armed, dangerous.

I'm packing for my trip at the moment, and I think we'll be lucky if we ever see me again. My luggage makes me look like the most suspicious person alive. It's full of: extremely sharp knives, lots of them; six detonator-looking things used to control toy helicopters; four digital cameras for surveillance purposes, plus lots of miscellaneous, mysterious electronics like contact mics and MIDI interfaces...let's see, maybe I can find some C-4 or ballistic weaponry to add to my arsenal in the next 48 hours. I can already see my bag being detonated by the bomb squad on the runway in Atlanta. Maybe I should shave before I hit the airport as well if I really want to avoid a cavity search.

There are more dangerous scenarios, I guess...I could have a layover in Phoenix on my way to rehab.

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Before my knives were in my luggage, they performed several less dangerous functions. One of the best things I've made since I've been here was salmon rillettes, based on a recipe from David Lebovitz's site. We only had smoked salmon, and it worked perfectly well, but I'd like to try the combo version too. These were a Thanksgiving appetizer eaten by Pitts and myself on toast and crackers.

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smoked salmon rillettes.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
200g smoked salmon, cut into thin strips, then cut into ½-inch (2 cm) pieces
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp chopped chives or scallions
1 tbsp capers, minced

pinch pimenton or freshly-grated nutmeg, or maybe both but I've never tried it
freshly-ground white pepper if you've got it, I never do so I use black

Mash butter and olive oil together with a fork. Stir in other ingredients to combine. Refrigerate for a couple hours, then let return to room temp before serving. Spread on toast or crackers.

INTERESTING UPDATE: I just made this with the same amount of butter and oil, but with 250g steamed salmon and 150g smoked salmon. 2 tbsp of capers and 2 tbsp of lemon juice were the only other changes. I guess what we end up with then is something slightly healthier.

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