It's fairly easy these days to find good quality smoked salmon, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. If you don't have your own smoker or just aren't a smoke-it-yourself sort of person, it's more than likely you can buy excellent smoked salmon locally at your grocer's meat counter or deli, and there's always online; I note that the Pike's Place Fish Market has a nicely done online store with a wide variety of smoked salmon packages. You don't even have to fight the crowds downtown at the Market in person, to get the authentic Pike's Place goods.

It's fairly easy these days to find good quality smoked salmon, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. If you don't have your own smoker or just aren't a smoke-it-yourself sort of person, it's more than likely you can buy excellent smoked salmon locally at your grocer's meat counter or deli, and there's always online; I note that the Pike's Place Fish Market has a nicely done online store with a wide variety of smoked salmon packages. You don't even have to fight the crowds downtown at the Market in person, to get the authentic Pike's Place goods.

Typically, commercially-obtained smoked salmon is either a fairly thick filet or slices, but thicker, fattier chunks or "steaks" are also available. Once the salmon is smoked, commercial smokers seal it in vacuum-sealed plastic bags, in cans, and sometimes, the smoked salmon is also frozen for shipping. Smoked salmon can be kept in the fridge for two to three weeks. It keeps even longer, up to three months, in the freezer. Generally, I prefer to obtain smoked salmon from a local fish market, or even better, bring it home from one of the independent fish-stands you can visit during a weekend on the Washington coast or a drive along the Columbia river valley. I expect you probably have a friend who's an avid home-smoker, and might be willing to help you learn, or trade.

Once you have obtained your smoked salmon—however you go about procuring the goods—there are all sorts of lovely things you can do with it. Aside from just eating it as it, or sending the salmon to me, consider using smoked salmon as a flavoring or highlight ingredient in other dishes. Smoked salmon is exceedingly flavorful on its own, but it's enhanced dramatically by dill, parsley, pepper, chives, capers, and citrus. A white wine on the sweet side is a perfect accompaniment; I favor Northwest sparkling wines, Rieslings, Gew¨rztraminers, but I note that Chenin blanc and Chablis are often proposed by professionals as ideal companions for smoked salmon. A carefully arranged but simple plate of smoked salmon, fruit, cheese, vegetables, and bread, served with a lovely local white wine, makes for an elegant, healthy, and simple appetizer platter when you're entertaining. For that matter, it's a marvelous and simple light summer meal.

One of the easiest ways to use smoked salmon is as a flavoring ingredient spreads or dips based on cream cheese or sour cream, with herb flavorings are always popular. You can serve small slices of the salmon with a spread or dip, or you can crumble small pieces of the salmon into the dip or spread, paired with pieces of crusty baguette or savory crackers.

The dip I like most is simply equal parts of slightly warmed cream cheese and sour cream, well-blended. I typically use an 8 oz package of cream cheese and a cup of sour cream. Add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, about a quarter-cup of grated sweet onion or finely minced chives, and a healthy pinch of lemon zest to the cream-cheese/sour cream mixture while you're blending. This is the point to add your smoked salmon, finely shredded. This recipe mix works beautifully with shrimp, clams, or other cooked seafoods, by the way. You'll want to chill it before serving with chips, baguettes, or raw veggies.

Smoked Salmon and pasta are very good friends. Have a favorite pasta primevera with an olive oil and garlic sauce? Try adding a few ounces of smoked salmon, fresh lightly steamed broccoli, carrots, and fresh green beans or snap peas. Or prepare your favorite recipe for Fettucine Alfredo and add smoked salmon. Smoked salmon pairs very nicely with chilled pasta salads, as well—and you can make it ahead for entertaining.

There are any number of salads that suddenly become exciting with the addition of a few chunks of smoked salmon. Your standard Northwest organic greens salad with spinach, hazelnuts, carrots, beets, and a light citrus dressing is amazing when you add smoked salmon. Think about a Caesar salad using smoked salmon, instead of chicken, or salad Nicoise, or just a mixture of local field greens with a few locally grown walnuts, grape tomatoes, and chunks of smoked salmon.

Smoked salmon works very well with French cooking styles; salmon filling in puff pastries, or added to a traditional cheese or broccoli quiche is quite lovely, as are scrambled eggs or an omelet, or salmon cakes or croquettes. But I have to admit, my absolute favorite way to enjoy smoked salmon is in the form of a cream-based smoked salmon chowder, with potatoes, onions and any number of other possible ingredients, but definitely including nice chunks of smoked salmon in every spoonful.

Ready for some recipes? Here you go:

• Bruchetta salmon spread




• Northwest smoked salmon artichoke dip




• smoked salmon spread




• Grilled zucchini with smoked salmon appetizer




• Smoked salmon with dilled cream cheese on puff pastry




• Smoked salmon layers




• Smoked salmon in puff pastry




• Easy smoked salmon quiche




• Potatoes with smoked salmon and fennel




• Smoked salmon salad Nicoise




• Linguine with smoked salmon




• Smoked salmon pasta. In fact, speaking of pasta, here's a fabulous collection of smoked salmon pasta recipes.