what to do with a big 1lb+ of smoked salmon

[Bob Henrick]

I have a pound plus filet of smoked salmon and would like to do something other than just eating it with crackers while I watch the Superbowl. So, do any of you have recipes for a dish that I might feature at dinner some night?

[Jeff Grossman/NYC]

Some traditional ideas: Eggs Benedict (use salmon instead of ham), LEO (lox, egg, and onion omelette), chowder (or, perhaps more likely, a variant on cullen skink), quiche (what can't be chopped up and thrown into a quiche?), tossed over pasta with shallots/white wine/lemon/cream.

How about on a bagel with a schmear?

[Dale Williams]

Jeff pretty much covered my ideas (plus a couple thoughts I didn't have, like chowder or quiche, both sound good).
A few thoughts:
as opposed to eating it with crackers, for canapes I tend to like on hearty bread, cucumber slices, or apple. Capers liven, as does lemon and horseradish (if straight prepared hr is too much for you, can make hr sauce with creme fraiche, yogurt, mayo, or sour cream)

I had bought a large slab of smoked salmon before Christmas, used a bit for one party for canapes, and then a guest brought (delicious) gravlax. Cured salmon overkill. Bagels helped. And as Jeff suggested, for lunch one day Betsy made pasta, she tossed some of the smoked salmon (chopped) in with broccoli, lemon, and creme fraiche.

[Jenise]

Actually, if it's GREAT smoked salmon you could hardly pay it a higher compliment than eating it plain on crackers. We smoke 30pounds a year in order to have this treat available from our freezer whenever we want it.

I agree with Dale that Jeff covered most of the bases and Dale added one he missed, as a pasta ingredient. It's also delicious as a salad ingredient, as the anchovy ingredient with romaine or baby spinach in a caesar-flike dressing, or chopped with green onion and dill and served on top of cold poached white asparagus. Or, make a vinaigrette based potato salad and break the salmon pieces into that just before service.

[Fred Sipe]

Substitute a Belgian endive leaf for the cracker and add a dab of sauce of your choice.

[Tom Troiano]

I like to cut a baguette into thin slices, toast in oven with a small amount of olive oil then lather on some good quality goat cheese and top off with smoked salmon and sometimes finely sliced onion or shallot.

[Bob Henrick]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I will see which of them I can do. I really like the quiche idea(s). Jenise, this salmon is Sockeye salmon wild caught in Alaskan waters. I've had it before and it is quite good. It is hot smoked though and not a lox style. I have a great bakery less than a mile from my house and I also like the baguette or other hearty bread instead of cracker idea. I'll probably use some of it to make a dip as well. Thanks again for all the ideas.

[Carl Eppig]

Bagel and cream cheese.

[JuliaB]

Bob, remember that salmon penne recipe I sent you? There you go!

JB

[Bob Henrick]

Bob, remember that salmon penne recipe I sent you? There you go!

JB

I do remember that now that you remind me. Thanks
JB.

[Christina Georgina]

I make a sauce for pasta - spinach or egg noodles. Throw slivers of salmon at the last minute in a sauce made with sauteed shallots, fennel, vermouth a bit of cream. Depending on the noodle with or without a few capers. This is one of those dishes that you would finish off by cooking the sauce with the pasta for the last few minutes. Good coarsely ground black pepper. Can substitute a good stock that has been reduced to intensify the flavors for most of the cream. Works well with asparagus but fennel is now in season and the fronds make a nice garnish.

A quick spread with flaked salmon, capers, dill,green onion, mascarpone or sour cream is nice but somewhat ordinary

Salmon cakes

Crepes shaped into a cone filled with thin shards of salmon and a dollop of Greek yogurt seasoned with citrus zest and juice.

When you think of it, 1 # is not really very much.

I am thinking that this is similar to the smoked fish we get from Lake Superior

[Mark Lipton]

Bob,
One thing we began to do with the plentiful supply of smoked salmon in New Zealand was to make sushi rolls from it. We'd make sushi rice (steamed short grain rice, rice wine vingear and a touch of sugar), slice the smoked salmon, add some sliced scallions and sesame seeds and wrap it all in purchased nori (dried seaweed). Even our picky eater son loved them.

Mark Lipton

[Bill Spohn]

Further to Mark's sushi rolls idea, if you are bored with straight sliced smoked salmon (hard to believe) you can take a thin layer, spread some soft cream cheese or goat cheese on it, sprinkle with dill and/or freshly toasted sesame seeds, and roll it up. Chill in the fridge and then cut into slices. Looks great but tastes the same as the same ingredients just slapped on a plate.

[Tom Troiano]

Looks great but tastes the same as the same ingredients just slapped on a plate.

Love it. That's a great comment!

[Frank Deis]

I have a slightly different twist -- I'd say just toast or crackers and maybe some butter -- but a good smoked salmon is one of the few foods I like to accompany a single malt Scotch. And, if you're into single malts, that kind of transforms the experience.

If you really want to get fussy, I've made Thomas Keller's recipe for salmon rillettes several times (and we had that as an appetizer at Bouchon during our California trip last summer). Smoked salmon plus steamed salmon with butter and egg yolk and cooked chopped shallots, you stir it all together to make a paste, and it's really very good.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/LindaSan ... Salmon.htm

For me, "one pound" of smoked salmon would be no problem whatever...

[Mike Bowlin]

Soup
Smoked Salmon Soup

6 tablespoons cream
2 cups half and half

Reduce cream. Add half and half. Boil once or twice to slightly thicken.

1 package frozen chopped spinach
6 ounces smoked salmon
½ tspn kosher salt
½ tspn white pepper
2 dashes Maggi seasoning

Cook spinach in microwave. Drain and press all water from spinach. Take half of spinach and add to blender with ½ cup half and half. Puree. Set aside.

Add smoked salmon and ½ cup of half and half to blender. Puree. Set aside.

To the scalded mike and cream add 6 heaping tablespoons of puree spinach and the entire mixture of smoked salmon and milk. Taste for seasoning. Heat and serve.

[Mike Bowlin]

Smoked salmon ravioli

8 ounces smoked salmon
4 ounces ricotta fresh whole milk please(drained) or goat cheese ricotta (drained)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces parmagiano regiano cheese grated
2 ounces mozzarella grated
1 ounce Italian parsley minced
2 egg yolks beaten
¼ tspn kosher salt
1/4 tspn french pepper

Yields about 36 small scoop ravioli. Serve with cream sauce or simple Italian red gravy with a little cream.

[Carrie L.]

Get a fork. Or, I can send you my address.
One of my favorite things in the world is smoked salmon (not the lox kind though). No accoutrements needed.