The hit of this meal was the soup! The plain grilled squash soup was ok but, well plain. The spiced peanuts really made it special. Great meal for a cold evening. We could have had just the soup salad and bread and would have been fine.
The salmon was ok. I could not tell any real difference from the cedar plank. We tried both Atlantic Salmon and Alaskan. The Alaskan was much better. Less fishy tasting. It was also 20% more expensive. I have cooked the other salmon recipe in this book many times. It has a brown sugar and mustard glaze that is to die for. It is a hit every time we make it. The dill and lemon zest in this recipe was good but nothing special.
Dessert was grilled peaches which were a real treat in the middle of winter. I found them at Whole Foods. They found them in Chile. They were perfectly ripe which was a nice surprise. The recipe calls for a sauce made of fresh cherries. I think I didn't use the right kind of cherries or I put in too much balsamic vinegar or the Kirsch (cherry liqueur) was not the right kind or something. It was good but not as good as I expected. This is one where we can keep experimenting. It is not that hard. I think that raspberries would be better than cherries.
The Hefrons joined Kathie and I for dinner. Emily and Charlie are visiting my brother, Jim and his wife Cathy in Colorado. Charlie is tearing up the slopes on his snowboard and Emily is ice skating and enjoying the sites and shopping with Cathy. They will have to eat leftovers tomorrow! Jayne Hefron brought another great salad that went well with the salmon. The consensus of the group seemed to be that the hit of the meal was the soup, the dessert had potential and the salmon was ok but not as good as other recipes.
Mark
