Smoked Salmon Dinner

Since our daughter Selene has moved her family to the High Desert, they have missed the Oregon Coast. Monday; she, Nate (her boyfriend), and their dog (Kukka) went to the coast for the day. I got to keep 17 month old Lennon!  They had lunch at a favorite restaurant and played on the beach for ten minutes, before the wind picked up and it started hailing. That’s when they hit the fishmongers.

We taught her well. They brought back some dry-smoked salmon. Scott and I had a discussion on how we were going to serve it. Usually, we just eat it as a snack. I have mixed it with mayo and dill pickles for a tasty sandwich. Of course, you can’t beat it with cream cheese on a bagel for breakfast, either.

 Here’s what we came up with:

Smoked Salmon Dinner

Smoked Salmon for Two
Oven Baked Jo-Jo’s
Crispy Garlic Bagels
Fresh, Crispy Vegetables with Cream Cheese Dip

Smoked Salmon for Two

– easy, just buy what you will need. I like to serve it at room temperature

Oven Baked Jo-Jo’s

Preheat oven to 400F

3 washed potatoes, skin on, cut into 8 wedges each
1 TBSP olive oil
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp black pepper

1. In a bowl mix the potatoes with the oil and spices
2. Bake on a cookie sheet for 30 min. Turn after 15 min and finish cooking

Serves 2

Crispy Garlic Bagels

Preheat oven to 400F

2 Bagels – I like to use onion bagels
Garlic butter – I melt 1 cube of butter with 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 TBSP olive oil. Cool and seal in a small container in the fridge. Keeps a long time

1.  Slice the bagels into four slices each
2.  Brush both sides with the garlic butter
3.  Bake at 400F until crisp but not burned

Cream Cheese Dip
 8 oz cream cheese – I use Neufchatel, room temperature
 2 Kosher dill pickles, chopped
 ¼ onion, chopped
 ¼ cup dill pickle juice
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 TBSP sour cream – I use light sour cream

 Mix together and allow to sit for 1 hour to let the flavors combine this is the best chip dip ever!

Cream Cheese Dip Story

My mom’s cousin Ruth was one of her best friends. Our family spent many a wonderful time with Ruth, her first husband Wayne and their daughters, Jana and Kay. The adults played pinochle while Shelley, Debbie, Jana, and Kay played and Peggy and I watched a lot of TV.
Back in the 50’s, Kraft Television Theater was one of the best special programs of the day. Kraft ran an ad in the TV Guide with recipes using their products for viewers to prepare and enjoy during the show. It was from one of those ads that Ruth found a recipe for Garlic, Dill, and Onion Dip. After one taste, Peggy and I wanted the recipe. It has become the favorite dip of the four of us girls and our girls. Really, it is almost impossible to eat chips without it!
The amounts given are how I prepare the dip. Each person has her own little twist on the recipe: mayo instead of sour cream, milk instead of pickle juice, sliced pickles, grated pickles and onions, regular cream cheese, etc. Sometimes I use minced garlic – great if you think there are vampires about! The fresh garlic can overwhelm the senses, be careful.