Smoked Salmon Quiche with an Old Bay Asagio Crust

Ingredients:
for the crust:
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded asagio
2-4 tablespoons ice water
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay

filling:
8 oz smoked salmon, flaked (not lox)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3/4 cup shredded asagio
2 tablespoons capote capers
2 teaspoons tarragon white wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Place the pepper, butter, flour and cheese into a food processor. Add water one tablespoon at a time and pulse just until mixture sticks together. Form the dough into a ball. Roll out into a crust and place in a pie plate or quiche pan or tart pan. Prick with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes or until just browned. Turn oven down to 325. Meanwhile, whisk together the milk and eggs. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into the prepared shell. Bake 45-50 minutes or until fully cooked.

My thoughts:

I honestly am not sure the last time, if ever, I made quiche. I had always thought of it as using rather a lot of eggs, but I guess not. Four eggs makes for a slightly firmer quiche than some but I think it works better with the salmon than a more custardy texture would. Once again, I used evaporated milk for a rich flavor without the fat of the more commonly called for half and half or heavy cream.

I really loved the crust I made. It wasn't too spicy but had a great kick from the Old Bay and cheese. It was a really easy dough to roll out too. I echoed the crust in the filling by using the same cheese in it but I kept the flavors simple to accentuate the smoked salmon.

Smoked Salmon Spinach Labne Dip

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb labne (Kefir cheese)
1/2 lb smoked salmon (not lox), flaked
3/4 cup squeezed dry, defrosted frozen chopped spinach
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons herbs de Provence
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon pepper sherry
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 teaspoon dry mustard
zest of one lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined and distributed.

My thoughts:

I'd never really had labne, a type of yogurt cheese, much but the tub I had recently made me a instant convert. I had heard it was a great sub for cream cheese or sour cream which I thought was just hyperbole but it really was. It was kind of tart fresh from the tub but once mixed with the other dip ingredients it really tasted like and had the consistency of cream cheese. So good but much less fat. Awesome. For this dip I combined elements of several of my favorite dips into one. It was so good!

Smoked Salmon and Caper Grilled Flatbread

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
olive oil for greasing the bowl

8 oz smoked salmon
2 1/2 cups shredded smoked gouda
1/4 cup capote capers


Directions:

Place all ingredients a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix until the dough becomes a fairly smooth ball. At this point you can fold the dough onto itself a couple of times if you'd like. Coat the inside of a large bowl with additional olive oil, and place the dough in the bowl, smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Remove plastic wrap, and use your fist to push down on the center of the dough. Fold the dough in half four or five times. Turn dough over, folded-side down, cover with plastic wrap, and return to the warm spot to rise again. Wait until the dough has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prep your grill.

Punch down the dough and transfer to a clean surface. Divide the dough in fourths, and knead each half four or five times into a ball. Place one of the dough balls back in the oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Lightly flour a clean surface, place the dough ball on top, pat into a flattened circle, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rest at least 5 minutes. Begin to flatten and push the dough evenly out from the center until it measures about 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Leave a 1/2 inch border of unflatted dough around the edges of the circle.

Place the dough on the grill and cook until just starting to brown, then flip. Grill until it looks 3/4 way cooked. Sprinkle with cheese and top with salmon and capers. Grill until the cheese melts.

My thoughts:

I love smoky flavors and this flatbread is full of them. The gouda, the salmon, the smoky crisp dough all make for a savory delight. We had this as full meal, but I think sliced up it would be a wonderful appetizer. Just take care that your coals aren't too hot and that you keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Besides that, easy-peasy.

Smoked Salmon & Green Onion Latkes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, grated
1 medium onion, grated
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup minced smoked salmon (lox)
1/4 cup matzo meal
1/4 cup finely minced green onion (green parts only)

canola oil

Directions:
In a large pan, heat about 1/4 inch oil. In a large bowl, toss all of the igredients together to combine.



Form into flat patties. Fry in hot oil, flipping half way through, until just golden.



Drain on paper towel lined plates.

Yield: about a dozen latkes, depending on size.

My thoughts:

I love latkes. What is there not to love about a crispy, fried potato? Making them the exact same way year after year can be a bit boring however. This year I decided to add one of my absolute favorite foods, smoked salmon, to my latkes. I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out but after a test latke was a rousing success, I made a whole batch. Crispy potato + freshness from the green onion + smoky flavor from the salmon = best latkes ever. They are exceptionally good when eaten with sour cream, which really brings out the flavor of the smoked salmon.

A quick note about methods:
For this year's latkes I once again used my mandoline which made great, long, thin strips that cooked quickly and gave off very little liquid. That said, you don't need a mandoline to make great latkes, a box grater works fine. I don't recommend (as some do) using a food processor to grate the potatoes, it breaks down the starches and gives the latkes a gluey consistency.

Smoked Salmon & Caper Dip

Ingredients:
1/4 cup diced red onion
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
5 oz smoked salmon
3 tablespoons capote capers*
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon white pepper


Directions:
Cube the cream cheese and place it in a food processor along with the salmon, capers, pepper and sour cream. Pulse until fairly smooth. Add the onions and pulse once. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving and refrigerate any leftovers.

Yield: about 1 cup

*These are the large sized capers. They have more caper taste and work best in this dip. If you must, substitute the smaller, nonperil capers.

My thoughts:

One of our favorite local places to eat, the Hamilton Tavern has a neat feature on their menu. Every day (week?) there is a different, often seasonal dip that is served with appropriately matched dippers like homemade potato chips, pita or vegetables. One day we went and the dip was smoked salmon. I can never resist smoked salmon anything so we ordered it and it was really good, thick and creamy with bits of salmon, capers and red onion. It was like everything I love on a bagel in a dip!

Of course they aren't in the business of handing out their recipe and I have no way of knowing when it will make its way back on the menu so I decided to create a recipe based on what I had there so I can have it whenever I want. I added more smoked salmon (more from the delicious Just Cured) than I think was in the original and thinned the cream cheese out a bit with some sour cream. It is the creamiest, tastiest dip I've had in ages. Think about your best bagels and lox experience and subtract the bagel. Smoky, salty, savory. Yum. I had it on chips because what better excuse to buy chips is there than making dip? Plus eating on chips reminded me of my childhood tendency to dip Utz chips in straight cream cheese. However, it is also really good or with crackers, celery and sesame pretzels. It is a rather thick dip and can be used as a spread on small rounds of bread

Knishes Three Ways: Potato & Onion, Kasha and Potato & Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:

for the dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sour cream
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg


egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

kasha filling:
2 cups beef broth
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup kasha
1 cup plain mashed potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 egg
pepper

potato & onion filling:
4 cups plain mashed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoon schmaltz or canola oil
salt
pepper

potato & smoked salmon filling:
4 cups plain mashed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
4 oz smoked salmon, minced
3 tablespoon schmaltz or canola oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
NOTE: each filling recipe yield enough for all 12 knishes.

For the kasha filling:
Heat the oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms until very brown. In small bowl, mix 1 egg into the kasha until the kasha is coated. It will look rather clumpy. Add to pan and stir until the groats start to separate from each other. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 7-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Mix with the mashed potatoes, pepper and egg.



for the potato and onion filling:
Heat the schmaltz in a skillet. Add the onions and saute until very soft. Mash the onions into the potato along with some salt and pepper.



for the potato and smoked salmon filling:
Heat the schmaltz in a skillet. Add the onions and saute until very soft. Mash the onions into the potato along with the salmon and some salt and pepper.




Preheat oven to 375. Allow your filling to cool while you make the dough.

for the dough:
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Pour into a large bowl,preferable in the bottom of a stand mixer. In a medium bowl, stir together the sour cream, butter, water and egg. Pour on top of the dry ingredients and mix using a dough hook until a solid ball of elastic dough forms.



Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll each piece out on a floured surface to a 5 inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place a 1/4 cup of filling in the middle. Fold the sides up to close, pinch shut. Place seam-side down on a lined baking sheet. Prick the top with a fork, once. Beat the egg and water together for the egg wash. Brush over the top of the knish. Repeat for remaining dough. Bake for about 20 minutes or until very hot but not browned.

My thoughts:

I've always wanted to make that deli staple, knishes at home. However, all of the recipes I came across called for oil. I hate working with oil based doughs, they invariably come out greasy and heavy tasting. Since we don't keep kosher, keeping the dough pareve (that is to say neutral-neither dairy or meat) by using oil instead of butter is not an issue. So for my version I decided to make a dough that was more pierogi-like in origin. The dough is wonderfully soft and elastic to work with; not one rip or tear.

Now for the fillings! My favorite is potato and onion but Matt really like kasha (buckwheat groats) the best. So we made both. Then I remembered I had some truly divine smoked "European-style" salmon in the fridge from Just Cured and decided to make a potato-salmon one too. I am glad I did, it might be slightly nontraditional but it was really tasty. I'd also like to point out that it is very much worth your while to quickly render some chicken fat (using chicken thigh skins works well) in some onions to some schmaltz to use. It adds so much flavor and really gives it an authentic taste that you can't quite get with butter or oil.

These are really the best knishes I've ever had. Smaller than the monstrosities one can find in delis they are lighter tasting while still being satisfying.

Smoked Salmon Cheese Ball

Ingredients:
2 cups grated (extra)sharp cheddar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 oz smoked nova salmon
1 inch chunk of shallot, minced
1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley

Directions:
Place the cheese, cream cheese, shallot, salmon and Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Pulse until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and chill for 30 minutes to an hour. Scrape it out of the bowl and shape into a ball. Sprinkle the parsley in a shallow bowl and roll the ball into the cheese until evenly coated. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

My thoughts:

Cheese balls were quite a hit in entertaining scene during the 1960s. They continue to be a favorite because they can be made ahead of time (in fact they are better made 24 hours in advance) and really, who doesn't enjoy spreadable cheese? This one has a slight pink tint and a wonderful smoky salmon flavor. Perfect to spread on crackers or even bread.

Note: most delis and grocery stores that sell smoked salmon also sell little tubs of "ends" leftover from cutting the big sheets of lox. Often they are half the price of the regular smoked salmon and the pieces are generally quite large. They are also perfect for something like this when you need just a bit of smoked salmon.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:
10 hardboiled eggs, peeled and sliced length-wise
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon sour cream
4 oz smoked salmon, minced
white pepper
large capers for garnish


Directions:
In a small bowl, use a fork and thoroughly mix together the yolks, mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, pepper, and the smoked salmon*. Spoon an equal amount into each of the egg halves. Top with a jumbo sized caper and serve.


*If you want a really smooth texture, pop it all in the food processor or blender and pulse.

My thoughts:

I think I have a minor deviled egg addiction. Over the past few years I have posted no fewer than five deviled egg recipes to Coconut & Lime. This will make six. The funny thing is that Matt isn't terribly fond of deviled eggs so I normally just make enough for me or use a lunch visitor as an excuse to try out a new variety. These I made for my mother who stopped by for lunch today and she quite enjoyed them. When I eat at her house she always makes me guess what the "secret ingredient" in whatever she made is (hint: it is always Old Bay) so I didn't tell her what kind of deviled eggs they were but she got it in one. The lox gives the egg a slightly salty smoky flavor that works really well with the creamy egg yolks. Just take care to really mince it so you are not left with any big, chewy chunks.

Smoked Salmon and Capers Scramble

Ingredients:

3 eggs (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon sour cream
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 oz. smoked salmon, sliced tiny

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream and eggs until fluffy. Whisk in salmon and capers. Spray a nonstick pan with oil or melt a little butter to coat. Add eggs and with a whisk, scramble. Cook until eggs are "set" to your preference, about 1-3 minutes.