Cedar Plank Salmon with Dill Butter

Sunday dinner is a big deal in our house and I love to take the time to make a little something special every week. I decided to stretch the budget and spring for fresh salmon as a starting point. (The frozen stuff just doesn't begin to compare on flavor and texture.) My husband reminded me that we used to have a couple cedar planks that we used when we were first married but of course they were long gone. So we added in an afternoon trip to Home Depot to pick up new cedar planks. I know you have to soak them in water but I read somewhere once something about soaking them in white wine instead!

 Luckily I had a half drunk bottle of Cupcake wine sitting in my fridge. My favorite!

I let it soak about an hour, while I prepped my dill butter. This recipe I borrowed from my California Fresh Harvest cookbook and it really does remind me of my childhood even though it is a more recently discovered recipe. It's quite simple to put together but absolutely worth it. You just need a 1/2 cup of softened butter, 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, 1/4 cup dill, lemon zest from 1/2 a lemon, and some salt and pepper. Just combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well!

Then roll it into a cylinder and wrap it in wax paper. Place back in the refrigerator until serving time.

Next, I pulled out the salmon and spread a light drizzle of olive oil over the top. I added a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and zested the rest of the lemon over the top. I had planned to add a little  chopped dill as well but I got lazy (and hungry!) 

That photo reminds me that I also added some grilled green beans to the menu - fresh from the garden! Tomatoes aren't the only thing that are ripe and delicious right now, and my beans wanted their chance to shine too. I prepped them very simply, just tossing them with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a light sprinkle of montreal steak seasoning (my go-to for everything it seems :) On a whim, I also added a little lemon zest as I had a bit left and didn't want it to go to waste. 

Definitely a good choice! I headed for my grill which was preheated to around 350. 

It smelled amazing on the grill. The beans I laid out on my grill pan and tossed around every few minutes to cook them evenly. I think tomorrow I may invest in a grill basket though as I have wanted one all season and I KNOW it would go to great use with all of our veggies on the grill. 

The beans took just 5-8 minutes and the salmon was more like 15. I got to enjoy the warm sunshine while I waited for everything to cook. And this was one of those weeks that dinner was absolutely worth the wait.

Don't forget to add the dill butter to the top!