Baked Halibut with Herb Butter

This is a recipe that comes from the William Sanoma Weeknight Cookbook. Its the first recipe I tried from this cookbook, and we really liked it. Halibut is a very mild fish, so even if you aren't a fish fan, you might not hate this. We really like it, and it doesn't hurt that overall it was a pretty healthy meal. After I took the picture, I decided to melt the lemon butter sauce, which made it much easier to drizzle on the fish. It did eventually melt, so I guess it doesn't really matter... either way would be fine. I tried whipping the mixture for a long time, but never quite got the butter and lemon juice to cream together... I'm sure it tasted the same though so I just gave up on trying to make it look good!

Baked Halibut with Herb Butter

4 TBSP. Butter

2 tsp. Flat Leaf Parsley, finely minced

1 tsp. Fresh Thyme, finely minced, plus 2 or 3 sprigs

1 tsp. Fresh Chives, finely minced

Lemon Zest, from 1 Lemon

Lemon Juice, from 2 Lemons

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 Large Yellow Onion, thickly sliced

Halibut Fillets, 2 lbs {or whatever works for your family}

Olive Oil

In a small bowl, whip the butter until soft. Add in the minced herbs, lemon juice & zest, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Beat until thoroughly blended (Mine never blended very well, but it tasted the same!). Taste and adjust the butter with salt & pepper if needed.

Preheat he oven to 400 degrees. Season both sides of the halibut with salt & pepper. Oil a baking dish large enough to hold your fish. Spread the onions on the bottom of the pan & top with extra thyme sprigs. Place prepared halibut on top of the onions.

Roast the halibut in the pre heated oven until an instant read thermometer reads 120 degrees F. Total cooking time will be about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, but start checking about 5 minutes before it should be done to avoid overcooking. Divide the fillet's onto individual plates, top with herb butter, and serve along side the cooked onions.

Favorite Salmon

I don't know if you would really call this a recipe, but this is our favorite way to make salmon. We got the idea from Mom, who got the idea from Uncle Jerry. I was able to find the cedar planks at Home Depot recently and we were so excited. We usually cut the plank in half, which makes the perfect size portions for 2 adults.

Cedar Grilled Lemon Herb Salmon

1 Cedar Plank, soaked for approx. 4 hours

Fresh Salmon

1 Orange, thinly sliced

1 Lemon, thinly sliced

Lemon Herb Seasoning

Extra Lemon Slices, for seasoning individual portions

Completely immerse cedar plank in water. Let soak for at least 4 hours. Remove and place half of the lemon and orange slices on the board.

Take fresh salmon and run under cold water. Place on clean surface and sprinkle with lemon herb spice. Place orange and lemon slices on top of salmon. Grill on preheated BBQ for 20-30 minutes. The cedar plank will be pretty blackened when the salmon is done. Eat right away while fish is still hot. Its delicious!