Tonight's dinner was, to me, a big payoff for some of the effort I've put into this journal.  This is the first time I've drawn a blank on what I was feeling up to cooking and said, "hmmm.  Maybe I'll look back through some of my old entries."  The Maple Glazed Cedar Plank Salmon almost immediately stood out.  My old entry sparked some memories of this recipe being easy and mind-bogglingly yummy.  If I had made this the first time without the blog, I may very well have never stumbled upon the memory of this dish again.

I followed the recipe to the letter on this one, except that I started with salmon filets already cut into individual portions rather than one large filet.  I really love the elegant sweetness of this sauce, and although I'm sure everyone likes it, I'm not so sure that everyone is quite so enamored of it as I.  Chalk that one up to innate differences in palette. 

I served the salmon with some simple butter and cream mashed potatoes topped with some baby spinach sauteed in butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  I molded this in an old take-out container that I cut the bottom out of, and topped everything with some diced red bell pepper, toasted sesame seeds, and fine extra virgin olive oil.

Everything worked here.  And now this maple-ginger glaze is a permanent part of my repertoire.