on hand, and that really complimented the mushrooms, as well as the lemon.

As a bonus, the whole meal is in one packet that can then be easily disposed of or reused.  And if you wrap things up right, you don't even have to wash the pan afterwards.  I think this could also be assembled in advance, so all you'd have to do is preheat the oven, put the packet in a dish, and pour yourself a glass of Riesling.

Lemon Stars with Triple Citrus Filling

I saw these the other day over on The Kitchn, they looked so lovely I just had to try them out!

Recipe:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling

Beat butter, add confectioners sugar, cream, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and salt.  Mix for about 1 minute at high speed.  Turn mixer to low and add flour.

Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pat into a dic.  Wrap and chill until firm, about 2 hours.  It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.  Make the filling about the same time as the dough, so it is chilled when the cookies are ready to be filled.

Once the dough is chilled, unwrap and divide it in half.  Preheat oven to 350°.

Flour surface and roll dough about 1/8 inch thick and cut out using a cookie cutter that is about 1 1/2 inches across.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch between cookies.

Bake until just starting to brown, 9 to 11 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.  Once cool, place about 1 teaspoon of filling between 2 cookies and press gently to spread filling.

Store in an airtight container.

Triple Citrus Filling:
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
Pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.  Add sugar, lemon zest, grapefruit zest, orange juice, and salt.  Beat at medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes.  Refrigerate before using.

Aren't they cute!

I love these because they're light and refreshing, and not super sugary.  The cookie definitely has a shortbread quality, and the filling is so nice and fluffy.

The recipe from The Kitchn said it made about 25 cookies.  Now, maybe I rolled my dough a little thinner that 1/8 inch, but I got almost 4 dozen out of a single batch.  And that's after I paired them into sandwiches.  I was cutting and baking cookies for a long time.