Mustard Seed-Crusted Salmon with Mustard Cream Sauce

When you are knee deep into a “Blue Bloods” marathon in honor of Tom Selleck's 71st birthday (Although, really any excuse to stare at Tom Selleck works for me, and doesn't he look fabulous for seventy one?) there is no time to labor over a lengthy recipe in the kitchen. A piece of wild salmon was calling my name from the fridge, so a quick rifling through our assembled book of favorite salmon recipes yielded this one from an old issue of Gourmet magazine from 2004. I had no fresh tarragon on hand, so subbed a teaspoon of dried, and paired this dish with a side of Melissa's Roasted Dutch Yellow Potatoes (where all of the work is virtually done), and leftover fresh green beans from the night before. What a wonderful meal in such a short amount of time!

Mustard Seed-Crusted Salmon

with Mustard Cream Sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped shallots
3 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
4 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Boil wine, shallots, and 1 tablespoon mustard seeds in heavy small saucepan until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 4 minutes. Whisk in cream, 2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, and tarragon. Boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 3 minutes (more or less, depending upon how thick you want your sauce). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat; cover.

Brush salmon on both sides with remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, and sprinkle (again, both sides) with remaining 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, salt, and pepper. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add salmon and cook just until opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Spoon mustard sauce over salmon.

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