Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

I've long considered myself a "foodie", meaning I enjoy cooking and appreciate good fresh food, beautifully prepared from scratch. From childhood I was surrounded by people who loved to cook fresh food. We rarely ate any processed or fast food, and for the most part we ate most meals at home. These days I tend to dine out just one weekend night, and cook at home the other nights. Nearly always it involves fresh ingredients. It isn't fancy or expensive, just fresh. One night recently I decided to grill some fresh wild-caught salmon but I used cedar wood planks for flavor. 

The cedar planks soaked in water for a few hours, to avoid them burning too quickly once placed on the grill. It was a fairly simple recipe- sliced onion, fresh tarragon, minced garlic, seasoning, a dash of olive oil, and fresh squeezed lemon. I let that marinate for about an hour. I placed the salmon filets on the cedar planks, and put them on the pre-heated grill, but turned the heat down low.

I want to say they cooked on the grill for about 20-25 minutes. You can see the planks got slightly charred but not too badly, as they had soaked enough water to keep them in shape to survive the flames. The nice part is of course the wonderful cedar scent that permeates the salmon. With every bite, you could sense the mild cedar aroma. I sauteed some grape tomatoes and sliced baby bella mushrooms, a bit of minced garlic in a dash of sherry, then poured it over the grilled salmon filets. It was easy, relatively fast and a nice healthy dinner at home in Palm Springs. Try it sometime.