One of my husband’s Belgian colleagues was in the US on business last week, and as is our custom we like to welcome these folks into our home for dinner. I enjoy meeting my husband’s colleagues and learning about their home cultures while we hopefully dispel a few “ugly American” myths in the process. This particular gentleman expressed an interest in sampling some Bourbons, as he’d never had any before.
At these dinners I like to introduce my guests to things which are uniquely American without terrorizing their palates too much. I needed an app to go with a Bourbon tasting and immediately thought I would break into my coveted stash of Alaskan smoked salmon. Alaskan smoked salmon is hot smoked and is very different from European-style cold smoked salmon. Cold smoked salmon is mild in flavor and retains the texture of raw fish. Hot smoked salmon is cooked through, often comes canned, and is intensely smokey-licious! I had just roasted a batch of my man’s homegrown tomatoes, and I knew their sweetness would perfectly balance the salty-smokey fish. If you can’t find hot smoked salmon, regular smoked salmon will work too. You can mail order my favorite Alaskan smoked salmon, Orcas Cove brand, here.
Roasted Tomato-Smoked Salmon Canapes
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ a shallot, finely minced
- 3 drops lemon oil or 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tsp. horseradish (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 4 oz. Alaskan smoked salmon, skinned and broken into bite-sized bits
- 1 cup roasted tomatoes
- 24 Crackers (this app is easiest to eat in one bite, so choose crackers that aren’t too big)
In a small bowl combine first 5 ingredients. Taste and add a little more shallot, horseradish or lemon juice until you have a nicely balanced base. Note: the cheese spread will be best if you have time to let it hang out in the fridge for a few hours (up to a day ahead), but you can certainly use it right away for an emergency nosh. Spread cheese mixture evenly over crackers. Place a piece or two of roasted tomato on each cracker and top with a bit of the salmon. Serve immediately. With Bourbon! Or a dry white or extra Brut Champagne. Our guest exclaimed that he had never had Salmon like that before, but then he proceeded to scarf these babies down, so I’ll take that as a “thumbs up”!
If you don’t care for Salmon at all, the sweet, rich, roasted tomatoes are perfect on their own. They are a bit sweet and jam-like in texture, so if you are a fan of cream cheese and pepper jelly crackers, you will like these too. The spread is also delicious on bagels, with or without smoked Salmon.
The Wild Olive 
Definitely gonna try this. I love smoked salmon, cream cheese, shallots and capers on crackers so this has to be an awesome alternative. Plus I want to try the Four Roses bourbon! Thanks, E!