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We make a maple syrup and soy sauce marinade for salmon. Marinate for about 2 hours, lay in a glass pan, crack some fresh black pepper on top, and bake. It was the first-date meal for me and my husband :)

I just remembered. At the McAuslan Brunch, a once-a-year event at Au Pied De Cochon in Montreal. I had maple syrup glazed quails. They were very, very good.

Here's an article about it featuring a picture of the quail tree and yours truly in the upper left corner of the soft-boiled egg picture.

http://www.midnightpoutine.ca/food/2008/02/mcauslan_brunch_au_pied_de_cochon/

It's really great in vinaigrette, particularly with a good dijon. If you're open to tofu or tempeh, it's great in marinades.

Also baking winter squash with a maple squash glaze is fantastic.

I use it in bourbon/whiskey cocktails instead of simple syrup.

A little bit of it in your oatmeal is fantastic.

- coat my breakfast sausages (I'm an addict)
- (similar to SqueezeBottle) I like it as a poultry glaze sometimes,
- (like avayne) as a salmon glaze: especially when grilled on cedar plank....

Heres a Maple Inpsired Meal post I did as a tribute to Canada Day this summer...maple-mustard pork burgers with glazed carrots....nom nom nom

At a restaurant where we ate on the west coast a few months ago they had these amazingly good scallops (lightly glazed) over greens. I asked what was in the glaze thinking the server would say it was a secret recipe, but she said "I think it's really simple, but I'll go ask" and then she came back and said it was simply maple syrup, butter, and crushed red chile flakes. It tastes much more complex than that--it was soooo good!

I second using it to pan-sear scallops and for use with salmon. It's also perfect for glazing ham or adding a little sweetness to braised short ribs.

But really the best application in my book is on homemade buttermilk pancakes or homemade waffles with a good amount of butter. There are few things in this world that taste better than a bite of pancake with softened, melty butter mingling with maple syrup! For me anyway...

Pour a little orange juice, balsamic vinegar, etc. and some maple syrup in a pan , scraping up the fond and reduce. Finished with a swirl of butter for a delicious pan sauce to pour over pork tenderloin, chops, chicken breasts, etc.
Or add a little broth, cream and maple syrup to make a maple cream sauce.

Pork with apples and onions with a splash of maple.

Cooked or baked fruit with maple syrup.

Maple Vinaigrette
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup mild flavored vegetable oil (walnut oil makes this heavenly)

Place all the ingredients except the oil in a blender or food processor.
Pulse until well blended. With the machine running, slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture until well blended and emulsified. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Shake well before using.
*This is also good with a pinch of ginger or cinnamon in it.

Use in salads or pour over hot buttered vegetables- carrots and brussel sprouts are perfect for this treatment.

Real maple syrup is incredible stuff. My favorite use? A very thin stream drizzled over my world famous gingerbread waffles.

Thai peanut sauce, Baked Beans, Baked Butternut Squash glaze

My favorite would also be the homemade buttermilk pancakes with butter and maple syrup. I also have made a similar Maple Vinaigrette, which is tasty over a salad of greens, apples and walnutes. Maple syrup is delicious in a brine. Our family loves this method of roasting sweet potatoes with maple syrup. This has become our favorite side at Thanksgiving.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Maple-Glazed-Sweet-Potatoes-233163

Grade B maple syrup is the mapliest. Besides the usual pancakes, and waffels, I't my favorite ingredient in apple-noodle kugel

I developed this recipe the day after my daughter awoke in a screaming nitemare. Hence the name. If you do pancakes, resist the urge to smoosh down the cake as it cooks.

Chiffonade's Sweet Dreams Gingerbread Waffles
Yield: About 7 Waffles

My waffle iron makes a round waffle approximately 6 1/2-inch diameter. Baking times vary by capacity of your waffle iron and temperature.

1 3/4 cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
Large pinch Salt
2 Tblsp. Sugar
3 Tblsp. Brown Sugar
2 1/2 Tblsp. Ground Ginger (Do not substitute fresh)
2 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
3 Eggs, separated
1/4 cup Molasses
1/4 cup Melted Butter, slightly cooled
1 1/2 cups Milk

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (including sugars) and whisk thoroughly to blend.

Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry.

In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, molasses, melted butter and milk. Stir well. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the egg yolk mixture. Mix well. Fold in the egg whites. The batter will look glossy and fluffy.

Bake in waffle iron as per manufacturer's directions (i.e., a light will go off when they're done, etc.). Alternatively, griddle on a hot greased pan for pancakes.

Serve with butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup or fruit preserves. Guaranteed to induce sweet dreams, or at least repair any trauma left by the bad ones. Enjoy.

A little on a peanut butter sandwich is fantastic!

I use it to finish ribs off as part of the sauce at the end, or if doing long braises of sweet and spicy ribs, short ribs, brisket etc, I use it as part of the braising liquid.

Always as part of a glaze for everything from squab to salmon.

I put it on granola, ice cream, hot cereal, snow...

Being from New England however, probably does make me a bit of a maple syrup swilling squirrel worshiper...

I use it to offset garlic in vinaigrette salad dressings. But my favorite (sweet) application is to toast some pecans or walnuts in the oven, then put some maple syrup in a skillet and heat it until it begins to boil. Add the toasted nuts and heat until the syrup crystallizes on the nuts. Every time I make these I'm finding that I need to use less and less syrup. It's been an experiment.

sweet potatoes baked in a glaze of bourbon, reduced maple syrup, and butter. heaven.

In the summer when I make corn fritters, my family loves it as a topping. We also drizzle it in a puddle of corn grits.

If I only had a small amount I wouldn't use it in any way that disguised it's taste, which happens most of the time when it's used as an ingredient, instead of as a topping. I speak from experience since I usually have plenty around and do use it as an ingredient. I even make a little of my own, from a backyard maple tree. (Though this year I mostly froze the sap, which is what I like best and isn't available commercially).

Besides the pancakes, waffles, French toast, I agree with using as a topping on oatmeal.

Maple syrup has an incredible affinity for sausage, and for peanut butter. I put a thin layer of pb on my french toast before adding maple syrup.

If your friend brought you fancy, then sipping a couple of tablespoons as a cordial is the best way to savor the delicate flavor.

I make my own vanilla yogurt and sweeten it with maple syrup - 1/3 cup of maple syrup plus 1 tsp. vanilla extract per quart of yogurt.

I also use it as a glaze/sauce for a pork tenderloin - 1 cup maple syrup, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, a generous pinch cayenne pepper, and a tiny pinch ground cloves. I heat that to a simmer, pour it over the top of the tenderloin, cover with foil, and bake at 325 to an internal temperature of 170. Several times, I turn the tenderloin to keep coating it with the syrup.

I do a lot with maple syrup - most recently crinkly, crunchy, chewy cookies.http://therunawayspoon.com/blog/2009/11/maple-spice-crinkles/