parmesan and bacon crusted wild salmon with spinach, corn and clam chowder sauce...

impressive name for a dish right? scott and i had our wedding reception at roy's restaurant in las vegas and as a gift from my mom and her best friend, we got the roy's cookbook. if you've never eaten at roy's, i can't reccomend it enough...it is consistently beyond perfect...food, drinks, service. no matter the loaction or occasion...
i managed to follow the recipe almost exactly (which is quite a feat for me as i almost NEVER follow a recipe exactly). mostly because i was scared and wanted it to come out perfectly....although i halved it, as there were only 2 of us. it came together more quickly than it reads. once all the prep work was done (i always prep everything first for new recipes) it was a cinch. the final concensus is, in my opinion, it sounds better than it tastes and it tastes better than it looks. i expected it to be a 10...to me, it was only a 7 or so. if i made it again, i would definitely cut out all of the "season with salt" steps because the bacon in the crust and the reduced clam juice in the sauce make it salty enough without adding more...but the corn and spinach was a TOTAL knockout and would be a perfect, simple, easy side dish for other meals. also, one of the pieces of salmon i had was a little thick in the middle, so i finished it in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes.

PARMESAN-AND-BACON-CRUSTED SALMON WITH CORN, SPINICH, AND CLAM CHOWDER SAUCE
by: roy yamaguchi
Serving Size: 4

Clam chowder sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 cups bottled clam juice, or 1 cup canned clam juice
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Corn and spinach
4 ears sweet corn
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4-tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
4 cups packed spinach leaves

Parmesan bacon crust
3 slices bacon, cut into ¼ inch strips
8 cloves garlic minced
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 cup shaved or grated Parmesan cheese

Salmon
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
To prepare the sauce, heat the olive in a small, heavy stainless steel saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and thyme, and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the clam juice, bring to a boil, and cook to reduce by half. Gradually whisk in the butter until it is melted and incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.


To prepare the corn and spinach, stand the corn upright on a cutting board and carefully cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife. Transfer to a large, dry skillet and dry roast over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the kernels just begin to pop. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the butter and garlic. Cook until the corn browns slightly, about 2 minutes, and then add the thyme and spinach. Sauté 1 minute longer, until the spinach is just wilted. Set aside and keep warm.


To prepare the crust, put the bacon in a dry, heavy stainless-steel skillet or sauté pan over medium heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the bacon is about half cooked and releasing its fat. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the bacon is cooked but not yet crisp. Stir in the panko and let it toast for about 10 seconds. Add the cheese and cook until melted. Remove from the heat.


Season the salmon with salt and pepper to taste and spread the fillets on one side with a layer of the crust mixture about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully return the salmon, crust side down, to the skillet or pan in which the crust was prepared, and sear over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, or until the crust browns. Turn over and cook the other side for 4 to 5 minutes, or until still slightly translucent in the center


Spoon the corn and spinach onto warmed serving plates and smooth out to form a bed for the salmon. Arrange the salmon on top and spoon the warm clam chowder sauce around the fish.