Dish Report #6 (aka Out of the ordinary #6)

Last night I made Salmon fillets over couscous.  The dish was super easy to make and it presented itself quite lovely.  See?

Q took the pic immediately after it was plated which increased the desire to dig in and eat it.  And... everyone was here to taste it and all came eagerly to the dinner table to try out this new experimental dish that I had made. 

But first, here are some questions that we "discussed" before anyone tried anything.

What is couscous? 

Me:  Some kinda rice or pasta that's super tiny.

The Wiki's answer:  Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina pasta. The grain is a staple in many North African countries. 

Note:  Family is from south Texas and is mostly familiar with latino rice dishes and some Italian style pastas.  Mom, me, is full blooded latina.

What's all the stuff in the 'gush gush'?

Me:  Chopped tomatoes, green bell pepper, yellow squash, green onion, and crumbled feta cheese.

Note:  Teach family how to say couscous.

Is the salmon supposed to be pink?  Is it cooked?

Me:  Yes.  It's not raw.

Answers.com says:  Salmon eat large amounts of a tiny shrimp called Krill. The pigment in the shell of the Krill is red and over a long period of consumption the flesh of the salmon absorbs the red pigment from the Krill.

Confession:  I did have to put the salmon back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes.  My glass dish was too small for 6 pieces so they needed more time than what was noted on the recipe.

Note:  Family's exposure to seafood cuisine includes, but not limited to, fish sticks, fried catfish, and most recently grilled tilapia.

Last week I mentioned that I was going to have everyone complete a scorecard on my weekly dinner experiments.  Their feedback is important, right?  Here's what we got.

Rate from 1 to 5:  Avg score 2

Would you eat it again?  3-No, 2-Maybe

Comments:

"gush gush was a wanna-be rice"

"feta cheese too overpowering"

"don't really like seafood, first time i've eaten salmon"

"rice was funny, like cream of wheat"

"make less slimy looking"

"salmon was good, maybe better if grilled"

"couscous was made better with McCormick's Montreal steak seasoning"

"try a wild rice dish as the side"

"do not et it" (new speller here)

"it's cool that you're doing this"

I liked the couscous so I saved the leftovers and I'll add some ham to it for lunch tomorrow.  There was only 1 salmon fillet leftover so not big enough for Q's lunch so I gave him hot dogs & chili.  Who doesn't like hot dogs & chili?

Next week, maybe I'll try something that everyone has a baseline familiarity with the main part of the dish... or maybe not.  It has been fun trying foods and recipes that we aren't familiar with and everyone is "playing along."  Everyone took the "scorecard" seriously which made it fun.

Note:  Little Q ate a lot of the salmon, and tried the couscous.  V tried everything but opted out.  They both ate the alternate side dish of bean & cheese tacos.