Check some of your links BlogSweet is a dud.

Cute blog.
Laura | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 2:49 pm | #

Ouch Deb - appears the blog police have found you - some people!
Derek | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 3:19 pm | #

Mmmm they look delicious!
Goofy Girl | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 4:08 pm | #

Deborah-I bet some people in Virginia would argue with you about the ham! I don't eat it, anyway.
I agree about the fish, all of it. Where do people think it will come from if we deplete the natural supply? And farmed CAN be as good or better.
(Thanks for the Pampered Chef cups tip!)
Lisa | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 6:35 pm | #

Looks good Deborah -- really good. But I've never tried smoked salmon. I know my husband would love it, not sure abou the kids.
Barbara | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 9:48 pm | #

Your creamy smoked salmon looks delicious. I just have both items in my fridge. I'm going to try it out.
The Cooking Ninja | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 10:10 pm | #

Looks lovely as usual. I love smoked salmon and especially on wheaten bread spread with butter and topped with a squeeze of lemon
Sarah | Homepage | Wed.13.Jun.07 - 11:17 pm | #

They both look really tasty. Luckily we can get fat free creme fraiche. I'm trying to cut back where I can.
Amanda | Homepage | Thu.14.Jun.07 - 5:23 pm | #

This blog is ab-fab! I'm going to get myself some smoked salmon. Keep up the good work.
Kitchenmadonna | Homepage | Thu.14.Jun.07 - 7:06 pm | #

Testify!!

Salmon is one of my favourite foods.. I just bought a ton of it from the fresh fish van in Wicklow Town today, though of the unsmoked variety. I usually cook it up with honey and soy-sauce with a bit of mustard seed.

D'you know what? The only time I can read this blog is after dinner. The pictures here make me too hungry otherwise. I can almost smell the food.

Thanks for voting for my blog
K8 the GR8 | Homepage | Thu.14.Jun.07 - 9:56 pm | #

These look delicious, especially the first one. I often serve smoked salmon as an hors d'oeuvres I cut circles of brown bread with a mini scone cutter, put a dollpo of sour cream on top, then a few shavings of smoked salmon and top with some snipped chives
Mary T | Homepage | Fri.15.Jun.07 - 2:24 pm | #

The corned beef and cabbage thing drives me N.U.T.S!
Annie | Homepage | Fri.15.Jun.07 - 3:14 pm | #

Both look truly lovely and thanks for exposing the myth about corned beef. Also, I never would have put smoked salmon with Ireland either.

Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. Check back for the roundup later today.
Ruth | Homepage | Fri.15.Jun.07 - 3:36 pm | #

Hi Deborah
Good article about smoked salmon. I definitely was under the impression that corned beef and cabbage was Irish but perhaps it is just British. It has been a NZ stable …my Mother was Welsh she cooked a mean corned beef…and to a lot of my friends it still is a real treat…a corned beef dinner with Mustard sauce. We use Silverside here.
Anyway I am inspired by your mushroom and salmon pasta. I have people for lunch tomorrow and guess what they are getting?
Nice twist with the pink peppercorns.
gilli | Homepage | Sat.16.Jun.07 - 9:44 pm | #

Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone. I love how a lot of you offered smoked salmon recipe tips. Keep it coming - feel free to post stuff like that in the forum too - it keeps it in the forefront so everyone can learn from it!

Lisa - yes, I love Virginia honey ham, but the stuff we have here is just different. It's just cured and you have to do everything else yourself. We usually boil it first and serve it like that with cabbage, or you can then glaze and bake it for a more luxurious dinner. I will do a post on it sometime. My Mom makes a mean mustard and brown sugar glazed Xmas ham studded with cloves!!!

For those of you who said you were going to try the recipe - let me know how you get on!!!

On the corned beef and cabbage, my theory is that when Irish folk emigrated to the US they couldn't get real (for us) ham and corned beef was the next best thing! We eat bacon (boiled ham) and cabbage - so I think that is where it comes from!

Barbara - If you're a smoked salmon first timer, these would be a good choice, as it actually gets cooked and doesn't have that slimy texture. It's also really good in an omelet or with scrambled eggs. Just flake it in at the end and it cooks through. YUM!
Deborah | Homepage | Sat.16.Jun.07 - 10:58 pm | #

I've had your ham ... in Dublin ... and it was great! But it does taste like ham we have around here. It's not honey ham, and it's not country ham (salt-cured), but it reminded me of a ham steak.

And as for salmon. Love. it. Thanks for the recipes!
Abby | Homepage | Sun.17.Jun.07 - 5:11 am | #

The corned beef comes from the fact that the bacon in New York was way too expensive for the new Irish immigrants, so they started having corned beef, like their Jewish neighbors.
(I am quite the history geek!)
Lisa | Homepage | Mon.18.Jun.07 - 7:20 pm | #

So THAT's where it comes from!? Thanks Lisa!
Deborah | Homepage | Mon.18.Jun.07 - 8:44 pm | #

Deborah

Made your smoked salmon and mushroon dish. Our out of town guests enjoyed it.
I used Hot Smoked Salmon which I really like when cooking smoked salmon. Delcious.
Thanks
gilli | Homepage | Tue.26.Jun.07 - 2:32 am | #

why can't i see your pictures?
Anonymous | Tue.25.Mar.08 - 4:22 am | #