The Sandpoint Eater: For the love of food!

By Marcia Pilgeram
Reader Columnist

Last week, sporting a newly gifted Irish apron, I delivered a cookie tray to some neighborhood children when a neighbor couple out for a walk spotted me and assumed I was delivering bakery orders. So they inquired, “Can we get some shamrock cookies from you?” I’d baked plenty of extras and told them to drop by my house on their way home. There was only a brief, awkward exchange when they realized I was baking for fun, not money, and the cookies were a gift (that they had a hard time accepting).

I’ve cooked for fun, money and love throughout my life. Nowadays, I mostly cook for love. Since I live alone, well-meaning people often remark, “It must be so hard to cook for one.” I’m sure it must be, but I wouldn’t know. I’ve spent a lifetime in the kitchen, from feeding a dozen ranch hands three times daily to years of catering events for hundreds. But, honestly, I wouldn’t know how to cook a single serving.

Lately, I’ve been testing oodles of recipes and have scaled most of them down to four servings. While I’m cooking, even four servings seems like a paltry number of portions (except when it’s time to purchase the ingredients).

Usually, when I finish testing a recipe, if it’s something I can freeze, I wrap it up and toss it in the freezer until I can pass it along to a friend or family member. However, when the grandbabes started referring to my culinary offerings as “Mimi’s mystery meals,” I learned to do a better job of dating and labeling the packages. As a result, you’ll find a half-dozen meals marked and ready to go at any given time.

Last week, I cooked for a small gathering in my home for the first time in a long time. From planning the menu to shopping, cooking and finally serving my guests, I can’t think of anything that makes me much happier than feeding my friends and family. I was especially pleased with my shopping self for this little get-together, as I managed to bring home some favorite ingredients from Ireland:

• West Cork cheeses from Gubbeen Farm in Skull;

• Organic smoked salmon from the Old Millbank Smokehouse in the medieval market town of Buttevant;

• Guinness bread from an artisan baker in Dublin.

There was barely time to clean up the leftovers of my St. Patrick’s Day gathering before I started thinking about Easter. Of course, now that my kids have their kids and assorted extended families, we aren’t as likely to spend all the holidays together. As a result, we’re pretty fluid regarding holiday time and have never done the every-other-year-is-my-turn-type celebrating. But, truth be known, I’m always happy to forgo the Christmas and Thanksgiving rotations for my beloved Easter.  

There’s nothing I don’t love about Easter (except the rain on my Easter parade). Maybe because I’m not a fan of winter — especially the last one — Easter with her blooming crocus, fluffy baby chicks and adorably dressed children fills me with every hopeful sign of springtime. And, of course, one of my favorite meals to prepare: Easter brunch!

The vegetarians in my family will soon outnumber the carnivores and pescatarians, so I continue changing the menu a bit (but never giving up on bacon, ham or chicken livers), with more salads, fruit and cheese offerings and an abundance of bread and pastries. 

And egg prices be damned! Regardless of the cost, I’ll still have at least three kinds of eggs prepared for brunch (scrambled, deviled and quiche). 

I always make a salmon torte for Easter, and since I’d brought some salmon back from Ireland, I also made one for my St. Patrick’s Day menu. It was a huge hit, with lots of requests for the recipe.

I usually make favorite recipes from memory, but, now and then, I like to fact-check if I plan on sharing. Unfortunately, a not-so-great filing system I use is the search bar in the sent files of my Gmail account. So I searched for this recipe and found some fun-related correspondences. One was a rail client (2008) who I served onboard the California Zephyr en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif. in her private rail car. She must have liked it because she requested I make it again on her trip the following month.

Another unusual request was from a friend having a Champagne party to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate (2011). She wanted to include a recipe featuring smoked Scottish salmon. I was happy to oblige.

To make this delicious and pretty offering, your salmon need not come from faraway shores or smokehouses — any wet-type smoked salmon, such as gravlax, will do nicely. Don’t forget the Champagne!

Atlantic smoked salmon torte recipe • This is a great addition to an appetizer bar or holiday brunch buffet. The cheese mixture is mild in taste, and doesn’t take away from the delicate flavor of the smoked salmon. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

• ½ cup mascarpone

• ¼ cup crème fraîche

• 1 lb. cream cheese, softened

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened

• ½ cup sour cream

• 8 oz. very thinly sliced Norwegian, Scottish or Irish smoked salmon

Directions

Blend cheeses and sour cream in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. Lightly press dampened cheesecloth into a 6-7-inch cake pan. 

Press bits of dill, thyme and lemon zest decoratively onto the cloth. Pat one third of the cheese mixture over cheesecloth. Press into place with wet fingers. Tap on counter to remove air pockets. Top with salmon. Cover with another layer of cheese mixture. Tap again. Add another layer of salmon. 

Fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the top layer and cover with cling wrap. Give it a couple more good taps on the counter to remove any more air pockets. Chill for 8 hours. 

Carefully unmold by removing springform rim, loosen cheesecloth, invert onto serving platter and remove cheesecloth. Garnish with finely chopped onion, salmon roe and finely chopped chives before serving with crackers, crudites or brown bread.

For 6 individual servings, follow the recipe above, but press dampened cheesecloth into individual ramekins. On a small plate, place a piece of Bibb lettuce, and carefully unmold torte. Garnish with capers and lemon wedge, crudites and bread. 

Store leftovers in the fridge for no more than 2-3 days.