Today I was vacuum sealing portions of Lox made via the Food Nirvana recipe in amounts typically used at one time by two people. The vacuum sealing helps extend the life of the Lox, which without vacuum sealing will spoil within a few days once the package is opened. And note that Lox also freezes exceptionally well when vacuum sealed, so spoiling should never be an issue.
I got a wild idea while doing the vacuum sealing. The geometry of trying to balance the ingredients of this appetizer on a cracker is peculiar. Often pieces of the ingredients fall off before the item is completely eaten and that is rather sloppy. Thus, my wild idea. Why not make a mixture of the cream cheese, diced onions and capers? Also, first mix the cream cheese with a small amount of heavy cream to make it softer (almost fluffy) and easy to mix with the diced onions and capers. By so doing the mixture is easily spread onto a cracker and then the piece of Lox is added. Ah, a definite improvement, and proof that a bit of imagination can work wonders. And it seems other folks have had the same idea as me.
I know you will really enjoy this appetizer, and the recipe is quite simple. Don't serve a large amount of this delight to your guests or they will consume it all and not be hungry for dinner. But do serve a nice chilled white wine like Pinot Grigio.
Ingredients: (Serves two people)
1/4 pound of smoked salmon (LOX)
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 or 2 tbsp. of heavy cream
1/3 cup (or more) of finely diced sweet onion
1/4 cup of capers
A bowl of crackers of your choice. We often use Kellog's® Club crackers.
Directions:
Put the softened cream cheese and heavy cream into a bowl and mix them with a fork.
Add the diced onions and capers into the bowl and carefully blend those ingredients into the cream cheese mixture with a fork.
Serve the Lox on a saucer, cut into pieces suitable in size to be placed on top of a cracker. If it seems to be too oily simply give it a short warm water rinse and dry the pieces lightly with a paper towel.
Serve the cream cheese mixture and the Lox with a bowl of crackers.
Use about two teaspoons of the cream cheese mixture and spread that onto a (small to medium size) cracker.
Place a piece of Lox on top of the cream cheese mixture. Swoon with delight as you eat this fine treat.
A nice chilled white wine like Pinot Grigio is a perfect beverage to serve with these hor d'ouvres.
Enjoy!