Food Goes In Mouth

I know. You had salmon for Thanksgiving? You’re so weird. Right, I’ll get to that soon.

I’m at my parents’ place in the booming urban metropolis that is Corning, CA for the rest of the weekend. For Thanksgiving day it was just the three of us. The huge family clan dinner isn’t taking place until Saturday and my sister doesn’t get in from San Diego until tonight Christmas Eve. We’re talking about a small audience. Forget turkey.

I could also note that seafood, what with the Pilgrims being coastal in location, made up a significant portion of the original menu. I think this misses the real point though.

It’s fashionable these days to knock the modern Thanksgiving food traditions with something like, They never ate pumpkin pie or broccoli au gratin or cornbread stuffing…nope not in the real first Thanksgiving. Fine, but shouldn’t the remembrance of tradition focus on the point of this meal and not the details? The Pilgrims were thankful for what they had. So they ate what they had.

My parents had fish. :)

Ok, that’s my two cents on the subject of Thanksgiving. On with the inevitably flawed session of cooking!

What I Used

• Salmon
• Cedar Plank
• Almonds, chopped
• Honey
• Vegetable Broth

What I Did

1. Let the cedar plank soak in water for 12 hrs (this can be done for only a few hours, but the longer the better)
2. Thinly coat one side of plank with vegetable oil and place salmon skin down upon it
3. Salt the top of the salmon and move plank to a 350° BBQ for 20 minutes
4. In a small saucepan mix and heat almonds, honey, and vegetable broth until reduced to a consistency of your liking
5. Plate salmon and top with almond/honey reduction
6. Serve and finish with fresh dill (or as pictured, with crushed dry dill)

The BBQ I used was my Dad’s gas-powered, but if you use charcoal just do it over cooler coals or indirect heat. The exact temperature isn’t really important.

You’ve never cedar grilled salmon before? Just go for it. If you can buy untreated cedar at your local lumber store, make your own planks. Otherwise you can probably find them in the store, overpriced. Personally, I’m thankful to have a Mom who bought me a few during graduation.

Happy Thanksgiving!