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Cedar-Planked Salmon with Cider-Vinegar Sauce

From the Kitchen of: Larry  Forgione

For more than 17 years, Larry Forgione has been a leader of the "new" American-cuisine movement. Forgione's Manhattan restaurant, An American Place, features a menu that combines startling innovations with ideas borrowed from US culinary history. He finds the cooking of the late 1800s especially fascinating and scours old cookbooks for "new" recipes.

Forgione is also the co-founder of American Spoon Foods in Petoskey, Michigan, which produces top-quality preserves, jams, relishes and sauces.

In 1993, Forgione was named Chef of the Year at the third annual James Beard Awards, the Oscars of the cooking world. He was also selected as an Ivy Award Winner in 1988 by Restaurants & Institutions magazine and named Chef of the Year by the Culinary Institute of America in 1989.

Cedar-Planked Salmon
1	tsp	Salt
1/4	tsp	Freshly ground black pepper
1/4	tsp	Dry mustard
1	tbsp	Unsalted butter, room temperature
4	6-oz	Salmon fillets, skinned and boned
2		Untreated 4-inch-by-12-inch cedar shingles (available from a lumberyard)

• Mix the salt, pepper, and mustard. Brush the top of the fillets with a little butter; then sprinkle both sides with the mustard mixture.
• Preheat the broiler. Soak the shingles in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes; then place them under the hot broiler 4 to 5 inches from the heat source for 3 minutes until browned on one side. Carefully remove the shingles from the broiler.
• Immediately lay 2 fillets on the hot browned side of each shingle. Return the shingles to the broiler and cook the fish for about 5 minutes. Remove the shingles from the broiler and lift the salmon from them, or serve the fish on the shingles. (Serves 4.)

Cider-Vinegar Sauce
1		Shallot, sliced
1/2		Tart apple, cored and sliced
1/2	C	Cider vinegar
1	C	Fish broth or chicken stock
1	tbsp	Cornstarch
1/2	C	Heavy cream
1	tbsp	Lemon juice
		Salt
		Freshly ground pepper

• Place the shallot, apple, and vinegar in a small saucepan and cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by two-thirds. Add the stock; cook for 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by half. Lower the heat to a simmer.
• Stir the cornstarch into the cream until it dissolves. Add the cream to the saucepan, and when the liquid simmers, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve and serve.
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