Smoked Salmon Smorrebrod (Page 179)

• Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 -- 8pm
• Location: Cambridge, MA
• Kitchen: Ana and Craig's Apartment
• Fellow Chefs: Ana and Matty
• Recipe Rating: B

Ana picked these sandwiches for dinner on Tuesday night because she was in the mood for something light after her long day of traveling. The Book claimed that these "dainty" sandwiches would make a "light but satisfying meal." These sandwiches were pretty good but they were neither dainty, nor light! The eggs were delicious -- cream cheese is always a good addition in scrambled eggs. I liked the combination of the eggs, the smoked salmon, and the rye bread, but there was too much salmon per sandwich. It overwhelmed the other flavors. The beauty of smoked salmon is that it is so intense that a little goes a long way. This recipe called for way more than would have been optimal. Overall though, these sandwiches were tasty, if not terribly exciting. I took half the salmon off of mine and then I enjoyed eating it quite a bit.

I discovered very early on in graduate school that when I have a lot to do my productivity increases tremendously if I take the day off from work on Saturday. I don't know why that is -- I guess sometimes I just need space from whatever it is I am doing. So, often, on Saturdays I don't do any math. Instead, I cook! Right now I have focaccia in the oven. I love baking bread, and focaccia is a personal favorite. I made soup when I woke up this morning, and some slightly frightening mincemeat this afternoon. My refrigerator is overflowing with food right now -- from a large jar of preserved lemons that I made this past week, to leftover colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage) from Wednesday dinner. During the semester it is hard to find time to cook as much as I would like to, but between terms there is plenty of time to get a lot of work done and still do a lot of cooking!

I just took my bread out of the oven and now I am eating a hot piece of rosemary focaccia, dripping with olive oil... I am so happy! I wish you all could be here to share this with me!