A Taste of Alaska

In the fall of 2008, Mike and I went on a fantastic cruise to Alaska. While in Ketchikan, we decided we needed a light lunch while out on the town. We had been walking around for a while, taking in the sights and trying to catch a glimpse of the jumping salmon in the river that runs through town, and spotted a little café tucked away, with the tasty aroma of coffee wafting from its doors. Mike had a cappuccino; I had a mocha. We both ordered smoked salmon bagels, which was easily one of the tastiest things we ate on the entire trip. And let me assure you that we ate lots of tasty things.

When we returned, we wanted to re-create that delicious spread, but encountered 2 dilemmas. First, we needed to find he right recipe. Second, we had to find good, affordable smoked salmon.

Finding the recipe was easy (see below). Mike discovered it on food.com (previously recipezaar.com). Finding smoked salmon that wasn’t crazy expensive proved a little more difficult, so we reserved making the spread only on occasion.

Until now.

As of Christmas, Mike is the proud owner of a brand new, shiny red electric smoker. Now we smoke our own salmon (and trout, ribs, you name it...), buying fresh salmon at about half the cost of the already smoked (more so if we see it go on sale.) Don’t have a smoker? This is definitely a good investment, or you can always become friendly with someone who already owns one. J

As one more side note before sharing the recipe, we also had the most delicious maple-smoked salmon nuggets while in Victoria, BC this past August. More on that to come…

Smoked Salmon Spread
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
⅓ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 dashes of Tabasco sauce
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
8 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper

Puree the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and Tabasco sauce in a food processor until creamy and well combined. Add the green onions, capers, salmon, dill and pepper and pulse until combined. Serve chilled or at room temperature on bagels (our favorite), crackers, or whatever strikes your fancy. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups.

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