Emily is having a baby. My first granddaughter! And to celebrate, her sister, Abby, and I threw her a shower. Abby did the décor and I was in charge of the food of course.

Emily is not the type to go for an overly “baby girl” themed party so we played down the pink in the décor. Instead we chose a woodland theme and I am so glad we did. Abby created a lovely centerpiece with flowers, birch bark vases and little moss animals.

We draped the fireplace with a camellia leaf garland and spread some more flowers around the room.

I know I signed on for the food but I couldn’t do everything so I ordered a “naked” cake from Urban Icing (Funfetti—Emily’s favorite). With the addition of some little animal pop-ups, it fit the theme perfectly.

Still, this was a shower for a little girl so I decided to make my menu pink. Pink champagne for those who could/or wanted to drink and pink lemonade for the rest.

And for the food there was a Whole Poached Fillet of Salmon, Lobster Mac and Cheese, Roast Beef Sliders, Strawberry, Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad, Panzanella, and some Watermelon and Cucumber Salad Canapes. The key was that everything could be made the day before, leaving me free to enjoy the party.

The only dish I was at all worried about was the Poached Salmon. I had never prepared one before and I was going to be working in a strange kitchen where it was unlikely there would be a proper fish poacher pan. But I figured almost every good American cook has a roasting pan and I could make that work.

Day one in Chicago, I hightailed it over to Dirk’s Fish & Gourmet Shop where I bought a couple of lobsters (for the Mac and Cheese) and a lovely whole fillet of salmon. Using a good fish market means that fish will be properly cleaned. Believe me, I checked it over for tiny pin bones and found nothing. (My eldest daughter never let me forget when she was growing up if there was a bone in her fish. And if there was a bone I could be sure it would end up in her portion!)

Day two, get cooking! I did find a large, ironclad roasting pan in Emily’s kitchen so that problem was solved. The next question was how to cook it. I thought about putting it in the oven to poach but I would have more control over the water temperature if it was on the stove top; so that was what I decided to do, positioning the pan over two burners and stirring the water gently from time to time to even out the temperature. This way I could work on the other dishes while keeping a close eye on the water in the pan.

I put some leeks, celery, sliced fennel, sliced lemon, and herbs in the pan

and placed the salmon on top. I covered the salmon just to the top with cold water and set the pan medium heat.

My instant read thermometer was essential to the cooking of the dish. The water should never go above 170 degrees and the fish will be cooked when it reaches 120 degrees at the thickest part of the fillet. This took about 20-30 minutes.

When the fish is cooked, it is important to remove it from the water right away. This was the next challenge. A proper fish poacher would have a removable rack, making it easy to get the fish out without breaking it in half. Fortunately I had an admirable sou-chef in the form of Emily’s mother-in-law and two large spatulas. A couple of tricky moments and it was on the platter.

I let it rest on the platter until it was cooled and then drained off the water that had gathered on the plate before covering it and putting it in the fridge. It really couldn’t be easier.

Most recipes for cold poached salmon include a dill sauce. My family, perhaps from all the years living in Asia, has an affinity for cilantro, lime and peppers so I chose instead to use the green sauce from my Peruvian Chicken recipe.

In the morning I decorated the platter with fresh cilantro and layered slices of lime over the fish. Green sauce on the side!

(Coming soon: Lobster Mac and Cheese. Stay tuned!)

POACHED SALMON WITH LIME-CILANTRO SAUCE

Ingredients

For the Salmon

1 whole fillet of salmon
2 lemons
2 leeks
2 stalks celery
1 small fennel bulb
Fresh thyme
Salt

For the Sauce

1 jalapeño
1 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and stems
2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
Juice and zest of one large lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

For the Salmon:

Prepare the salmon by checking thoroughly for small bones. You may need to use a tweezer to pull them out if you find any.
Place a large roasting pan over two burners on your stove top.
Cut one of the lemons into slices and put them in the roasting pan. Juice the second lemon and add the juice to the pan.
Cut the leeks in half, clean them carefully and place them in the pan
Cut the fennel in half and slice it. Add this to the pan.
Clean the celery and add it along with some a good handful of thyme sprigs.
Place the salmon on top of the vegetables in the pan and just cover with cold water. You may need to cut the smaller end off the salmon to make it fit.
Season the water liberally with salt.
Turn the burners to medium heat. Watch the water temperature carefully. You don’t want it to go over 170 degrees. Carefully stir the water from time to time to distribute the heat.
After about 15 minutes test the salmon with an instant read thermometer. The salmon is done when it reaches 120 degrees in its thickest part.
Carefully remove the salmon from the water bath and place it on your serving platter.
Let it cool, then drain any water which has pooled around it, cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

For the Sauce

Slice the jalapeno and remove the white pith and seeds
Place all of the ingredients, except the oil in a blender or the small bowl of a food processor.
Pulse it a few times until the herbs are chopped and everything is incorporated.
With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil.
Remove the sauce to a bowl or container and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.

Spread the YUM!

THE PINK BRUNCH, PART 1: WHOLE POACHED SALMON WITH LIME CILANTRO SAUCE