Delicately Sweet and Light Mad House Wife

So, Once upon a time there was a contest... 'of sorts'.

and there was a girl who was not necessarily into contests.... per say.

but then they mentioned it involved wine.

Not just any wine.

but wine labeled 'Mad Housewife' wine.

and the girl knew.

She knew it was meant to be.

She was meant to be involved.

Meant to... share her knowledge in this matter to other housewives, No. To the world.

It stirred her inner creativity. Her, not so inner competitiveness

{so she's been told by less imaginative people}

and so it was.

A not so ordinary, slightly nutty yet totally and completely spectacular in every way

House Wife

found herself in a bit of a predicament. A pickle, if you will.

Should I take the challenge.  Can I?  Dare I?

I Do.

I Did.

Prepare yourselves.

The rules for the competition were simply to write about what type of Mad Housewife you are, using the wine somehow in the post. Hmmmm, the possibilities were endless. I had more than a few crazy ideas spinning around in my head.

For instance; should I be utterly honest? Then I would most definitely be a scatterbrained, tired and desperate Mad House Wife. Who fervently looks forward to her evening hot bubble bath by candle light, or in the complete dark whatever, with earplugs inserted snuggly, book in one hand and glass of Cabernet in the other for a completely blissful 10 WHOLE minutes to herself. Heaven. Have I mentioned how wonderful my husband is? He is. The hand off happens so fast when he walks in the door I'm sometimes wondering if it wasn't a door to door salesman I've just shoved my children at. Mamma needs her bubble bath. It's best for everyone.

Or, should I go for a more creative and fun story with a glimpse into my inner flight of fancy?

I could be a polished, put together, sophisticated and demure Mad Housewife who always wears high heels while cooking the perfect dinner and has cocktail parties every weekend with perfect hors d'oeuvres and lovely friends galore while sipping on my sparkling white wine. With always put together, well behaved children who say things like "Yes mother." and "May we please have seconds of your delicious spinach tart?" Ehhhh, who am I kidding? Too many expectations, who can keep that up.

In the end however, reality and children (which I tend to blame for most of my creativity and time constraints) weeded out a few of my more errrrr, interesting ideas. This is not to say that I was not completely thrilled with my end result. I ended up with a new and amazing way to cook my favorite food, salmon. And most importantly I had fun with the whole process and found a wonderful new wine.

The chardonnay was light and slightly sweet, a perfect accompaniment to salmon.

L.O.V.E the wine cork messages.

Did I mention that I very seriously considered packing up my camera, apron and some leftovers and driving to IKEA, which is a 60 minute hop, skip and a jump from our home to take some

 'Vintage' kitchen inspired pictures?

Told Ya. Nutty... In a cute, loveable way.

Alas,

and without further ado my fellow busy and interesting friends, I give you my recipe and also, to enlighten you as to which type of Mad House Wife I am ....

{Trumpets sound off...... Now!}

I, Gwen, mother of four, slightly crazed, totally exhausted and always distracted Mad House Wife.

Can still cook a kick ass, yet delicately light dinner and have her entire family relish in all of it's glory.

Amen.

Before I unleash this baby, I would like to thank Heather, from girlichef for hosting this contest and also, to

Mad Housewife Wine  for, let's be honest, was a big part in my creative inspiration *wink wink, nod nod  and for the delicious outcome of this absolutely perfect dinner that was created using their wine.

Chardonnay-Poached Salmon with Fennel and Orange
served in endive cups with caper creme sauce.

I have cooked salmon many, many times in every way possible. So I thought. This time, however, I used a slow cooker to poach the salmon for as long as possible in a sea of oranges and chardonnay.

For a special treat to our taste buds, I added red onion for a gentle kick, fennel for it's interest and unique bite and capers for the ever important salt factor.

I wanted this to be a Delicate and Light meal that was equally as delicious as it was beautiful. One that would be perfect for hors d'oeuvres at any party as it would be simple for an ordinary Sunday family dinner.

Mission accomplished. While this meal looks and sounds fancy, it was ridiculously simple and fuss free.
All I did was throw a few ingredients into my crock pot and about 50 minutes later, dinner was served.
I tell you the little guys eagerly used their endive lettuce cups to scoop up their salmon and veggies. A side dish of Grilled Asparagus and Moroccan Cous Cous made this a frugal feast for Kings.

Cous Cous with cinnamon and currants.

Salmon is best when just cooked through. Honestly, it's a trial and error sort of thing, but a good rule of thumb if your baking/roasting is for every inch thickness your fish is, bake about 8 minutes at 400° F.  No more!




You Will Need:

2 lbs. *wild salmon fillet, skinned.
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 cups chardonnay (I used Mad Housewife)
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon French grey sea salt

Garnishes:
1 Orange thinly sliced
Fennel fronds



Fold a 36 inch piece of aluminum foil lengthwise to a width slightly larger than the salmon fillet. Place foil in a 4-6 qt. slow cooker with foil ends hanging over the handles.

Combine orange juice, Chardonnay, fennel, onion, capers and salt in the slow cooker. Place salmon on top. Cover and cook on high heat setting for 45-60 minutes.

Test salmon for doneness at 45 minutes by using a fork to gently pull at salmon. When it easily flakes it is done. Test every 5 minutes after 45 min until done.

When salmon is done, remove it from the slow cooker by carefully lifting the ends of the foil and placing it on a platter. Using a fork, scoop into endive cups, crackers or on top of cous cous. Dollop with a bit of Caper Creme Sauce, recipe to follow.




Caper Creme Sauce:

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons red onion, diced
1 tablespoon capers
Tabasco or Hot sauce if you please

Whip cream with sour cream and orange juice until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in capers and onion, season with hot sauce if you like.

Salmon is very easy to over cook when cooked conventionally.

 Using this slow cooker method literally ensures a perfect salmon every time.

Capers add the all important salt factor to this seafood dish.

Chardonnay-Poached Salmon with Fennel and Orange

This post is submitted to