#gravlax

not sure if this is outside the rules for this community, but I thought I post how to make the accoutrements to go with your slice of bread, be it a bagel or pumpernickel—also anything we have on hand can easily be oiled & spiced and biscottied into a crouton to accompany a salad of your choice :D or if your prefer crumbed in a food processor to be reused as "flour" in a waffle or cake! I learned this hot tip from watching the Italian elite chefs share some tricks of the trade to not wasting all the bread we have on hand.

there's still 3d left on the bread poll, bread is so versatile—I love that the most about it.

Crème fraîche combined with whipped cream creates a stable, tangy, and rich topping perfect for fruits, pies, or cakes. Combine 1 cup chilled heavy cream, 1/4 cup crème fraîche, and sweetener/vanilla, whipping until soft peaks form. It provides a more sophisticated, slightly tart alternative to traditional whipped cream.

Whipped cream can substitute for crème fraîche, particularly in cold applications, but it lacks the necessary tang and fat content. For better results, add a squeeze of lemon juice or zest to the cream to mimic the acidity, or mix whipped cream with sour cream for a closer texture and tangy flavour profile.

Best Ways to Substitute:

Tangy Substitute: Combine equal parts heavy whipping cream and sour cream.

For Desserts/Toppings: Whip heavy cream with a little lemon juice or zest to introduce a similar acidic note.

For Sauces/Soups: Use unwhipped heavy cream (36–40% fat) directly for thickening, though it is sweeter and less acidic than crème fraîche. 

Key Differences:

Flavor: Crème fraîche is cultured and tangy; whipped cream is neutral/sweet.

Heat Stability: Crème fraîche rarely curdles; unwhipped heavy cream is also stable, but whipped cream can break down if overheated. 

Other Alternatives:

Mascarpone: Best for desserts due to similar thickness, though it is sweeter.

Greek Yogurt: Good for a tangy, lower-fat alternative in cold dishes.

Russian Tea Room: WORST Restaurant in NYC? | James Andrews I think most major metropolitan cities has a Russian Tea Room, hope it is not as rumoured to be a meeting place for crime bosses to gather but you never know. It's too bad the honey cake was phoned-in, you should definitely keep your eye out for it, so spectacular it's got to be top 4 dessert. so that's why they call it dirty..bottom of the swamp aesthetic; you called it a Ukrainian dessert but the origin is Russia, so now I wonder what is authentically Ukrainian food?

A classic Dirty Martini is a savory cocktail combining 2–2.5 oz of gin or vodka, 0.5 oz of dry vermouth, and 0.5 oz of olive brine, stirred or shaken with ice and garnished with 1–3 olives. Originating around 1901, it is defined by its salty, hazy appearance and can be made "extra dirty" with more brine.

How to Cure Salmon at Home & Make Gravlax | America's Test Kitchen

Curing (salting) fish can reduce surface bacteria and extend shelf life by drawing out moisture via osmosis, but it does not completely eliminate all harmful bacteria or parasites. While curing firms the flesh and improves safety, it is not a replacement for proper cooking or, for sushi, freezing. 

Key details regarding curing fish for safety:

Bacteria Reduction: A mixture of salt and sugar draws out moisture, creating an environment where many bacteria cannot survive.

Limitations: Curing does not reliably kill all parasites or bacteria, especially if the fish is already contaminated.

Best Practices: Always use high-quality, fresh fish. For raw consumption, it is recommended to use fish that has been properly frozen to kill parasites.

Safety Note: Cured fish should always be stored in the refrigerator, not left at room temperature. 

For treating bacterial infections in live aquarium fish, curing methods such as using Epsom salt or Aquarium salt can kill external bacteria by dehydrating them, but they are not a substitute for proper antibiotics in severe cases

Gabrielle Hamilton: Gravlax With Herb Butter | NYT [Aug. 2, 2024]

Ingredients

Yield: 10 to 12 servings (about 3 pounds)

1side clean, fresh and fat Alaskan king salmon, skin on, pin bones removed, neatly trimmed of all undesirable bits of fat and tissue (about 3 to 3½ pounds total), or 1 fat and gorgeous 2½-pound fillet cut from the widest part of the body

½cup kosher salt

½cup granulated sugar

¼cup finely ground black pepper

2bunches dill (about 4 ounces each), clean and dry, left intact (no need to pick fronds from stem), coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

1cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), left at room temperature for an hour (not hard from the fridge yet not so warm as to be greasy)

1bunch dill (about 4 ounces), clean and dry, fronds removed from stems, fronds finely chopped (about ¾ cup)

1medium shallot, peeled and finely minced

3tablespoons Dijon mustard

Soft dark pumpernickel sandwich bread

Preparation

Cure the salmon: Lay salmon skin-side down, flesh-side up in a glass or stainless-steel baking dish. (A large lasagna dish works well.) In a small bowl, toss together the salt, sugar and pepper until blended. Sprinkle the mixture over the salmon evenly, with abandon, until fully covered, as if under a blanket of snow. Use all of it.

Spread all chopped dill on top of cure-covered salmon to make a thick, grassy carpet.

Lay plastic wrap or parchment paper over salmon to cover & press down, then place a heavy weight—such as a 2-gallon zip-top bag filled with water—on top, to weigh heavily on curing fish. Refrigerate just like this, without disturbing, for 5 days, turning salmon over midway through cure—on Day 3—then covering & weighting it again.

To serve, mix together softened butter, dill, shallot & mustard until well blended.

Remove salmon from the cure, which has now become liquid, brushing off the dill with a paper towel, then set fillet on a cutting board.

With a long, thin, beveled slicing knife tilted toward the horizon, slice salmon thinly, stopping short of cutting through the skin. Generally, you begin slicing a few inches from the tail end and you slice in the direction of the tail, moving your knife back, slice by slice, toward the fatter, wider belly portion of the fillet. The last slices are always hard to get. Once you have shingled the fillet, run your knife between skin and flesh, releasing all the slices, then transfer them to parchment until ready to serve.

Spread the compound butter on bread, then drape sliced gravlax on top, and eat as open-faced sandwiches.

C01: Two pieces of salmon in a zip lock bag with the skins against each other and the flesh to the outside, comes out well. Instead of weighing it down, you just turn the bag over every day as it cures. The liquid from the bag is great for curing chopped onions.

C02: From an old Joyce Goldstein cookbook, "sprinkle the dill with a couple of TBS Acquavit (good) or scotch whisky (better) at the end of step 2, which adds a nice extra taste touch + alcohol dissolves both fat-soluble & water-soluble flavors (why pasta alla vodka works so well) & helps them penetrate the salmon during the cure. Also, I have seen but not tried a “Japanese Gravlax” recipe using Shisho leaves instead of dill, which is intriguing.

How to Make Your Own Creme Fraiche | Bigger Bolder Baking

Key Preparation Tips

Keep it Cold: Use a chilled bowl and beaters to ensure the mixture whips properly.

Avoid Overwhipping: Whip to soft peaks to prevent the cream from becoming too thick, stiff, or curdled.

Stabilization: The natural density of the crème fraîche acts as a stabilizer, preventing the cream from deflating quickly.

Serving: Ideal for fresh berries, stone fruits, or as a topping for desserts. 

Recipes

Basic: Whip 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup crème fraîche, and 1-3 Tbsp sugar.

Stable Version: Use base but substitute sugar with 3 Tbsp powdered sugar.