Smoked Salmon Dip (Trader Joe’s)

$3.99

When I grab a bag of bagels, it’s not without the combination of smoked salmon (or lox), capers, and cream cheese.  These things just belong together, and an item that I could enjoy at any time of the day.  There are actually times that I crave it and as I am writing, this is one of them.   It was no wonder that Trader Joe’s decided to pair up this combination (sans the bageIl) into a dip that easily found its way into my basket.  I was pretty stoked to try this out, and I am rarely disappointed by a TJ’s deli item as they are the king of party provisions.  Here’s what it’s like:

 

I like smoked fish dips/appetizers.  Actually I love them, and if I’m required to bring something to a shindig, my go-to is a smoke trout dip.  So, Trader Joe’s was going to save me a little time by creating a smoked salmon dip that I could pop in and grab if I was ever in a bind.  This wasn’t going to be something that I was going to spring on unsuspecting guests.  I had to give it a sample.  FORK me if I were to serve them some less than awesome app (I would lose my cred).  I grabbed some multi-grain crackers for dipping, and opened the Smoked Salmon Dip.  Giving it a stir, I noticed that this was mostly filler.  Tiny shreds of salmon were present with a slight dotting of green specks that represented the capers I was so looking forward to.

I loaded up the cracker, and shoveled the first bite into my mouth.  There was a slight tang from the cream cheese, followed by the salty flavor of smoked salmon.  The texture was fairly smooth, and now and then you would have tiny, dry slivers of salmon greet your palate.  However, it was missing the mark on many fronts and wasn’t really all that impressive.  It lacked the bite of the capers, and the creamy texture of smoked salmon.

 

This won’t be something that you’ll ever see me bust open in front of guests or ever again.  I didn’t do it for me, and I love dips of this nature.  You’d be much better off collecting the ingredients yourself and making it on the spot.  It really isn’t that FORKing difficult.

Tzatziki Dip (ALDI)

As you have probably noticed, I’m a nut for Mediterranean fare.  So, when I’m out shopping and I spot an item inspired by this area of the world, automatic pilot engages and my hand snags the container and slides it into my cart.  This time it happened to be a product that I have never spotted before, resting in the deli section of ALDI.  Tzatziki dip was not on the list but, It wasn’t going to stay on the shelf either, and before I knew it, there it sat in my cart.  There was no turning back.  The transaction was complete and I was now the owner of a creamy cucumber dip.  Here’s what I did with it:

Only $1.99

You may already know all about tzatziki, and may not even know it.  It was that creamy, garlicky, yogurt sauce that covered your gyro and probably left you licking you fingers after it dripped out of the pita that was attempting to contain it.  It’s the reason I switched from using sour cream in my dips to Greek yogurt.  As I studied the packaging, I realized that this small container of tzatziki was being marketed as a dip.  I opened it up and realized that it was a little thicker than the yogurt sauces that have covered my gyros in the past, and this extra thickness would make it great to scoop with some pita chips.  I didn’t have any of those laying around, and made the snap decision to just dig my pointer finger into the dip, snagging a healthy portion to give it a taste.  FORKing delicious!  Maybe the best tzatziki sauce I have ever tasted (store bought or homemade).  After allowing the sauce to saturate my palate, I realized that this was going to be the perfect topping for the salmon I had planned on baking tonight.


I was really anxious to make this yogurt dip part of my meal tonight.  Snagging a handful of red potatoes, I placed them on the cutting board and reduced them to thick slices in quarters.  Olive oil was placed in a skillet and the heat turned to medium.  Some fresh, peeled garlic and a few sprigs of rosemary accompanied the potatoes into the skillet.  The oven was set to 375 in preparation for the salmon.  While that was heating up, I seasoned my salmon fillet with dried dill, salt, and pepper, covering it with three slices of lemon, and gave the potatoes a toss.  Finally, the oven was ready and the salmon baked for about 12 minutes, giving the potatoes enough time to thoroughly cook.  It was all plated and then covered with the tzatziki and garnished with a sprig of rosemary.  The tzatziki was the perfect complement to the salmon and even after I was finished with the fish, I wiped up the remaining sauce with my potatoes.

Chicken Livers (King Edwards Chicken and Fish)

livers...mmmm

Most chicken and fish joints are all the same, offering up all the same deep fried goodies that you can find at all locations with the same name.  In Saint Louis you will find an abundance of them over on the north side, particularly on Page.  I suddenly had the craving for some protein breaded and submerged in hot oil.  I was over on the west side of the Lou, and popped out my trusty smart phone and loaded up Yelp to see if there was anything of the like near my area.  Lucky for me, King Edwards was conveniently located off of Watson in Crestwood.  I had heard good things about this chicken and fish joint and had to check out the fare.  Here’s what happened:

I popped into the parking lot of a strip mall that housed King Edwards and found a close spot.  I could smell the deep fryers at work immediately as I stepped out of my car.  Once inside, I took a look around and a tiny dining area was buzzing with folks of all walks of life.  I joined the queue of about 4 people, giving me time to examine the menu.  Their menu consisted of a huge options of chicken combos, fried seafood, and a list of po’ boys that are offered on Saturdays.  Much of the items on the menu were of southern influence and included spicy hush puppies, frog legs, and my favorite, chicken livers.  Being a connoisseur of livers, I had to give these a shot.  I put in my order and added an order of fries.  After about 10 minutes, my fried chicken livers were up and delivered to my table.  They were lightly breaded and looked rather unappetizing to the untrained eye as they were the dull brown color of a liver.  I took a bite and they were subtly crispy with the wonderful soft texture of liver.  The lack of breading was a little disconcerting and I really prefer a thicker crunch to accompany the velvety texture of the liver.

loads of options

These livers weren’t my favorite, but after looking at the menu, realizing I had just downed a small sample size, I wasn’t turned off the the idea of making a return visit.  The prices were down right incredible and it sure beats getting fried chicken from a fast food chain.  So, go in and try something else out.  If you do, send me a FORKing pic, and tell me what you thought.