Last night was our first pub quiz night adventure at our local, The Lord Clyde’s. Depending on our schedules, we’d love to make it a regular thing, but I wouldn’t count on us walking away with a door prize anytime soon. Let’s just say we left plenty of room for improvement. Granted if we’d grown up in England, we might have known a few more of the answers, but I wouldn’t venture to say many. Does anyone know who, once hematologist, turned comedian cowrote Phoenix Nights? Who left Anne Hathaway ill-fitting bed linens in his will? Which pop star is an anagram for Presbyterians? (We got that one by the way!?)

We didn’t stay to see if we would be crowned the losers, but I’m pretty confident that we came in dead last. On the bright side, we definitely set ourselves up nicely to go for a “most improved” title down the road.

While we may bombed at trivia, I have had one huge success in the last few days… my Salmon with Crouton Topping for a Caesar Salad. I love a simple Caesar topped with a grilled fish or meat or even a flavored sausage. But I think this one takes the cake. The salmon turned out flawlessly cooked and the flaky buttery topping mimicked crunchy fresh croutons beautifully.

The salad, along with some of our delicious cheeses from La Fromagerie, made for a sublime meal. Yum!

One of the essential elements to my dish comes from Penzeys, my favorite source for well priced herbs and awesome spice blends. If you haven’t heard of them, definitely check them out. They have beautiful stores throughout the US where you can stick your nose right into a jar of intense fragrant aromas. And their online sights have every spice a cook’s heart could desire. They have so many unique blends, 6 different sausage seasonings alone, that you can easily get overwhelmed with foodie inspiration.

To make this salmon, get your hands on a jar of Fox Point seasoning ASAP! It’s my favorite, bursting with salty oniony goodness. Perfect mixed into sour cream to top a baked potato or scrambled into eggs, and completes this dish beautiful.

While I hope my unsolicited advertisement for Penzeys intrigued you, I realize some of you might not have access, or you just might not be inclined to rush out and buy spices before trying out this recipe. If you don’t have the Fox Point blend, then I would recommend substituting 2 tsp finely chopped chives, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4tsp salt.

After mixing the panko with the melted butter, garlic, and seasonings, spoon evenly onto each of the salmon fillets in their prepared baking dish.

Once the salmon has baked for 20 minutes, the topping should be browned and the fish splendidly moist and flaky. I serve the fish over a simple, lightly dressed caesar salad with grilled (or broiled) onions. Honestly, it is incredibly delicious!

Salmon with Crouton Toppings

Serves 4

4 6 oz. salmon fillets

1 tsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbs butter, melted

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tsp Fox Point Seasoning (or 2 tsp chopped chives, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp salt)

2 fresh garlic cloves, finely minced

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

In a glass baking dish, drizzle the salmon fillets with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

Mix together the melted butter, panko, Fox Point seasoning (or chive substitute), and garlic.

Top each salmon with ¼ of the mixture and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

*Serve over a simple Caesar salad of lettuce, dressing, and grilled onions.