Blog Party 5: Smoked Salmon-Cucumber Skewers

I was aimlessly wandering around among my bookmarked food blogs when I came to Johanna's lovely post about some noodle nibbles she made as an entry to the Stephanie's blog party. Why haven't I known this before?! Anyway that's how I came upon this blogging event which I think is a great excuse to party every month. ;)

Thursday last week was the 15th anniversary of our church wedding so I thought why not have just nibbles and drinks for a change and totally indulge ourselves while we all sat in our sofa watching Madagascar. The two things that entered my mind when Stephanie mentioned 'indulgence' are smoked salmon and parma ham. Loved them a lot but as you can imagine because of the steep prices of these premium delicacies that I possibly cannot have it every week or even every month. But since it's our anniversary so ... la-di-dah.


I found this great looking hors d'oeuvre (I can never get the spelling of that right - horse divers? horror dervs?) on sticks in the latest Olive magazine issue. The green grapes were added to put some sweetness in it. I simply love the way the cucumber refreshingly cuts through the saltiness of the smoked salmon. Then to save time I just bought some ready made cream cheese appetizers with some herbs on top which I wrapped in slivers of parma ham. Plus I bought some ready made crostinis in which I spread some olive tapenade (gift from the lovely Sha) and topped with slices of parma ham or smoked salmon. Leftover bite-sized chorizos from Brindisa was also made to good use. I had ready made dips, some crisps (potato chips), carrot batons, and mixed nuts. For the kids I made extra finger foods - sausage rolls, chips, some chicken wings, garlic bread, green grapes and we were ready to go. Oh yeah, for dessert I've got Belgian chocolates and option of ice cream.


Since it's a celebratory do, I bought a bottle of Cava for me and the hubster while the kids have fruit juices. My kids loved the change from our usual dinner and we toasted enthusiastically for more years of family bliss.



Smoked Salmon-Cucumber Skewers

smoked salmon - cut into strips
cucumber
cherry tomatoes
green grapes

1. Wash and dry the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
2. Using a potato peeler, cut cucumber into strips. Cut the strips into about 6-inches in length.
3. Lay a smoked salmon strip on top of a cucumber strip. Thread this in a short bamboo stick in a zigzag manner.
4. Next pierce a cherry tomatoes through then repeat smoked salmon and cucumbers. Top with a green grapes.
5. Serve with slices of lemon and dip.

Mayo-Creme Fraiche Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche or Greek-style yoghurt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives, dill, or parsley

• Combine and mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Blog Party