Salmon a La Russian
Created by Mark Nadler, star of "Russian on the Side"
MAKES TWO SERVINGS
For Salmon
½ tbsp butter
Frozen Puff Pastry
1 medium sized beet julienned (approx. 2 cups)
½ cup yellow onion finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp dried dill
Freshly ground pepper to taste
¾ cup pepper infused vodka (such as Absolut Peppar)
1 egg separated, yolk slightly beaten
½ lb. excellent quality salmon (organic preferred) skin removed
2 tbsp of salmon roe (red caviar) ($9 a jar)
Grease baking sheet with butter
Take puff pastry out of package and let thaw on baking sheet for no more than 25 minutes
Preheat oven to 375º
Over medium-high heat, sautee the onions in the olive oil and salt until they are tender -- approximately 2 minutes.
Add beets, cloves, dill and pepper. Stir so the beets become coated with the onions.
Add vodka and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cover and cook the beets for about ten minutes until the beets are tender and the vodka is absorbed. As you check on this every few minutes, give it a stir.
When beets are tender remove from heat.
Place a piece of thawed puff pastry on baking sheet and place salmon in the center of it. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with egg-white (which will act a s a "glue" to keep the pastry together). Cover the top of the salmon with the beet mixture and cover the whole thing with another piece of puff pastry, pressing the edges (which have been brushed with egg-white) together. Brush the exterior of the pastry with the slightly beaten yolk.
Bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is nicely golden.
Dollop the salmon roe in the center as garnish and then cut the salmon in half. Serve with Russian Dressing on the side. ($9 a bottle)
For Russian Dressing
¼ cup commercial mayonnaise
¼ cup commercial ketchup
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp finely diced green bell pepper
1 tbsp strained and chopped pimiento
1 tbsp horseradish
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
Cook the onion in the microwave for 20 seconds.
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until use.
About Mark Nadler: He's been called a combination of Danny Kaye and all of the Marx Brothers rolled into one, while his show-stopping talents have earned him comparisons to Al Jolson. Nadler starred in and co-wrote the off-Broadway Gershwin revue, American Rhapsody, which was nominated for a 2001 Drama Desk and two Lucille Lortel Awards and received the Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) Award for Outstanding Musical Revue. Regularly appearing at New York City's landmark cabaret The Algonquin, Nadler created and starred in over a dozen shows based on the great American Songbook. He has received four MAC awards for Outstanding Musical Comedy Performer and was awarded the Backstage Bistro Award for "Continuing to Raise the Standards of Cabaret Performance" (2003), as well as Outstanding Singer/ Instrumentalist and Outstanding Direction.
Nadler has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra, New York City's Town Hall, and has been a soloist with the Baltimore, Indianapolis and Oregon Symphonies. He has played in almost every significant nightclub in both New York City and Los Angeles, and has performed abroad in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, Holland and Australia. On Broadway, Nadler appeared as "The Fingers on the Keys" in Dame Edna: The Royal Tour and as "Pinky Pickles" in The Sheik of Avenue 'B,' as well as numerous productions off-Broadway and regionally. He also co-wrote, directed and starred in The Nose Knows, a tribute to Jimmy Durante for the "Reel to Real" series at Lincoln Center and arranged and coached Glenn Close's performance of "Bye Bye Blackbird" for the 1985 film Maxie.
Russian on the Side Info:
A comedy-in-music Adventure
Marine's Memorial Theatre
609 Sutter Street at Mason, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA
Thursday, October 16 through Sunday, November 16, 2008.
Tickets are $39 and $49 for regular performances; reduced-price previews and opening night (October 16-21) are $29 for all seats.
Tickets are on sale now at the Marines Memorial Theatre Box Office, by calling 415-771-6900, or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com OR http://www.broadwayworld.com. Discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more by calling the number above.
