Hello Monday { Finnish Smoked Salmon Salad }

This week I'm embracing autumn with a Finnish Smoked Salmon Salad!Don't you think Smoked Salmon Salad sounds like a wonderful California holiday recipe and a perfect way to incorporate a Finnish recipe into holiday plans? Me too.

Hello new traditions

Since my son, Jonathan, and his Finnish wife, Sanna, live in Finland and are expecting their first child any day, I wanted our new grandson to know that his American family is including a new tradition with our holiday meals—one from his new home in Finland.I'm a California girl raised on a cattle ranch and beef. My grandmother raised turkeys and sent them to market during this time of year. Beef, turkey and Jell-O salad—that's the holiday fare I grew up on.As the years have gone by, I've included new dishes that daughters-in-laws have added and grown daughters contributed. This smoked salmon salad is one I've adapted from a Finnish recipe that called for smoked herring. Since I couldn't find smoked herring, I'm using smoked salmon.

Finnish Smoked Salmon Salad

Serves 41/2 lb smoked salmonhalf a bag of cut up lettuce2 large boiled potatoes chilled2 or 3 apples2 hardboiled eggs2 tbsp chopped chivesVinaigrette:2 tbsp wine vinegar5-6 tbsp oil1 tsp mustardsalt to tastefreshly ground black pepper to tasteRemove the flesh from the salmon and cut into pieces. Peel and dice the apples and the cold boiled potatoes. (I forgot to peel my apples and the salad was still yummy.) Cut the eggs into quarters and chop the chives. Combine.Put the lettuce on a salad plate and place the smoked fish salad ingredients on top of the lettuce. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients and pour over the salad. Let it stand for a couple of hours in the fridge.Mix and serve.Optional: After combining the smoked fish salad ingredients, add the vinaigrette, mix, and let it stand in the fridge for a couple of hours. Then put it over the fresh lettuce. Mix and serve.

I served this salad as a trial run this weekend to my Word Diva group at our annual writing retreat. It was a hit.So what new recipe are you including in one of your holiday meals this season?Susan"Jesus likes it when we share." -Adelaide, age 3: Pass this along to everybody and their brother. OK, maybe not everybody's brother, but you know . . . all of your friends would be nice.Related posts:Crock Pot Roasted VegetablesGenesee Home's Garlic Roasted Asparagus