Using a Grill Pan

There are times, regardless of weather, when I simply must have something grilled. I’ve grilled in snow and rain with friends holding umbrellas over me and the grill while suspicious neighbors peered warily out their windows. But lately such heroic efforts have become rare, especially since someone gave me a grill pan for my birthday. A grill pan is a heavy skillet with ridges. Other than rubbing the pan with a little oil, you don’t use any cooking fat as you would when sautéing but simply place the pan over high heat on the stove until it becomes brutally hot. You then grill as you would on a regular grill. Two things to remember: keep the grill pan clean, which is almost impossible to do without using heavy-duty oven cleaner, and lift the salmon from the pan by sliding a two-pronged fork between the ridges in the pan under the fish instead of trying to use a spatula, which will tear the flesh or skin and cause sticking.