Almond-Chive Salmon

Tonight, I want to start with a shout-out to my dinner girls back in Minneapolis. 

You see, Katy, Emily, and I would get together about once a month and make dinner.  Whoever was hosting would pick the theme (I love theme dinners!) and make the entree and the other two of us would bring a side dish and a dessert, respectively.  We would eat, drink, and chat until the wee hours of the evening - no significant others invited - expect for Sushi Rolling Night, which was an experience and a half.

As for tonight's dinner, this was the entree at either Katy's or Emily's one night and it became one of my favorite salmon recipes yet.  A simple topping made with simple flavors that shine through and complement the salmon in an elegant way. 

I've made this a couple times since that evening and every time it takes me back to the nights we spent together - one of the things I miss most about having moved away.

So tonight, I tip my chef's hat to Katy and Emily and our little but oh-so-special dinner group.

Almond-Chive Salmon

Almond-Chive Salmon

What You Need:

• 1 oz sliced almonds
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 slice bread, torn (I used 1/2 a leftover hamburger bun from our Memorial Day BBQs)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 6-oz salmon fillets

How You Do It:

1. In a food processor (I used this awesome manual food processor from Pampered Chef), combine almonds, chives, lemon rind, torn bread, and salt & pepper.  Process until finely chopped.
2. Top fillets evenly with mixture and press to adhere.
3. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes until salmon flakes easily or cooked to desired doneness. 

Almond-Chive Salmon adapted from the best dinner group ever... and AllRecipes.com.