Dinner is Served... regardless of the recipes reviews

this is our Conceptual Plan
Tuscan Salmon with Rosemary Orzo and the reviews on Epicurious.com weren't so great...
but after reading through the reviews I decided those people were wrong and I could make it better, or as the recipe had intended it to be.
The recipe is as follows

• 6 ounces orzo
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 salmon fillets (5 ounces each), skin on
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Cook orzo as directed on package until al dente. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 1/2 cup onion and rosemary until onion softens, 9 minutes. Combine with orzo in a bowl. Season salmon with 1 tablespoon basil, salt and pepper. Heat same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook salmon until golden, 5 minutes per side, flesh side down first; set aside. add garlic and remaining 1 cup onion to skillet; cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives; cook until tomatoes break up, 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley and remaining 1/4 cup basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve fish over orzo; top with tomato mixture.

this is the planned end result.

Here is how it went in our kitchen...

I opted not to do the parsley as I don't find that it adds anything substantial (and the grocery store didn't seem to have any small quantities for sale, I have no need for a bundle of parsley) 

take note that it did not specify what type of onion, so I went for a typical onion.  nothing fancy or out of the ordinary.

Loki came in the Kitchen when preparations were under way,

thats the full filet of salmon he has his sticky curious paws on... 

guess what happened next

no... he didn't get it.

 my ingredients, chopped, halved, diced and sliced.
The orzo was quick and easy, the rosemary and half of the onions went in and mixed with the orzo and required a good amount of salt to bring out the hidden flavors... Ashleigh and I felt that scallions or a sweeter onion would have gone much better as the typical onion used had a hint of flavor that had a bit of a sweet taste to it (from the sauteing most likely) but if that had been played upon more then the orzo mixture would have been really a hit.  Also the rosemary needed to be FINELY chopped as it was just "chopped" and since it does not soften very much in the saute pan the texture was a bit distracting in contrast to the orzo.

My completed dish. 

The Salmon cooked quickly and I feel there could have been a better way to incorporate the basil rather than spreading it over the salmon during the stove top cooking... but that is just me and I don't have a better idea.

So in conclusion this dish was really quite nice! the Orzo combined with the strong flavor in the olives and the delicate tomatoes went very nicely with the salmon.  It was balanced, nothing out shined anything else, the Orzo would have been really great with scallions though.

It was very quick and easy to make though, I definitely recommend it, the orzo goes a long way and when purchased at a good price.