April 4, 2012 Salmon Roulade on Sweet Potato Puree garnished with baby greens and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

April 4, 2012 Salmon Medallions on Sweet Potato Puree garnished with baby greens and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Tonight when I arrived home from meditation, Suzette was preparing one of her new April through June menu items for the Green House Bistro and Bakery.   A Salmon Medallions with tomato wedges on a bed of pureed Sweet Potatoes and garnished with baby organic greens.  The recipe as served in the Bistro will be accompanied by asparagus, but tonight PPI Brussels Sprouts were the vegetable accompaniment.  What made this meal exceptional was the wine selection.  I wend into the cellar the other day and chilled a Breggo Pinot Gris 2009 from Anderson Valley.  It was crisp and fruity and complemented the fish sautéed in olive oil.

Suzette cut the salmon filet about ½ inch thick and folded it over and secured it into a roulade with toothpicks and salted and peppered one side and laid the peppered side down on the skillet in about 1/4” of olive oil heated to a sizzle.  Then Suzette salted and peppered the other side that was facing up.  After 3 to 4 minutes she flipped the fish roulades, and sautéed them 1 minute to sear and seal the juices and then covered the skillet with a wok cover to steam and reduced the heat a bit so that it would not burn but would not poach.    

Sweet Potato Puree – Suzette heated the PPI roasted sweet potatoes in the microwave and then processed them in a blender with 1 Tbsp. of Butter and ½ heated chicken stock until smooth.  (We bought the sweet potatoes at the Dallas Farmer’s Market.  They were East Texas sweet potatoes packed into our suitcase.)

Instead of the baby greens Suzette chopped organic greens from Costco and tonight we did not add the usual oven roasted tomato wedges.

Instead of asparagus Suzette used PPI Roasted Brussels Sprouts from Monday night’s meal.  They were equally wonderful and added a very Northern California feel to the meal.  You can adjust menus to suit your ingredients.  Roasted Brussels Sprouts v. steamed Asparagus.  I don’t know or care which is better.  It is ultimately a matter of taste and the bird in the hand is usually the best choice.

We bought the Breggo Pinot Gris 2009 Anderson Valley in 2010 at the Winery.  We go to the Pinot Festival in Anderson Valley every even numbered year, so we will go again this year.  I can not tell you how wonderful the Breggo wines are.  They epitomize the northern fruitiness with a slightly elegant tannic after taste. When I took my first taste tonight the wine embraced me in a cloud of fruit. The Winery says honeysuckle and baked pears and I will agree with that.  It is a taste that must be tasted and when combined with bites of the oily sautéed salmon, it was a perfect complement.   The wine was delicious beyond words.  No rough edges, only fruit and more fruit.     

Bon Appétit