Happy 60th, Mom!

In celebration of my mom's birthday, we had my parents over for dinner. I decided to prepare a lovely "Blue and pear salmon" recipe courtesy of the winter issue of All You Need is Cheese magazine (http://allyouneedischeese.ca). Recipe serves 8:
2 skinless filets of salmon 1 3/4 lb each
3 slices bacon, crumbled
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed (I prefer to grate them with my rasp over using a press... I also chose to double the garlic for this recipe to stand up a little better with the blue)
2 pears, peeled, cleaned and diced
1/2 cup white wine (I went with Verdiccio)
1/4 cup maple syrup (mmm... Crinklaws...)
1 tbsp chopped fresh savoury or 1 tsp dried savoury (I didn't have any savoury, so I went with a mixture of thyme and corriander)
salt and pepper to taste
2 slices of bread, crumbled
4 oz Canadian blue, sliced

*preheat oven to 375F
*In a skillet over medium-high heat, sautee bacon, onion and garlic. Add pears, wine, maple syrup and savoury. Season generously and let simmer 5 minutes.
*Remove from heat and add bread to absorb liquid.
*On a parchment lined cookie sheet, set one of the salmon filets. garnish with pear preparation, then add blue.
*Cover with second salmon filet and bake 30 minutes. Cut and serve immediately with rice and vegetables.
***Variations - recipe can be prepared in advance and baked at the last minute. For a molder taste, try with Canadian aged gouda, mild or aged cheddar, or slices of brie.

I served ours with brown rice and broccoli slaw with apples and blueberry poppyseed vinaigrette.

Eleda sayin Ahoy, matey with a napkin ring.

Mom opening presents.

And the yummy cake.