Blackened Salmon

I have to admit a few things. First, I am clueless when it comes to cooking fish, for the most part. My parents - from whom I've stolen/modified most of these recipes - never really cooked fish until we moved to the east coast, where it was cheap. Second, I took a lot of this recipe from RealSimple.com. I would still call this my own personal recipe because I only used about half the ingredients, modified some, and modified cook times.

Ingredients:
1 salmon fillet per person
1 bag instant rice per 2-3 people
2 1/2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter
1 can corn

Heat oven to 425.

At some point, cook your instant rice. Generally, you boil some water, put the bag in, let it sit for 8 minutes, then dump out the water. It really doesn't matter when the rice is done. Just keep it warm for now.

Combine paprika, cayenne, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp salt in a shallow bowl. Mix 'em up.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet that can hold all your salmon. If you're making like 897 salmon fillets, obviously this does not apply to you. Dip the salmon in the butter, covering both sides. You should have a little bit of butter left over. Next, dip the salmon in the spice mixture, very liberally. You want a good coat on there.

Dump the remaining butter. It's okay and preferable if you have a tiny bit still in the skillet. Over medium-high to high heat, put the salmon in the skillet. Cook 2 minutes per side.

Take the salmon out of the skillet and place it in a square cake/casserole pan. There is a good reason for this. I firmly believe it cooks the salmon on the inside more than if you just lie it out on a flat pan. The heat on the sides of the pan sort of reinforces the heat around the salmon and cooks it more thoroughly.

Place the salmon in the oven for 8-12 minutes. I know that's a huge variable, but it really depends on the thickness of the fish. I had one thick one and one thin one, so we had to do one for 8 minutes and one for about 15. This recipe will obviously be more consistent if you use similar salmon fillets.

While that's cooking, combine the rice, 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp basil, and the can of corn. Mix it up, add the rest of your salt (really, add as much salt as you like).

When your fishies are done, lie a bed of rice on a plate and top it with the salmon. And then you have the best salmon I can think of!