Salmon with Lime en Papillote (aka: Salmon in Paper Bag) Plagiarized and adapted from Cuisine Magazine Serves 4 1 1/4 # salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick), skinned, in one piece 5 T unsalted butter 2 t unsalted butter 1 small lime 1 small piece ginger, pared 1/4 c shallot, minced 1/2 c port, preferably white 1/2 c heavy cream 1/2 t lime juice, fresh (reserved from lime above) cooking parchment paper (paper bags work just fine) salt black pepper, freshly ground cayenne pepper FISH Cut parchment so that fish will lay on it, then parchment will be sufficient to fold over and enclose fish with about 1-2 inches extra all around to make a seal. Brush with melted butter. Remove zest from lime in long, thin strips, leaving pith behind. Cut into julienne strips. Blanch in small heavy saucepan of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain; refresh under cold running water, and drain again. Reserve, covered, in a small bowl. Remove pith from lime; carefully cut 4 lime sections away from membranes. Reserve sections in second small bowl. Reserve remaining lime for later use. About 20 minutes before serving, heat oven to 550F (or highest setting). Trim salmon; remove tiny bones, if necessary, with tweazers. Cut salmon on shallow angle into four equal scallops, each about 4 ounces. Place each piece salmon on parchment to the side of the centerline. Salt and pepper fish; sprinkle lightly with cayenne. Grate finely about 1/8t ginger over each. Reserve pinch ginger for sauce. Place 1 reserved lime section on top of each piece of salmon. Strew 4-6 strands lime zest on top. Seal parchment packets. Fold over and even up edges. Roll and fold edges/flaps, then staple to make an airtight seal. Place packets on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until parchment is puffed (about 5 minutes for fillets, 10 minutes for thicker steaks); salmon should just be cooked. SAUCE Melt 2 T butter in small heavy saucepanb over medium-high heat. When foam subsides, add shallot; saute, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add port; increase heat to high. Heat to boiling. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes. Squeeze reserved lime to obtain 1/2t juice; add, along with cream, to reduced liquid. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to very low. Add the pinch of grated ginger. Whisk in remaining 3T butter, half at a time, waiting until first piece is almost incorporated before adding second. Remove from heat; season with salt, black pepper, cayenne. You should have about 2/3c sauce. ASSEMBLY Open parchment packets. Transfer fish to plates. Spoon sauce on and around each serving. NOTES: 1. You may want to get a start on the sauce before putting the salmon in the oven, since the salmon doesn't take much time to bake. 2. I usually use salmon steaks, but bake longer to accommodate the thickness. 3. This recipe seems to be needlessly fussy, as if made for bored housewives. You can have great success without being so anal (see Note 4). Separating the lime segments from the membrane is an almost impossible task so don't worry about it too much. 4. I once did a `student-version' of this to see how much I could get away with. I substituted salmon from a can, paper sandwich bags sprayed with Pam, instant minced onion, and probably `Real Lemon' juice and milk. It came out very nicely, in about 10 minutes total.