It's Still Summer, Dammit, Dinner

Saturday 11 August

We called Julie and Kathy and Russel to come and celebrate that we're not teaching yet, even though that first day looms dead ahead.

All the Alaskan salmon that Andi and Joel had sent us made Holt want to make smoked salmon mousse; and of course he did it in the most artistic way, wrapped in thin shavings of our own baby zephyr squash inside individual friande molds, served with tzaziki and chopped tomato elegantly piled beside. 

The recipe was an adaptation of this stalwart from Barbara's Fear and Loathing Cookbook.

The Salmon Mousse (not à la Monty Python's Meaning of Life)

1 envelope gelatin, liquified with a splash of hot water and half a lemon's worth of juice

16 oz. canned salmon (we used smoked king and coho)

1 cup sour cream (we used crème fraiche)

2 scallions

2 tsps. and more fresh dill (we used fennel fronds)

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

white pepper to taste

Prepare gelatin.  In robot-coupe, whiz up salmon and all other stuff a lot; add gelatin and mix.  Pour into well-oiled and/or plastic-wrap-lined mold(s) and chill for a few hours before unmolding.

For salads, we had Julie's tomato and cucumbers, served with Jungle Jim's fresh burrata, and Kathy's grilled zucchini. 

Then the main course: casserole-roasted pork, using chopped fennel, red torpedo onions, carrots, and parsnips.

And finally, Holt made a genoise filled with chocolate ganache and blueberries steeped in vanilla liqueur.  So we not only forgot that school was approaching, but everything else as well.