We are looking forward to the Dirty Dancing Festival in Lake Lure this coming weekend, August 15th. It has become a tradition in Lake Lure since 2010. The year after Patrick Swayze’s death, it was decided that the town would honor the star and the movie with a festival that would raise money for pancreatic cancer research. It has been a draw for Dirty Dancing fans ever since. As one of the major sites of the filming, Lake Lure is the perfect venue.
We bought our small cottage on the lake in 1984. Little did I realize that in the Fall of 1986, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey and the cast and crew were in residence at the Lake Lure Inn filming scenes around the lake. At that time it was a low budget film. No one had ever heard of Patrick Swayze or Jennifer Grey. Lake Lure was not the only film location. Parts of the movie were also filmed in Virginia. I wrote a post about our stay at Mountain Lake, Virginia and the confusion about the scene where Baby was put in the corner. I thought it was in Virginia and sat at that corner table, but as it turned out, it was really in Lake Lure. Many of the scenes were filmed in Lake Lure. To teach Baby how to master the move of being held in the air after leaping from the stage, Johnny suggested that they practice in the water. The “lake lift” has become an iconic move. From what I have heard, because it was late autumn, Patrick and Jennifer were very cold in the frigid water. A big part of the festival today is a contest to see which couple can perform the best lift. The above couple did very well.
This couple did their best. . . . . the picture makes me smile and laugh. These are two of our guests who rented our small cottage for two weeks a few years ago. Jenel is very talented on the computer and photoshopped a very convincing recreation of the lift. She offered to do one of David and me, but I wasn’t too sure that it would be a pretty picture. Maybe after we are toned and buff. Ha! But I totally love their picture!
We are still trying to eat well. I have posted about this recipe for salmon in parchment before, but thought it was worth a repeat. It is one of David’s favorite creations. You can see the details for the dish here. One of the things I love about it, other than the taste, is that you can make the parchment packages ahead of time and just bake them when you are ready. They would be perfect for camping wrapped in foil rather than parchment paper. Or after an afternoon attending a festival. Enjoy your weekend. “Have the Time of your Life”.
SALMON EN PAPILLOTE WITH JULIENNED VEGETABLES
This is a very simple, delicious and fool-proof way to prepare salmon with vegetables. And, it looks fancy and festive, but it is so easy. You can use any combination of vegetables that suits your fancy. Listed below are some of the ones we commonly use, but you can substitute or include others such as, leeks, and snow peas, anything that can be cut into thin pieces so that it cooks rapidly. You can also substitute any other type of fish fillet that you might have on hand or can find, and you also might want to experiment with other herbs and spices.
Here are one possible set of ingredients per packet, i.e. per serving
one 8 oz salmon filet
¼ cup julienned carrots
¼ cup julienned green onions
¼ cup julienned broccolini
¼ cup julienned red or green pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dry white wine
basil ½ tsp dried or 1 tsp chopped fresh
2 lemon slices
3 pats of butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg beaten-to seal the packets
Place a salmon filet to the right of the center of a 15” square of parchment paper. Salt and pepper the filet to taste. Sprinkle the olive oil, garlic, and basil over the salmon. Arrange the julienned vegetables on top of the filet. Place two lemon slices and three butter pats on top. Sprinkle the wine over the top and add a little more salt and pepper to the top of the vegetables. Use a brush and the egg wash to paint the edge of paper all the way around to help seal the packet. Fold the left side of the paper over the fish and vegetables and start at the top left corner making small overlapping folds all the way around the three open sides. When you get to the final fold, turn it under to help keep it from unfolding. Prepare as many packets as you want servings and place on a baking sheet in a 400 deg oven for about 18-20 minutes. The fish will actually be done in about 15 minutes, but the veggies will benefit from the extra time, and the fish will remain moist and tender from the cooking method. To serve, place a packet on each plate along with whatever starch you are serving, and cut the packets open with a sharp knife so the contents can be removed to the plate. Enjoy.
