The Birthday Party & Smoked salmon pâté

It's not every day that a girl gets to celebrate her 25th birthday all over again, so I had a small party at my place on April 24th. I only decided that I'm not too old to make a bit of fuss about my birthday a few days earlier, but despite the rather short notice, a very impressive 22 friends turned up. I had fantastic time, got lots of flowers (including a very special bunch delivered very early in the morning by a courier;), lots of chocolates to satisfy my chocoholism, and some lovely presents. Thank you all who came by, emailed/called/texted me or left birthday wishes on my blog..

Here's what my friends were nibbling while drinking bubbly and chatting away:

* Grissini sticks wrapped in paper-thin prosciutto slices
* Crostini with pesto (spread on crostini before they are put in the oven)
* Crostini with a salad of salted Estonian chantarelle mushrooms (yum!), minced shallots and sour cream
* Carrot sticks with hummus
* Salmon and cream cheese canapés that I tested just few days earlier.
* Crostini with goat's cheese, smoked salmon and parsley (below)

And then there was the mocca and almond cake, obviously. Devoured in an instant:)

Smoked salmon pâté
(Suitsulõhepasteet)



This simple but gutsy spread was inspired by a recipe in Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends. I replaced crème fraîche with sour cream and used goat's cheese instead of cream cheese. I'm not a great friend of fennel either (although I love dill), so my pâté had parsley in it. As it can be made up to a week in advance, it's great for parties.

100 grams of organic smoked salmon
50 grams Welsh soft goat's cheese
100 ml sour cream
a handful of parsley
sea salt
crushed black pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice.

Whiz up chopped salmon, goat's cheese, sour cream and parsley in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper and refresh with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Spread on crostini or crackers and garnish with some parsley.

For more great finger food ideas, check out this recent post by Angelika of the Flying Apple and all those fabulous canapé recipes by Johanna of the Passionate Cook.