Take a mini-vacation with a new recipe

I have found a new way to have a mini vacation. Okay, it may take a bit of imagination, but truly for about 15 minutes it felt like one. What did I do, you ask. Simple, I cooked a new dish I had never tried and my family loved it.

Set on doing something different, I pulled out my newest friend, "Why French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook" and turned to the two salmon recipes. I love salmon but it seems to always taste the same. We all needed something more exotic that would make us feel like we were dining on the shores of Tahiti listening to the waves pound against the shore. My husband agreed to join me in this adventure and went to find some "ocean music" while I bent over the cookbook.

Parchment paper cut in squares with a brush of olive oil in the center. Top it with a half of endive (flattened out) the piece of salmon, brushed with salt, pepper, ginger, and honey. On top lay strips of orange peel that I boiled in water until it was soft (which I don't know why) and 4-5 sections of an orange sans peel and the white stuff. (Don't mind my technical speak here). I wrapped it tightly, baked at 400 and 15 minutes later it was ready to serve.

A few minutes later with couscous on the side we each unwrapped our parchment paper gifts and sniffed at the aroma. A first bite, a second, and Zoe was smiling at me. Jean was floating with each bite and they looked at me with magical eyes. They had arrived and were on the mini-vacation.

Knowing I need reinforcement, they stopped for a moment and gave me a round of applause, explaining what a great meal it was.

So for 15 minutes we pretended we were sitting by the ocean listening to the waves and eating our fresh salmon orange.

Next time you need a mini vacation, try this or another recipe and let me know where you went.