Regina Schrambling's Salmon Rillettes

I don't know about you, but all I want to do in January is snuggle up on the couch wearing woolly socks, with a pot of soup on the stove and a movie on the television. Maybe, too, some low-intensity creative projects and quiet reading, but that's it. The hyper-insanity of December leaves me so exhausted that I'm quite relieved to not leave my cozy living room for a while, with the windows all fogged up and candles burning blurrily in the corner of the room.

But we can't exactly hibernate until the buds come out and the birds chirp again, can we? It wouldn't be much fun in the long run. Instead I invite people over, figuring that the equation's not half bad: we ply our friends with good food and plenty of wine and in return, they don't make us venture out into the chilly evening - at least not for a while. Everybody wins.

Planning the menu for an evening like that is always a bit of a challenge. Cooking for two is a cinch, cooking for four is pretty easy, cooking for six starts to get a little hairy, and by the time you get to eight whole people it's tough to keep your head on the ground. You don't want to be stuck in the kitchen the entire day, making things that are too time-consuming, too complicated, too harrowing. The larger the group, the simpler the food should be.

But I do like to choose recipes that I wouldn't get to make ordinarily - it is a party, after all. So I pull out the binders that have appetizers and hors d'oeuvres recipes tucked away in them - roasted, spiced chickpeas or pickled shrimp or home-cured olives - and I pore through them, delighting in my choices. The recipe I alighted upon last weekend was one that I'd actually meant to make at Thanksgiving - salmon rillettes.

Now doesn't that trip just beautifully off the tongue? Rillettes, rillettes. Ree-yett. We don't eat much salmon around here - Ben doesn't like it and since there are so many other types of fish that we both really love, I'm happy to forgo salmon most of the time. But this recipe had lodged itself in my mind ages ago (briefly supplanted by Thomas Keller's somewhat more complicated version) and I just couldn't shake it. Ben would have to eat olives instead.

It's such a lovely little recipe: you very briefly cook wild salmon in vermouth (or wine, as I did), then mash it up with smoked salmon, chopped chives, lemon juice and creme fraiche. The fresh salmon tempers the smoky stuff beautifully and the creme fraiche gives it some elegance without getting goopy or rich. The few drops of hot sauce are a genius touch - the heat sasses the rillettes right up. No Plain Jane pate here, move along now. The mixture is bright and flavorful, improves with a few hours in the fridge, and best of all, can be arranged on good bread by your guests.

I read somewhere once (was it Laurie Colwin? No. Someone else. Who, though?) that a good dinner party can always be guaranteed if you enlist your guests' help in the kitchen just after they arrive. It keeps them busy, so you can finish up whatever else you're still working on without having to worry that they're all standing around in the living room feeling bored, and it keeps your stress levels down, because now at least someone else is dealing with the hors d'oeuvres and you can stop worrying that the whole meal is going to hell in a hand basket in about three seconds flat.

Arm them with a glass of champagne while they're at it, and who knows - they might even want to come back next time.

Salmon Rillettes
Serves 8 to 10

2 cups dry vermouth or white wine
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
4 white peppercorns
8 ounces fresh wild salmon, skinned and boned, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces wild smoked salmon, minced
3 - 4 tablespoons crème fraîche (or more to taste)
4 tablespoons chopped chives, divided
4 tablespoons lemon juice (or more to taste)
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and white pepper to taste
2 ficelles, thinly sliced

1. Combine the vermouth or wine, bay leaf, sea salt and peppercorns in a nonreactive saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the salmon cubes and cook 15 seconds exactly. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well, then place in a mixing bowl.

2. Mash the salmon cubes with a wooden spoon until chunky-smooth. Add the smoked salmon, crème fraîche, 2 tablespoons chives and the lemon juice and mix well. Taste and add the hot sauce, salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice and/or crème fraîche if you like. Chill 1 hour to meld flavors. Makes about 3 cups.

3. Return to room temperature before serving. To serve, spread on ficelle slices and sprinkle with the remaining chives.

Comments

[Molly]

I love the sound of salmon rillettes! No, wait, scratch that - I love this whole post, actually. "Very Laurie Colwinesque," I found myself thinking, even before you'd mentioned her!

xo

[EB]

Ply friends with booze and make them help??? Best plan ever. This sounds like not only fabu party food but a great little recipe to whip out at brunch too!

EB

[anne]

I don't eat fish, period. BUT those pictures and your new camera are gorgeous.

[Kim]

I'm putting this recipe in my file -- it sounds like a perfect one for the Pacific Northwest.
Did Ina Garten say something like that in her Parties book? If not, she should have!

[Jennifer Hess]

This sounds fantastic. My husband makes duck rillettes often, but my boss took me to lunch at Le Bernardin last week and the salmon rillettes they brought to the table after seating us have been burned into my memory (and onto my tastebuds) ever since! I'm going to have to file this away to try soon.

[Julie]

We can't hibernate until the buds come out and the birds chirp again? Darn! Because when we get into the really cold parts of winter that's exactly what I want to do.

The kitchens the best place to be before a dinner party; that's where all the action is. And salmon rillettes sound delicious, elegant, and festive -- perfect party food.

[gemma]

sounds yummy and you absolutely SHOULD have those guests help out (with bubbly in one hand). Just fab! I suppose there weren't any leftovers? Did Ben try one at least? I wanted to eat the page. your camera does some very clever things.... or maybe it is you that does the clever things, the camera merely captures it for you
x

[Lydia]

I love dinner parties! Can I ask what else was on the menu?

[Anne]

I have a similar recipe with cod, but I think salmon works better. Beautiful color!

I must say I can't get over your new camera. Love your pictures. Love, love, love. I'm gonna start hinting to Fred and keep my fingers crossed for Mother's Day.

[Mercedes]

I love entertaining too, although sometimes the whole planning and orchestrating of it is as baffling as it is exhilarating. Perhaps a more relaxed approach (and champagne!) is the key...

[Lydia]

I always put my guests to work in the kitchen, even if they are chefs and if I'm just a little bit intimidated about cooking with them. It's also a great way for people who don't know each other to meet -- give everyone a big knife and something to chop, and they will become fast friends!

[andrea]

i love this post! the recipe sounds delicious, and your photos are so, so lovely.

[Mary Coleman]

You're right about having friends help in the kitchen. Even the ones that don't cook end up having a grand time. Love the salmon!

[Luisa]

Molly - thank you, my friend! That's sweet.

EB - yes, good idea! I need to have a brunch party.

Anne - well, that's okay, then :)

Kim - hmm, I don't know. I don't think that's where I read it, though...

Jennifer - ooh! I'll bet those were pretty stellar. What a lovely boss you have!

Julie - isn't it, though? I love that. One day *dreaming* I will have a kitchen big enough to have a whole party just hang out the whole night. Whee, what fun to look forward to!

Gems - Ben didn't try one, I don't think. At least not when I was looking :) Actually, there were leftovers, but that was my fault, because I didn't buy enough bread. What's the deal with the Hills having no good bread? And thank you! I love love love that camera. Each day can't wait to use it again.

Lydia - well, we had the rillettes to start along with some Nicoise olives and sliced fennel - then the main course was a Laotian chicken and rice dish from Hot Sour Salty Sweet that I've been meaning to make for ages. Plus a simple salad (baby greens and sliced endive in a simple vinaigrette). Dessert was that squash pie I wrote about on Sunday. A little bit hodge-podgy, but it all worked out very nicely together!

Anne - cod! Really? Is it like a brandade? Tell me more. Because I was just wondering the other day about other fish with this preparation. And thank you! I love the camera so much. Each time I pick it up it's such a joy.

Mercedes - relaxation is the key and Champagne really does make everything better. I'm a big proponent of drinking it whenever the fancy strikes.

Lydia - yes, there's something that bonds people very quickly when they cook together, it's true. Like when you take one cooking class with a bunch of strangers and by the end of the night, everybody's best friends? Love that.

Andrea - thank you!

[gemma]

actually there is a good place for bread.... it is on Ascan and it is called "Bonelle Bakery." It looks like nothing and is a bit pricey but you get really good baguettes. Also, Cheese of the world SOMETIMES has good bread but you have to go first thing in the morning! hope that helps x

[ann]

Hmmmm... I'm with Ben on this one... More olives please!!! I do love that quote though, thanks for sharing :-)

[Serge Lescouarnec]

I did not know you could do salmon rillettes, I associate them with pork.

Maybe some of you would like to contribute something tasty to my Meatballs for Seth call for recipes on Serge the Concierge.

Here is the link
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com/2008/01/hey-get-cooking.html

Last call is January 24th midnight.

Take care

Serge
'The French Guy from New Jersey'

[Christiane]

I always think I would love to have a recipe file exchange program, where you send off your recipe file for a week or two and get to peruse someone elses. I'm sure I'd find some really great recipes in yours!
This recipe, though, sounds absolutely fantastic and is definitely going in my files!!