I was going to attempt to write something trenchant about That Anniversary but I got too angry and burst into tears instead, which is a problem when one is wearing glasses as this one does these days. Also that post was a hair more serious and self revelatory than I am willing to be in this medium. And the audience in my head -- sundry relatives and close friends has probably heard me say all I really have to say on the topic, and yelling online won't help anything, especially when others manage to say what I want to say and keep some shreds of civility. So instead I will talk about the week which was totally a red letter week as these things go -- except for intermittent episodes of yelling at Leon Panetta and Congress which is pretty much par for the course. (To the best of my knowledge Leon Panetta does not read this blog and does not know that every so often he says something that causes me to yell at him in the privacy of my car*)
In the course of this magnificent week, I got to spend time with three of the four people who know way too much about me**: Skadi, the Tall Guy, and JVW (who I really need to come up with a better nickname for). Spending time with any of them is exciting, but getting to see three of the four in a week is almost too much to hope for (especially as it's the three of the four that I am usually at least a thousand miles away from at all times, and even when I'm home in Anchorage, one of them is persistently in the Midwest***). I made up a new recipe. And I went for a hike. And I finished a quilt. I am exercising great restraint. If I were to truly demonstrate my happiness any one of these things would be occasion for all caps, bold, and hot pink, flashing type. As it is, I merely point out my excitement, so that people who know me well can say, "indeed, Sarah is very happy about all this." Also any one of these things is enough and more than enough for a blog post, and may yet prove to spark one. I kept writing the one about how I don't sew in my head while I was, in fact, sewing.
And because it wouldn't be my life without heaping helpings of absurdity, I also explained my beauty regimen to a Japanese student, who didn't believe that I was as old as I said I was. (Dear readers who have never met me, I look more or less my age, which is almost thirty-one.) Upon producing my driver's license, he (yes, dear readers who have not already heard the story, the student in question was and is male) asked what I did to have such wonderful skin. I stared at him as if he had gone completely mad, and explained that I took a multivitamin, and walked a lot. I believe that the main thing in my beauty regimen is beyond his reach. Namely, at this point in his life, he is unlikely to be able to be related to both my grandmothers (and possibly my grandfathers as well). Certainly my complexion is one of those things for which I can take no credit.
But I mentioned a recipe, and I have one, albeit with almost no measurements, because if I'm not baking I rarely measure. JVW has opined that my recipes are funny. I have no idea why she thinks this way.
Smoked Salmon Pizza
First off you need a recipe of pizza dough. Use your favorite, or use this one. If you use my recipe, I strongly suggest leaving the herbs out of the crust.
I actually suggest making the "sauce" the night before so that the flavors have time to meld. I, of course, did not do this.
1 box cream cheese (full fat, or neufchatel if your definitions of virtue run that way. Although the results will not be quite as over the top.)
A handful of fresh dill or to taste, snipped up with kitchen shears
A handful of fresh parsley, like wise
A clove of garlic or so, minced, mashed or smashed, or a teaspoon or so out of a jar
A couple of green onions minced
A sizeable pinch of sweet paprika
The zest and juice of a quarter lemon
A tablespoon or so of milk
Salt and pepper
Use a hand mixer to mix everything. You might consider nuking the cream cheese to render it easier to work. Chill overnight if you have time to do that.
Toppings for the pizza
Smoked salmon, not lox (lox is a fine thing in its way, but it lacks the force of smoked salmon)
roasted red peppers
grape tomatoes
feta
pine nuts (I forgot that I had meant to put pine nuts on the pizza, until I was eating the leftovers. It didn't suffer from the lack, but I suggest them, if you like that sort of thing.)
After the first baking of the pizza crust (see the linked recipe), spread the pizza thickly with the cream cheese mixture. I have a hard time thinking of it as a sauce, because in the main, sauces pour; however it fulfills the role of sauce.
Sprinkle on the toppings in quantities that seem right to you. The feta should probably be added with a light hand.
Bake the pizza for 5 minutes or so, or until the cheeses are a bit browned. Serve with a large green salad, bacon wrapped dates, red wine, and most importantly good friends. I fed this to JVW, the Tall Guy, and his girl friend (who seems like still another delightful person, whose perversity of location I shall regret). No one complained, and everyone had seconds and in some cases thirds.
*Some people watch football and yell at the tv. My family treats politics the same way.
**I really dislike the term "best friend," with its exclusivity, and in any case my relationships with all of these people are so different. But they do all know more about me than I find entirely comfortable, though sometimes it is comforting.
*** Repetitive to the point of annoyance announcements that the friend in question ought to move to Seattle or Anchorage have so far not been productive, but hopefully my brainwashing attempts will eventually bear fruit. Also, my friends are incredibly tolerant.
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