cream cheese-caper spread Archives • The Traveling Epicurean

Mouth-Watering Prime Rib Sandwich at Walt’s

Restaurants aren’t the only place to go to get a gourmet sandwich for lunch. I frequent a great food market right here on the Connecticut shoreline in Old Saybrook called Walt’s Food Market (right on the main road in town). There’s nothing like having that old school butcher shop feel when buy your meats and receive caring customer service from a team of very friendly employees, a lost art form nowadays. Walts has specialty items like their own in house kielbasa which also comes in hot dog size…yum, and you can find smoked fish that’s moist and bursting with flavor yet not overly smoked…it’s amazing! I picked up some smoked wild salmon over the holidays and served it as an appetizer on top of crostinis smeared with a cream cheese, caper, and red onion spread on Christmas for my family. My favorite “sandwich special” at Walt’s is their mouth-watering prime rib sandwich, tender prime rib slices, horseradish sauce, piled high with crisp lettuce and tomato on a fresh baked hard roll and of course served with a snappy pickle! Prepared meals, homemade pies and soups, my kids favorite chicken cutlets and the goody list there goes on not to mention their own baked dog bones which our King Charles loves. And they just celebrated their 50th anniversary so get yourself over there and see for yourself …..an old school butcher shop with great customer service and gourmet food. They can be reached at Waltsfoodmarket.com. And don’t forget to try my crostinis, smoked salmon & cream cheese-caper spread recipe from The Traveling Epicurean’s recipe index.

Crostinis, Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese-Caper Spread

This appetizer is tastes fresh, smokey, moist, and creamy with a hint of tart from the capers that compliments the fish. It’s not just for holidays but really for any time and it’s such an easy thing to make. Smoking salmon definitely involves time and work so leave it up to the professionals this round and buy it at your favorite small town market or a fish store where they make it in house! All you have to do is make the crostinis, and the spread consisting of cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat if you prefer) chopped capers and red onions. Smoked Salmon is a hardy fish with intense flavor and a filling appetizer while at the same time making for a lovely presentation. You can mix it up with other hor d’ oeuvres like Mediterranean Layered Dip, baked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, zucchini torta or fresh mozzarella, pesto and roasted tomatoes on crostinis and don’t forget a little spicy crunch with some roasted chick peas.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Smoked salmon
4 oz. cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese (has 1/3 less fat) -(end results taste the same)-Philadelphia brand
3 Tbsp coarsely chopped capers if large, if very small no need to chop
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 Tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 bunch chopped chives for garnish
Crostinis recipe

Directions:

Combine the cream cheese, capers, red onion and lemon juice just lightly.
You don’t want to completely mash the spread…you want to see the capers and onions.
Spread 1 Tbsp of this mixture onto each crostini.
Gently break apart smoked salmon layers with your hands in decent size chunks.
Top each crostini with a piece of smoked salmon, plate and sprinkle with chopped chives….yum!