GOLD. SILVER. AND A SIMPLE SUNDAY SALMON SUPPER

GOLD.  SILVER.   AND A SIMPLE SUNDAY SALMON SUPPER

Yesterday my friend Michael took me to the latest home party trend.  This was not my mother's era Tupperware party or a Princess china party, but a party where you make a few bucks rather than spend a few bucks.  A party to help get a bit of cash - something we can all use.  A party to sell your old gold and silver - though I don't know if gold or silver ever gets "old."   Now that gold bullion is over a thousand bucks an ounce, I thought - Yay, I'll be rich!  Oops, not quite.  The gold we all have is not gold bullion so the price per ounce (or gram which is how the buyer weighs it) is less and each carat is priced differently... 18K being the highest per gram, down to 10K being the lowest.  No gold plate or gold-filled pieces need apply.  So I went through my jewelry box and found  'old' gold jewelry from another lifetime... even an old circle pin (remember those?) which had been hanging out for decades unworn and unappreciated... so why not sell it? 

Same was true of some of the broken and 'old' sterling jewelry and other pieces (a toothpick holder?!) I had lying around the house getting tarnished.  Though silver is only about $18 an ounce, I loaded up a baggie.  Whatever I could get for it all would be great.

Well, the party was fun, filled w/ refreshments (cheeses, cookies, even sushi) and I made my car payment and then some...

So why am I telling you all this?  Partly because you might get more for your used gold at a gold dealer, but for me, the thought of schlepping around getting prices was a turnoff, and I had a lovely afternoon (the party was at 'tea' time), got a fair price for stuff I never used or wore AND, since I had invited Michael for dinner afterward, we got back to our house just in time to have a delicious simple Sunday salmon supper Richard had made for us while watching the football playoffs.

For appetizers, I had earlier cooked some gourmet sausages and sliced them to easily dip into that Follet walnut Dijon mustard from France that I've written about.  I had also put out some cherry tomatoes to dip into olive hummus.  Simple, inexpensive but 'tasty.'  The table was set w/ basic white dishes,  'fish' flatware w/ celluloid handles, cloth napkins and white candles ready to be lighted.

While we were gone, Richard roasted Brussels sprouts (I love roasted Brussels sprouts) and when we got home he baked salmon filets w/ a mustard sauce on a cedar plank, and made some cous cous...

Again, simple, inexpensive and deliciously 'tasty.'  A simple Sunday salmon supper.

RICHARD'S SIMPLE SALMON COOKED ON A PLANK

In case you've never cooked on cedar planks before, you can buy them in most super markets - from LA's Ralph's to the more upscale Whole Foods (guess which is cheaper?).  But they are what they say they are... nothing more than small cedar planks, which infuse whatever you're cooking (as well as the kitchen) with a delicious aroma (and taste).

Safety tip:  You MUST soak the cedar plank in water for at least a half an hour to four hours before putting them into the oven (don't want the plank catching fire - that's not the 'smokey' taste anyone should be after).  Every set of planks Richard buys has these instructions, so make sure you follow them.

For last night's dinner, Richard put the salmon filets on the soaked plank and slathered the filets with a honey mustard, ground walnuts and olive oil glaze and cooked the salmon at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

But you can bake the salmon plain or get creative and invent your own glaze.

Omega-3 fatty acids never tasted so good.