cook

Today’s show is salmon on a cedar plank, cauliflower/leek mash…a healthier, tastier alternative to mashed potatoes and crème brulee Once you make crème brulee at home, you’ll never want to eat it out when you see all the fattening ingredients that go in there. Ce’st la Vie!

Salmon trivia…wild is always better. No question farmed salmon has higher levels of dioxins and pcb’s. Good rule of thumb…most Atlantic salmon is farmed and most of Pacific is wild… but ask your fish monger, they have to tell you. Salmon have a crazy life…they’re born in fresh water where they hang out a couple of years, then go to the ocean where they hang out until they mature, now being able to live in salt water and then when they’re ready to spawn, they find the river they came from and swim upstream to spawn. They begin to break down in the fresh water, but still manage to travel sometimes up to 900 miles.

Lots of people order salmon when they’re out but are afraid to make it at home. Just be sure to get salmon fillet, rectangular piece as opposed to a steak, which has bones. Get cedar planks at the hardware store, untreated for closets and cut them to fit each fillet, or you can get reusable ones at the store.

Salmon on a Cedar Plank
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Salmon
Jam or preserves, we like a chili cherry preserve
Green chilies, we like 505 Chile Honey-Roasted Chipotle Chiles

Soak the cedar planks for at least an hour before cooking the salmon. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Coat the salmon with the preserves, not so heavy you can’t see the salmon, not so light, you won’t taste the preserves. Then spread some chilies on top…about a tablespoon per fillet. Place each salmon fillet on a cedar plank. Cook in oven til almost desired doneness. This depends on how thick each fillet is, and how well you like your salmon cooked. Anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes. For the last minute or so, you can place under the broiler to really brown the top. You can also take the cedar plank out of the oven and hold it with long metal tongs and flame the cedar plank by turning on one of your stove burners. Have a pig frying pan standing by with a lid. Once the plank flames, place it in the pan and put a top on it to extinguish the flames. Keep closed til ready to serve, so the smoke stays in with the salmon. You can also do this out on a grill. Keep the lid closed so the smoke stays in.

Cauliflower/Leek Mash
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1 head cauliflower
2 leeks
Butter
Half and half
Grated parmesan cheese

Cut one head of cauliflower into four or five pieces and put into pot large enough to hold it. Wash leeks well and slice using all the white and about half of the green. Put in enough water to cook but not cover. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered til cauliflower softens. Drain and put into food processor with a couple tablespoons of butter, a couple tablespoons of half and half and a couple tablespoons of cheese. If its not mushy enough, you can add a couple tablespoons of chicken or vegetable broth. Put in a baking dish, sprinkle a little more parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350 for twenty to thirty minutes.

Crème Brulee
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2 cups heavy cream
½ cup milk
½ cup sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300. Heat cream, milk and half the sugar til it almost boils in a saucepan. Meanwhile beat eggs and yolks together. Pour the cream mixture slowly into the egg mixture, beating well. Then pour it all back into the saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, about four minutes. Add vanilla and pour into four individual ramekins (custard cups). Put ramekins into a larger pan, put in oven and fill larger pan with boiling water so it’s a couple of inches high. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and let cool, out of pan. Then cover and put in fridge. A few hours before serving, sprinkle remaining sugar on tops and either broil til browned or use a torch to brown. Chill again and then serve.