Saturday, September 23, 2006

Strokin' Ye Ole Ego


I love teachers. Seriously LOVE them! Not only are they ready to piranha-swarm any food you lay out for them like it was their last meal but they will compliment you when they come up for air. It can really go to a person's head when you have people saying, "Oooh! Who made this? I'll bet it was Nerissa!" That's what I heard at the last potluck luncheon we had at the Friday workshop.

Potluck luncheons are fairly common in our corner of the world if a workshop is at hand. There's a variety of foods brought every time but salmon presence is particular evident. Everything from spreads to the latest batch of salmon from the smoke house made regular appearances. In this season and on this coast we are spoiled rotten with salmon. So, on Friday, who was I to change anything? I had a yen for a holiday treat gleaned from my grandmother's recipes so I treated everyone to it. With all the cream cheese in it, it wouldn't be wise to eat it all by myself anyways ;-)

It is seen here without the nut decorations but we have staff with severe allergies (sucks to be him). However, sans the nuts I found a great opportunity to use my new dishes which I got for a song.

Salmon Log

2 tins Pacific Salmon (7 1/2 oz.)drained of most its liquids
8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 tbsp Horseradish
dash Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Liquid Smoke
1 tbsp green onion


Mix all ingredients together until well blended. It is best when made the night before serving. We've put it in decorative moulds or chilled it in bowls. You can shape it into a log hence the name. Garnish with walnuts and chopped parsley. Serve with crackers, toast points, a spoon ;-)

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That's it! It's really easy with lots of yummy comfort food goodness. I like it best on Saltines or Melba toast.

8 comments:

wheresmymind said...

Anything that Steph brings to the teachers lounge to eat is gobbled up so damn fast!

Unknown said...

Mmm, looks really tasty. Teachers sound like the servers at work. The minute we say something is up for grabs, it disappears into a huddle of black clad servers. And I mean practically anything! Although I am sure that the teachers have good cause to praise your food. It always looks so good.

Sara said...

That looks and sounds delicious Nerissa. That's why I like to bring food in to work for my boss - he raves about it all day long, and who doesn't like that sort of thing?

Deetsa said...

wmm: that's true, even in the lounge on an ordinary day you will see food disappear before your eyes like a magic trick.

linda: thanks. It is a tasty dish. I think free food is pretty tempting for any group of hard-working employees. *S*
And, awww... sweetness! Thank you so much !

sara: oh it is, sarah, it is! Above all things at holiday dinners, I looked forward to this dish.
LOL: it's always nice to know how to get some good ego-stroking. I don't think any of us are adverse to that.

jasmine said...

That looks lovely...

I know what you mean about potlucks. We don't have that many at work: there's a traditional Christmas one for those of us working the half-day on the Eve...it's overlaidened with sweets and cheese trays, but there are a number of people who bring in some lovely, lovely things.

j

PatL said...

Programmers also make great scavengers. This looks yummy. I'm so jealous of all the great seafood (and great prices on it) in the northwest. I couldn't believe the prices on shrimp when I visited my sis in Seattle. Whassup with that ... it's not like shrimp isn't available on every coast of this country!

Deetsa said...

Sher: well, move here then! The native peoples of this coast live and breathe salmon. Actually we've been worried sick over the lack of substantial rain right now because the salmon won't be able to make it up the creeks to spawn without it. Since they aren't making it upstream, the fishermen are once again having a bad fishing season.

Jasmine: one of the things we do on occasion to make sure we don't have too much of one thing or another is to set an advance sign up sheet to name our intended dishes. That way, just by doing a quick scan, you can check on the quantities of everything. Now there aren't so many repeats or overloading on desserts LOL not that I'd complain about dessert overload ;-)

Patl: I'm sure many professions make good scavengers :D
It is wonderful to live in the Pacific Northwest and, in particular, a village of a fish-centered native culture. And,for the price of a license, you can have a quota of prawns, crabs, salmon, halibut, etc. at your beck and call.

I wish I could tell you what's going on with the prices. I really don't know why they would be different from coast to coast.

Unknown said...

Hmmm - that sounds good, and I am looking for upcoming potluck ideas. My father used to make a bagel spread with Liquid Smoke. . .