Dinner Club

By happenstance and good fortune, my husband and I have been part of a dinner club for five wonderful years.  We get together with two other couples every couple of months, and last night was our turn to host.  Life has been extremely busy of late so we didn't decide on the contents of dinner until yesterday morning - yikes!  I usually contemplate and plan dinner parties for up to a week or longer. Not this time, but we did have plans to hit the farmer's market first thing in the morning to see what spoke to us and go from there.  The beautiful swiss chard, which goes so well fish, was what ended up speaking to us.  So, the main course was basically settled, just added in a herbed quinoa pilaf to round it out.  There were some early hot-house tomatoes that also looked good, and I had been wanting to make a cold Andalusian creamy gazpacho since it was going to hit the 90s and higher this weekend.  So, a cold first course was settled.  Now, there were lovely peaches and blueberries to use for dessert, but I was beginning to feel nostalgic, so I decided that a Rhubard Custard Pie like my mother used to make sounded like a good finish.  So, off to the store for fish and rhubarb. The store yielded some beautiful sockeye salmon.  The only thing left to decide was nosh to accompany cocktails when everyone first arrived.  We bought some cheeses, but once home we neglected to polish off the smoked pheasant crepes at lunch, so I blended the leftover smoked pheasant with some goat cheese, lemon zest and juice, and garlic chives for a version of my smoked pheasant pâté.  I think it's even better than the original version I posted awhile back because the goat cheese adds a piquant note that lends itself to the lemon and both of which cut the intensity of the smoked pheasant.

The salmon recipe my family has used for years is below.  It's not exact and one could definitely play with the quantities, but it makes any salmon taste amazing. You could probably use chum and it'd be great.

Barbequed Salmon

Ingredients

• ~3 - 5 pounds salmon side(s), skin on
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (can substitute olive oil)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (could use low-sodium)
• Juice from 1 large lemon
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 4 slices bacon, optional

Preparation

If using a whole salmon, prepare the salmon by cleaning off the scales and removing the fins, head and tail.  Split in half.  Remove the backbone and as many bones as you can. If using a side of salmon start here. Lay skin side down in a large pan.

Melt butter and add rest of ingredients except for bacon.  Pour over salmon.  Lightly cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Can be refrigerated overnight.

To barbeque:  Light the briquettes and wait until they are white hot.  Put the fish skin side down on the grill and add bacon strips over the top, if using.  Add a few wood chips (alder, apple, maple – deciduous trees only).  Cover with barbeque lid.  Let cook until the fish is done in the thickest part – check by pulling apart to see if it flakes properly.  Cut into serving sections.  Remove by lifting sections off the skin and onto a platter.  Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.