Thursday, July 24, 2014

Smoked Salmon Dip | #SoLetsPigOut

It's summer, bikinis are overrated, and it stays light out super late. So….LET’S PIG OUT. But seriously. #SoLet’sPigOut is a virtual potluck hosted by two super cool gals, Emily and Gina. It’s basically a rad excuse to get together with some of the coolest people on the internet-block/planet for a midsummer celebration of the season's finest eats. I’m talkin’ apps, snacks, desserts, entrees, drinks…all the recipes you need for a really great summer potluck, from 25 awesome food bloggers. I’m bringing the smoked salmon dip!

Smoked Salmon Dip #SoLetsPigOut // Loves Food, Loves to Eat Thick, creamy, smoky, delicious. This dip is a staple in my family. My mom has been making it my entire life.

Smoked Salmon Dip #SoLetsPigOut // Loves Food, Loves to Eat My hometown is nestled in between the Columbia River and the Klickitat River, bordering towns with names like Trout Lake and White Salmon, so needless to say, there was a lot of fish in my childhood. Like, a lot of fish. My parents were pretty avid fishermen (fisherman & fisherwoman? fisher-people?) when I was growing up, especially during salmon season. Amanda and I refer to one summer of our lives as “The Summer Mom and Dad had OCFD.” That’s obsessive compulsive fishing disorder, in case you were wondering. We were middle school aged, so old enough to be home alone, but too young to drive. Did I mention we lived in the middle of nowhere, miles away from friends? Oh, and we only had 5 tv channels? And this was before internet-at-home? Yeah, we really had to use our imaginations back then.

Smoked Salmon Dip #SoLetsPigOut // Loves Food, Loves to Eat So anyway, Mel & John were out salmon fishing from sun up to sun down every single day (ok, maybe they worked too, who knows?), leaving Amanda and I to fend for ourselves. Maybe that’s where I learned to love cooking? Survival, I tell you. She and I both remember the cupboards being bare that summer, but that’s probably just our memories playing tricks on us—if you saw my parents’ cupboards you’d understand why that probably wasn't true...I think they’re preparing for the zombie apocalypse. But about the salmon: we literally got tired of salmon. It’s the one thing we remember eating that summer. We basically lived off of my dad’s hot-smoked-canned salmon, grilled salmon (either Jamaican jerk rubbed or mayo-seasoning salt rubbed, which by the way, makes the best grilled salmon ever), and batches of Mel’s salmon dip (made from leftover grilled salmon and/or salmon that she cooked just to make dip).

Smoked Salmon Dip #SoLetsPigOut // Loves Food, Loves to Eat Now, of course, I realize how lucky we were. What I wouldn’t give for unlimited salmon that doesn’t cost a month’s rent! Leftover salmon? Please. These days I make Mel’s salmon dip with store bought canned salmon, because you better believe if I’m forking out a full paycheck for fresh fish, I’m grilling it and eating it all in one sitting right then and there. Luckily, Mel’s dip recipe has some secret ingredients that give the illusion of tons of super smoky smoked salmon, without actually using smoked salmon. Genius, that woman! 

Smoked Salmon Dip #SoLetsPigOut // Loves Food, Loves to Eat This recipe is also super simple and comes together in the blink of an eye, which means you'll have extra time to make other #SoLetsPigOut potluck recipes! YES! Check out the recipes at The Pig & Quill and So…Let's Hang Out

Mel's Smoked Salmon Dip

We have lots of good canned salmon in the PNW, but if you can't find anything local, I've found the Trader Joe's canned salmon is pretty good! Just avoid anything that has skin with it, no bueno. Use 2 6oz cans, or equivalent cooked salmon. For fun, I bought a little 2 oz chunk of smoked salmon and mixed that in as well. You can serve with any crackers or veggies, but the classic summer-of-OCFD version calls for Saltine crackers. 

2 6oz cans salmon, drained
2 oz chunck of smoked salmon (optional)
1 8oz brick cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish sauce (more or less, depending on preference)
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Stir everything together until fully combined. That's it! Add more lemon juice or liquid smoke if you desire. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. 

PS. I knew making this dip look pretty would be a challenge. The quickest way to tell if food looks gross? Have a second grader take it to school for lunch and see how many kids make fun of it and are grossed out by it. Yep, I was that second grader you guys. In the end I was the lucky one with this dip in my lunch, but man, sometimes a kid just wants a Lunchable like everyone else, ya know?   
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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Summer Salad Roundup

Summer Salad Roundup // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
This weekend is two of my favorite events of the year: Ragnar Relay (my 6th year!) and Burning Beast. Next weekend we’re hiking/camping for Amanda’s birthday, and the following weekend is…wait for it… my bachelorette party weekend! In Sonoma! 

Summer Salad Roundup // Loves Food, Loves to Eat Um, also…did I mention that Evan and my wedding is in 2.5 months!? Where did the time go!? At this point, we mostly just need to pull together some last minute decorations and things. We have each other and we have the food, so that’s really all that matters in the end. Oh, but we’re having a helluva time picking out the aisle song. We love music and want it to be something special, but most of the bands we love sing about the opposite of happiness and love. Maybe you can help: I love classic rock (think CCR, Stones), bluegrass, Lana Del Rey, and Miley (don’t hate). Evan loves electronic music & Elliot Smith. Together, we’re bigtime fans of DCFC, Colin Meloy, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Annnnd, go! 

Summer Salad Roundup // Loves Food, Loves to Eat So anyway, with all I have going on lately, I’ve been living off of quick salads. Not even exciting ones. I know that’s kind of boring, but it’s true. Sometimes I toss some chicken on the grill and then put that in the salad, or maybe I’ll throw the whole thing in a tortilla, and call it dinner. I’ve been so busy and it’s so warm out that I’ve just had no energy to put together a real dinner. I think Evan loves it, because it means he can eat out whatever and whenever and I just don’t care. The Korean place around the corner probably loves it too, because Evan’s been a very frequent customer (sidenote: their grilled pork & kimchi sandwich is insane, and I’ll probably need to recreate it for you sometime soon!).  

Summer Salad Roundup // Loves Food, Loves to Eat Summer’s a busy time, man. If you’re also living off salads, here’s a little inspiration from the archives:
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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
Last weekend, Amanda, Pete, Evan and I were sitting in the sun, drinking beer. Pretty typical. And then our friend Mer showed up. Also typical. So there we were, sweating our faces off, drinking craft beers (Seattle is craft beer heaven, by the way). Aside from the sweating our faces off, this is basically what we always do. So anyway, Amanda started talking about homemade ice cream, and the next thing you know, we were all crammed into my apartment around my ice cream maker. Summer is the best. 

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream // Loves Food, Loves to Eat I love a good egg-filled custard based ice cream. All creamy and rich. But for those moments when you want homemade ice cream and you want it right now (er, well, in 20 minutes) this simple milk and cream base can't be beat. No cooking. No extra cooling or anything. The only added step here is throwing some fresh blueberries in a blender with fresh lemon juice to make a tangy, fruity, swirly mix-in. 

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream // Loves Food, Loves to Eat It's seriously so easy and basic that I almost didn't share it. But the little bites I've been sneaking from the freezer all week were enough to change my mind. 

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream
Ice cream maker required

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pinch salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
Juice from 1 lemon

Whisk together cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt, and pour into your ice cream maker. Follow ice cream maker's instructions. 

While ice cream maker is doing it's thing, blend together blueberries and lemon juice. Feel free to add a little liquid sweetener if you want (like honey or agave) but I like the tang. 

Right as ice cream is almost done, add 3/4 of the blueberry mixture and continue running machine until it's mixed in. 

To eat as soft serve, top with a little additional blueberry sauce. 

To freeze for hard ice cream, pour ice cream into a freezer safe dish, and pour remaining blueberry mix on top. Swirl with a fork. Freeze until set. 

Simple Blueberry Ice Cream // Loves Food, Loves to Eat
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