The Nutcracker ballet will always have a special place in my heart. For me, it’s like the dishes you ate at home as a child – they may not have been your favorite at the time, but once you grow up, you realize they’ve become your comfort food.

And that’s how I feel about the Nutcracker – the same songs, the same costumes, the same choreography year after year after year. But now that it’s been so long since I’ve performed any classical ballet… the Nutcracker’s the one I miss the most.

The adrenaline rush of those first few bars of party scene music.

The magic of the snow scene at the end of the first act… and slipping and sliding on all that fake fog.

Sprinting around backstage between quick costume changes, and hoping nobody accidentally steals my Chinese costume again.

Reminding each other to take off our warmups after that one time my best friend went onstage with a legwarmer on.

Fluffing each others tutus before Waltz of the Flowers, the mess of clothing and makeup and flowers that would take over the dressing rooms, and finally going out to eat with everybody after the final show.

I may have missed out on a lot of teenaged things, but I don’t regret dancing, not a single bit.

This is one of those dishes that’s super super simple, fairly healthy, but quite tasty and satisfying.

I ended up having to broil the fish for a good bit longer, due to only having a toaster oven to work with, so I imagine this would be even tastier if you had a true broiler to work with. Just make sure to keep an eye on it so you don’t burn anything!

Broiled Salmon with Scallions and Sesame

from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds, plus more for serving
• 3 8-oz skin-on center-cut salmon fillets
• Kosher salt
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 Fresno chile, thinly sliced

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, 1 tbsp oil, and 1/2 tsp sesame seeds in a small bowl. Season salmon fillets with salt and place in a resealable plastic bag; add half of marinade. Seal bag, pressing out air, and let salmon sit 30 minutes. Reserve remaining marinade.
2. Preheat broiler. Toss scallions with remaining 2 tsp oil on sizzle platter; broil until lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Remove salmon from marinade and set on top of scallions. Spoon some reserved marinade over and broil until salmon is charred around edges, about 6 minutes (watch closely to keep from burning). Spoon more marinade over; top with chile. Broil until salmon is charred and medium-rare at thickest part, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds.

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