Smoked Salmon Board

Today, I will show you how I styled this delicious and savory Smoked Salmon Board. There is something I love about laid back gatherings, assembling a board filled with delicious flavors, and a chat fest with your closest friends. Setting the mood is imperative! If for breakfast or brunch, brew a fresh batch of coffee, pour some orange juice mixed with bubbly in a glass carafe, and set out your favorite napkins. If for dinner, put your wine in a wine decanter, light a candle (I use battery operated candles), and turn on some mood music (my Alexa echo dot has my favorite play lists on hand and she knows me so well).

Entertaining with a board of food in the middle of the table emphasizes socialization, discussion and community. Not only that, it is super easy! The beautiful outcome compared to the effort to create this display, is far greater! If you don’t have an eye for styling one, just follow these simple steps to arrange a Smoked Salmon Board.

SMOKED SALMON BOARD RECIPE

First, start with your favorite wood, marble or slate board. Toast some fresh whole bagels in the oven at 325 F for 5-7 minutes while you arrange the board. Arrange some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, red onions, avocados and lemon wedges. Then, spread some cream cheese in a small bowl and sprinkle with fresh dill or dried dill seasoning. Add some capers in a small bowl and of course arrange the slices of smoked salmon. By now your bagels are perfectly toasted so stack them vertically on the board so they take up less space and Voila! It’s ready to serve.

The bagels that I used are absolutely to die for but they are hard to come by. We get them only when we visit my husband’s town in Montreal. I remember my father-in-law telling me as I bit into one freshly baked from St. Viateur, “no other bagel tastes like this.” St. Viateur bagels describes how they are made – “Each bagel is hand-rolled, boiled in honey water, and cooked in a wood fired oven that was designed to both cook and flavour the bagel. What comes out of this process is a chewy, slightly sweet bagel that is incomparable to any other bagel being made today.” Put this on your lists of places to visit when in Montreal and take some home to freeze like I do!

My favorite way to eat this is spreading the cream cheese on the bagel, sprinkling some fresh dill, adding a few slices of salmon, capers, avocados and squeezing a few drops of lemon on top. All those flavors together are pure PERFECTION. Bon appetit!