This gift from the kitchen would be perfect to give my best friend, Jennifer. Coincidentally, today is Jen’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Jenny Jen, I love you and I’m thinking of you today! xoxo

This would be the perfect gift because Jen loves smoked salmon and this fennel-cured salmon would make her so very happy.

On the eighth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me:
Fennel Cured Salmon
Spicy Guinness Mustard
Two Jars of Mustard
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Homemade Kahlua Liqueur
Lemon-Sugar Hand Scrub
Cranberry Citrus Vodka
and a bottle of Tomato Dust

Gravlax is similar to lox, which is cured salmon that has been cold smoked. You want to make this food gift within a few days of giving it away. Home-cured salmon has a shelf life of 7 days after the cure is removed. It can also be frozen and will keep for about 90 days before it begins to deteriorate in the freezer. So if you finish curing on Christmas Eve and you give your gift on Christmas day your gift tag should say something like:

Homemade Fennel Cured Salmon
Please enjoy by New Year’s Eve
or
Place in the freezer and use
by Valentine’s Day

I learned to make this recipe back in 1993 after attending the Sonoma County Wine Auction. Dave and I attended the Sonoma and Napa County wine auctions several times. This recipe and the memory of those events make me want to go again in the coming year.

BTW – You may substitute the same amount of dill for the fennel fronds… if that is easier for you to find… of course, then it would be Dill Cured Salmon. 

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