In our last blog post we encouraged you to do some little things to live each day like you are actually able to enjoy a luxurious stay in our upscale Bed & Breakfast. One of our suggestions was that you use the good stuff. Use your family china and crystal. Use your tall candles and candlesticks. Plan and prepare a “fancy” dinner and enjoy fine dining in your own home while we all wait for our other fine dining establishments to reopen. Today day we invite you to dine in with an easy and impressive main dish. Here’s a recipe that will help you prepare an impressive main dish without investing hours of the day doing it.
Just so you know, fancy doesn’t necessarily mean time-consuming. I’m all about saving time while putting together an enticing menu. The Salmon Wellington recipe I’m sharing today has several ingredients, but it really is simple and takes very little time to put together. It’s a great recipe for when you want to dine in.
Since we’re not entertaining guests at the moment, I’ve decided to entertain myself by doing cooking videos in my spare time. Dinner options are just another way to help our guests enjoy a luxurious stay in our upscale Bed & Breakfast, and I’m expanding my repertoire as I ponder that opportunity. Here’s a step-by-step video presentation of my favorite recipe for Salmon Wellington, also known as Salmon en Croûte. Say it with me in French – it just sounds “fahncier”!
Start by Gathering Your Ingredients
Check your pantry and refrigerator for the basics, i.e. spices, olive oil, butter and an egg. Although I don’t always prepare Salmon Wellington, I nearly always have salmon fillets and puff pastry sheets in the freezer, so my purchases included fresh baby spinach and a lemon. I can hardly wait until the Farmer’s Market opens and I can buy fresh produce locally. If you’re using items from your freezer, refrigerate the pastry as you thaw the salmon overnight.
Preheat Your Oven and Let’s Get Started!
The steps in this recipe are pretty simple, basically combining ingredients, rather than doing a lot of time-intensive preparations.
Melt the butter and add the spices, Dijon mustard and lemon zest. NOTE: Although I didn’t use Dijon mustard because I’m not a big fan of Dijon mustard, I’m including it here because the word is French and sounds fahncy! dēˈZHôN! dēˈZHôN!
Heat the olive oil and add baby spinach in batches. TIP: As you can see in the video, the first batch of spinach stuck to my pan a bit, even though I used olive oil. Don’t worry about it, the moisture from the new batch takes care of it as it cooks.
Build Your Masterpiece!
Lightly flour your workspace and and roll out the puff pastry, dividing into two rectangles. Brush your salmon with the butter mixture then place it buttered side down on the pastry and cover with your prepared spinach.
Fold it into a Pretty Present-ation!
Brush the edges of the pastry with your prepared egg wash and fold over the salmon and spinach until they are fully enrobed. (Again, me and the fancy!) I think this makes such an impressive presentation. I’m considering a dinner option when we come back from the current restricted travel situation, at least on nights when our local fine dining options are limited. We always offer fine dining for breakfast and I’m pondering expanding into the dinner hour.
Today, I’m offering you ways to tailor your home stay to feel more like you’re staying in a luxurious B&B, but know this: my mind is never far from things I can do to bring you here to stay when the travel restrictions have been lifted! What do you think? Should we offer dinner? Salmon en Croûte will definitely be on the menu, if we do. I really think I’d love to serve it to our guests who come to Jacksonville to enjoy a luxurious stay in our upscale Bed & Breakfast!
Now for the Extra Fun Part!
Channel your inner Monet and make your pastry a masterpiece! Place the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet, seam down. Use a sharp knife to score the top of your pastry. I started with crosswise cuts to resemble diamonds, but you could do flower shapes, stripes, small cookie cutter shapes, etc. Be creative!
I hope you’ve enjoyed following along as I prepared this easy, yet impressive, “fancy” entree. I’m not sharing the out-takes, but take my word for it, there were many! So… for now, these are short food preparation segments. Thanks to our kitchen assistant Lynsey, my ace proofreader/reviewer, this will likely be the last time I wear my blue food safety gloves on camera. She pointed out that I’m not preparing food for others while we’re filming – and they don’t wear gloves on cooking shows on TV! I’m learning as I go – can you tell? Maybe as I get the hang of it I’ll be able to do a whole cooking show type format. Stay tuned as I consider more ways to help you enjoy your time at home and help our future guests enjoy a luxurious stay in our upscale Bed & Breakfast.
Here’s a link to my favorite Salmon en Croûte recipe: Salmon Wellington Recipe from Well Plated by Erin
About Blessings on State Bed & Breakfast
Experience a stay in our award-winning Jacksonville, Illinois Bed & Breakfast located in a magnificently restored 130-year-old mansion in the heart of the historic district. Pampered luxury is our goal, to delight both business and leisure travelers. We offer two upscale guest suites, each with private sitting rooms and private baths. Stay a couple of nights, or come for an extended stay. We provide multi-course gourmet breakfasts, 24/7 family-friendly hot and cold beverages and snacks, and cookies and milk at bedtime. Wi-Fi is available throughout our home and each suite has a digital satellite TV and all-season fireplace. We are located just steps away from Illinois College, the Governor Duncan Mansion and Illinois School for the Deaf and our neighborhood is highlighted on one of Jacksonville’s historic walking tours. Escape the standard hotel room and enjoy your own private suite in the finest Jacksonville Illinois lodging. We love it when our guests Book Direct!
