Quite simply, this is the very best salmon preparation we’ve ever had – anywhere. This is one of those rare recipes that is incredibly simple yet yields results so impressive that you’ll want to serve it to guests. And they will ask for the recipe.

You’ll start by fashioning a cast iron skillet into a smoker. To do that, line a 10 inch skillet with foil, tearing a 1 ½” hole in the center. This is where you’ll place the wood chips (mesquite, alder, etc. Incidentally, grapevines work well). You’ll need a round wire cake rack with 1″ feet. If you don’t have one with feet, improvise by balling up 4 small pieces of tin foil and placing them underneath the outer edges of the rack so the rack is balanced. Lastly, line your skillet lid with foil. That’s it. You’ve done the hard part. Now, on with the recipe.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper and sugar. Place the fish on a platter and rub the seasoning mix all over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Prepare your skillet as described above (don’t put the chips or cake rack in yet) and place over high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels and lightly brush both sides with oil. Add wood chips to the center of the skillet and then position the cake rack on top. When the chips begin to smoke, place the fish on the rack, skin side down and cover tightly with the foil-lined lid. Reduce heat to moderately low and
smoke the salmon for about 10 minutes or until a fork inserted into the
fillet meets with no resistance. Serve hot or chilled, but hot is our
preference.
.

Serves 4

We cherish those recipes in our that are deeply flavorful, but without requiring hours of preparation. This has become a favorite in our house.

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 small)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
½ tablespoon olive oil
2 whole chicken legs (about 1 ½ pounds total)

Preheat oven to 500º F. Cut potatoes into ½ inch pieces. In a bowl stir together potatoes, half of garlic, half of rosemary, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Rub chicken with remaining garlic and rosemary. In a roasting pan arrange chicken in one layer and scatter potatoes around meat. Roast chicken and potatoes in middle of oven until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are crisp, about 35 minutes.

Serves 2

Serves 6 as appetizer

1/ 4 cup olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 ½ tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 ½ tablespoon mayonnaise

1 ½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons finely minced shallot

Dash of lemon zest

Mixed salad greens

6 ounces smoked trout (Newman’s fish at City Market in NW Portland has an excellent source from Idaho)

1/3 cup marcona almonds

½ -2/3 cup canned fried shallots (certainly Chef Habetz fried his own, but I found an excellent product at Zupan’s Market by a company called Lars’ Own – equally delicious sprinkled on a grilled steak and beet green salad.

Whisk first eight ingredients. Toss mustard dressing with mixed greens and plate. Break trout into bite sized pieces and place on top of greens. Sprinkle each salad with almonds and fried shallots.