The Best Cedar Plank Ever

My new favorite cooking toy? A Pacific Northwest cedar baking plank complete with a shallow well for fish or vegetables and bolts in the side to tighten as the board ages. These planks are the best kept secret in cooking giving anything you cook in the oven that amazing cedar grilled flavor. After you get done huffing the smell of the raw plank, put it in the oven to preheat (which makes the whole house smell amazing so your guests can get high on the same ambrosia.) Then rub a little olive oil in the well, add your fish (salmon is great for starters), and bake away. I haven't tried chicken on mine yet, but I think it will also be great. Also with pork. It cleans up with soap and water.

So far, I've roasted corn, peppers, and onions all with great results. (Oh, and even fruit would work -- apples, peaches, or even mangos would be so good with the smokey wood flavor.) Plus, there's a great recipe on the package for halibut in a sour cream sauce. Yum! (I'm pretty sure they're available at Frasier's Gourmet Foods.)