Sometimes I like to blog about something, well not that exotic. In this case it is the humble bagel! But when you dress up that bagel in layers of fashionable clothing, oh what a transformation from it’s a bagel to wow, it’s a night out on the town. Prof. Henry Higgins surely would be impressed!
Ok, maybe I am being a bit dramatic! But there is more to the bagel than Philly Cream Cheese. Our heavenly bagel drew it’s inspiration from a visit to Quebec City, Canada. From the cream cheese, slightly infused with fresh herbs, the fresh off the boat salmon, farm fresh lettuce and tomatoes and briny capers, we new we had more than the local Sunday morning bagel.
We had a wonderful time a couple years ago visiting Quebec City. Lovely weather and people. Not to mention why we were there, to gorge on their famous French-influenced food!
One of our favorite places to go for breakfast was Bistro 1640 on Rue Sainte-Anne. While they have an exquisite indoor restaurant, we really enjoyed eating nice and early in the outdoor cafe watching all the tourists walk by. We really had a great time. If you ever get a chance to visit Quebec City, we highly recommend it, but beware it’s very hilly. You definitely need great walking shoes!
To start, you have to have a great foundation; the bagel! Luckily living in New Jersey, we have a large selection of bagel shops. For this recipe, it is essential, in my opinion to select sesame seed bagels. They are just the perfect compliment, and stand up to the great flavors of the salmon, cream cheese and capers. For authenticity, I am using Montreal style bagels from Spread Bagelry in Philadelphia.
Once you have your bagel, it’s time for the mortar; the cream cheese. Look there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying it from the store. But what about making your own! Crazy…right? Nope, it’s actually really easy to make and add your own herbs. You’ll find the recipe below for home-made cream cheese and fresh herbs.
