Baked Salmon Poppers

I owe this recipe inspiration to the ever-so-lovely Giada de Laurentiis. While lazily indulging in my morning routine, the food network's Giada At Home caught my attention. More specifically, the episode's theme: "Noshes and Snacks." Obviously, I abandoned my attempt at taking a shower before noon and sat down on the couch in my towel to watch Giada's nosh contribution.

That woman knows whats up.

One of the featured noshes was a snack she dubbed "salmon sticks" (classy fish sticks). I immediately decided that I, too, wanted some salmon sticks and vowed to pick up fresh fish for dinner.

Cut to my kitchen, 7 hours later. Who knew how tricky "skinning" a 9oz piece of salmon would be? Needless to say, my salmon "sticks" looked more like salmon...balls. Messy salmon balls. I thought, "C'est la vie!," and tuckered on with the recipe. And so, salmon "poppers" were born.

These babies ended up being good--really good--and pretty healthy, too (baked, not fried, plus plenty of omega-3's from the salmon...great for skin!) To make them, you need:

-An 8-10 oz center cut salmon fillet
-1 cup flour
-1 egg white
-1 cup breadcrumbs, seasoned to taste (I used salt, pepper, oregano & thyme mixed with store-bought breadcrumbs).
-1/2 cup shredded parmigiano cheese
-butter or butter spray (for greasing baking sheet)

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Start off by "skinning the salmon" (this is hard when you're seriously lacking in any skinning technique. Do your best to separate the meat from the skin using a serated knife). Next, cut the salmon steak into 1 inch chunks, or cubes. Set aside.

In three shallow, wide bowls, separate the other ingredients: flour in the first, egg white in the second, breadcrumbs and cheese in the third.

Take a salmon cube and roll it lightly in the flour until the whole surface is covered. Then, dip in egg white. Last, roll cube in breadcrumb/parmigiano mixture until generously covered. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat process until all cubes have been "dunked." Note: a 9 oz salmon steak yields about 20 "poppers." Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and serve immediately. I ate mine with a homeade dipping sauce consisting of equal parts honey, dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning, though I'm pretty sure good ole ketchup would do the trick too! The poppers are a great combination of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside...fish sticks for grown-ups!