New take on an old post

[Photo removed due to grossness]

This is just an alternative way to serve what I previously made here. It was my first time mixing the goat cheese, salmon, and chives together, and it looked better in person. The taste was the same as the alternate presentation, but this style is more conducive to serving at a potluck or for a big group.

In the future I'd crumble the goat cheese well before mixing in the flaked salmon and chives, and I'd mix more gently than I did here, avoiding the white speckles of cheese clinging to the fish and chives that aren't too attractive. With the addition of store bought crackers (something thin and crisp--i.e., not Ritz) it makes for a quick thing to serve to a group. A spoon or knife is necessary, as it's not too dippable. It may look salmon heavy, but it's not.

Quick snack and late harvest

First the snack, skinless and boneless sardines packed in olive oil with some water crackers. As it was the first sardine experience for The CFT, it seemed like the appropriate baby step to go without the skin and bones, but with minimal accoutrements to interfere with the flavor. It won't be long before I go for this snack again (nice alternative to tuna), although I'll probably give this somewhat fancy brand a chance, and not omit the skin and bones.

Regarding the harvest:

Not quite a bumper harvest of Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes), especially considering the tall plants and decent flowering, but I'm looking forward to eating them nonetheless. The light harvest is likely due to the mediocre sunlight in that part of the garden. Hopefully I missed a few and they'll volunteer next year. Besides the sunchokes, I gathered the last of the potatoes and tomatillos, a few Brussels sprouts, and some underdeveloped fennel that was also grown in the shady part of the garden. The only things still growing are some herbs, chard, kale, and broccoli, along with a few shoots of recently planted garlic getting a head start on the Midwestern winter. Not too long before the whole thing is covered with snow.

Getting back to my roots

An uncle of mine was asked to make a family recipe for a potluck at his daughter's school. He brought a brisket, and said that his recipe worked out great, which, no doubt, it did, as he's a great cook. While he was telling the story to my Mom (he's married to her sister) and me I asked about the recipe, hoping to adopt it, as our heirloom recipe collection is woefully deficient for reasons beyond our control. One of the first ingredients he listed off was sundried tomatoes. Now, I'm not from a Mediterranean bloodline, nor did I believe my uncle was. When I asked about how the sundried tomatoes found their way into his family recipe he replied honestly. He said something to the effect of "This was the way my mom would have made it if she had tried this recipe." At first I felt cheated, or at least like he had cheated, but I don't anymore--family recipes evolve. I've yet to get the entire brisket recipe from him, but I have no doubt that it is excellent. As great as my Mom's, who's to say.

All that being said, the picture above is a variation of the bagels and lox I grew up with. I don't think it's any better than the standard Sunday morning fare, although this version could easily be made safe should the occasion call for unleavened bread. So, like my uncle's brisket recipe, even though it's not entirely traditional, I don't think it does the original any grave injustice.

Ingredients:
- Smoked Salmon* (This not Lox, or Nova, or the like, not that I don't love the stuff, becuase I do. This is Pacific Northwest/Native American style smoked salmon, hot smoked sans dill. For another presentation, smoked tuna would be great, if you can get it.)
- Goat Cheese (I used Cypress Grove Purple Haze. I like the herbs in it, and it seemed appropriate to use a good Northwest cheese with a good Northwest fish.)
- Water Crackers
- Chives, cut into small batons
Method:
- The picture is self explanatory (Minimal assembly required.)

So, hot smoked salmon instead of lox, goat cheese instead of cream, and water crackers instead of a bagel. I don't think my Mom would be offended, and I'm sure she'll let me know if she is.

*Smoked Salmon
I'll put the process for making this up shortly. It's pretty simple, but you'll need a smoker. While this recipe would work with cold smoked, thinly sliced salmon, that's not the point of this snack. The Northwest stuff is different, but equally good. Plus, the way it flakes is great for portioning.

Guacamole

A simple recipe that's more about getting the proportions right than anything else. The picture above is from a batch made with four fairly large avocados. It was enough for my contribution to a potluck with about twenty-five people. It's safe for just about everyone. As for those who swear that they just don't like guacamole, well, there's not much that's going to satisfy them.

Ingredients:
- Ripe avocados, peeled and broken up (Preferably the Hass type, they're dark when they're ripe. Others may work, but I haven't tried them.)
- Plum tomatoes, diced (Really should use plum, as opposed to other, tomatoes here.)
- Red onion, finely diced
- Chile pepper, very finely diced (Jalapeno is classic.)
- Cilantro, chopped
- Lime
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Squeeze some lemon and lime juice in the bowl that will hold all the ingredients
- Add chunks of peeled avocado to the juices and get the avocado pieces coated with the citrus juice (This will slow down discoloration.)
- Add salt and pepper to avocado and citrus juices
- Mash the avocado, salt and pepper, and citrus juices (I use two forks, but a potato masher would work well. Make sure to get it all smooth, because this is the only real chance to mush everything around. The salt helps the process.)
- Add a whole bunch of diced tomatoes, stirring them in as they are added (It's amazing how much tomato the avocado mixture can handle. Just add until it looks good to you.)
- Reseason with salt and pepper (Don't be shy with the salt, both avocados and tomatoes can handle a large amount of salt. It's shocking how much seasoning you can add.)
- Add diced red onion and stir that in (Again, even if you don't like onion, don't be shy with it here.)
- Now add the diced hot pepper and stir well
- Recheck seasoning (If something's off, this is a good time to fix it, i.e. adding additional lime juice or some more salt.)
- Finally, stir in chopped cilantro (Again, don't be shy with it.)

That's all there is to it. As you can see, there's a significant quantity of the non-avocado ingredients. They don't interfere so much as they complement the completed product, which is guacamole, not just squished avocado. Enjoy.

Versatility:
What's great about this recipe is that it can be a base for many others. Trade the avocado and tomato for mango, and it's a great mango salsa (Sure, that may have been cooler two years ago, but it's still good.). Swapping the avocado for some raw fish (like halibut or flounder), or shrimp, and/or scallops, and adding some extra lemon and lime juice, results a quality ceviche. Whatever you do with this recipe, if you do anything, it will go well with tortilla chips.