The only thing that rivals the scenery in the Pacific Northwest is the food.

The Pacific Northwest has a style all its own - it's called the "Northwest Cuisine." It is rooted in tradition in an area rich in natural resources. Native Americans - the Makah, Quinault, Skagit, Chehalis, Puyallup, S'Klallam - found this to be true long ago. They harvested berries, hunted deer, gathered oysters, raked crabs, dug clams and fished salmon.

It was the spiritual traditions of the Native Americans along the Pacific Coast with their early uses of cooking with wood that captured the romance and imagination for us.

They believed deeply in the healing powers of the cedar tree and held it with the highest respect. They would tack or weave their sacred food, usually salmon, onto planks of cedar and alder and stand them vertically around a slow burning fire pit.

The salmon would slowly roast, basted by their own juices made fragrant by the cedar and alder.

Coming up this Sunday is the Sequim Noon Rotary Club's 41st annual Salmon Bake from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Guy Cole Convention Center in Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., Sequim - cooked on planks over hot coals.

We can do plank cooking in our ovens and these recipes also work in a baking pan if you do not have a cedar plank. If using a cedar plank, remember to season it with oil and preheat it in a 350-degree oven.



CHINOOK PLANK

SALMON

2 pounds fillet of fresh chinook salmon or 4 steaks

11/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste



Place fish, skin side down (if a fillet, into the oval of a preheated plank).

Combine the oil, mustard, pepper and salt. Brush over the fillet. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until done.



SALMON WITH MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 pound salmon fillet

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil



Mix together oil, vinegar and mustard. Place salmon fillet into the oval of a preheated plank and brush with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the basil on top. Bake about 20-30 minutes or until done in a preheated 350-degree oven.



GINGER SALMON

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

salt and pepper to taste

2 salmon steaks or fillets



Combine oil, sherry, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add salmon; turn to coat. Cover and let marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Place salmon into the oval of a preheated plank and bake 30-45 minutes in preheated 350-degree oven.



SPICED SALMON STEAKS

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

4 salmon steaks

2 tablespoons butter

6 scallions, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juiced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill weed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste



Mix sugar and spices together. Rub the steaks with the mixture and let stand for

1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add scallions, lemon juice, dill, parsley, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat about 10 minutes.

Place steaks into the oval of a preheated plank and bake in preheated 350-degree oven 20-30 minutes. Serve with lemon butter sauce.



BAKED SALMON HAWAII

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup bourbon

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 pounds salmon fillets



Combine all ingredients in a dish and allow the salmon to marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Place fillets into the oval of a preheated plank and bake in preheated 350-degree oven about 30 minutes or until done. Serves 4.



- all recipes from "Planked Seafood Cookbook"



SALMON WITH WARM CORN SALSA

5 tablespoons butter

1 red bell pepper, diced

21/2 cups corn kernels

salt and pepper to taste

11/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or tarragon

juice of half a lemon

4 salmon fillets



Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook pepper until softened slightly. Add corn, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, about

7 minutes. Stir in dill and lemon juice; remove from heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Season fish all over with salt and pepper; sear the fish 2 minutes per side, then reduce heat and cook 2 minutes longer per side.

To serve, divide the corn mixture and place on four serving plates; top each with a salmon fillet.



- from "Totally Salmon Cookbook"



And from "The Pacific Northwest Salmon Cook Book" by Curt & Margie Smitch and Ron & Ellie Wagner comes this next recipe -



DISHWASHER

SALMON STEAK

To serve one, place 1 salmon steak on a piece of foil; season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Squeeze one-half lime over the steak. Dot with a pat of butter.

Wrap steak envelope style with foil. It should be securely folded to prevent loss of juices while cooking.

Lay the steak on the top rack of an empty dishwasher. If cooking more than one, lay them side by side. Run through regular washing and drying cycle - my dishwasher takes one and a half hours. When dishwasher shuts off, open and serve steak immediately.



Whenever fresh salmon graces your table along with guests, you will enjoy a connection of friendship, life and nature - it's a Northwest tradition.