Maple Salmon & Cannolli

The night before the conference began, Koinonia Christian Fellowship hosted a special dinner for the OBFF Board & wives including our special guest speaker, Peter Pretorius from JAM in South Africa. My conference team & I were honoured to be included in this special meal which was partly out of necessity since we were busy setting up for the next day.

We were ushered into the lounge where chafing dishes were laden with Chicken Cordon Bleu, Gnocci in a Mushroom Carbinara-type sauce, Greek salad and artisian breads but the highlight of this feast was the Maple Salmon which was barbequed on cedar planks and covered in a maple syrup & ginger glaze. We were told that our chef had spent all afternoon barbequing in the rain so that we could enjoy this phenomenal dish. Unbelievable! Every bite was a pleasure. At first the cedar taste brought images of a sauna to mind and I think I even said something to this effect out loud. With every bite however, I forgot the sauna-cedar association and am now convinced that this is a fabulous way to prepare Salmon. I will definitely be trying this dish at home. I liked it so much I decided to splurge on a small 2nd piece since dessert was not on my menu.

Even though I was not partaking, dessert was difficult to ignore. Platters with an assortment of wonderful treats like cannolli, Lindt chocolate balls and cheesecake were provided to us but all I could focus on was the cannolli which was available in regular or chocolate. I was seriously questioning my no-sugar committment for a few minutes. I typically enjoy cannolli at Christmas and Easter and since it hasn't been even four months since my last indulgence, I decided I wouldn't be so deprived if I passed up this opportunity. I even convinced myself that it would be disappointing. My Grandma Ciaramitaro gets her cannolli from a real Italian bakery and they have chocolate chips on the ends. Nothing compares to those ones when they are fresh and chilled!

I had many opportunities to pass up delectable foods and I'm thankful now after the stress and fever of the conference has passed that I chose to munch on the abundant fruit instead. Homemade vanilla & chocolate trifles, cheesecakes, a chocolate fountain, chocolate almond bark, and other treats were there in abundance. I guess I was blessed that we were so busy that I didn't have much time to negotiate with these sweets. Honestly, fruit is starting to taste really good to me now and other than a few delayed mealtimes, I never went hungry at all.

I was told that I could have the recipe for the Maple Salmon and if I am successful at making it, it will be my signature dish for the summer. We'll have to have a barbeque in my back yard and you can tell me if you like it as much as I did.