Smoked Salmon: Off The Bagel

Yes, yes, bagels and lox, Sunday morning at my house, the mad knife skills of old-school appetizing masters, a do-it-yourself gravlax recipe and so forth. When it comes to breakfast, especially with regard to bagels, I have no new information for you. You either smear or schmear, layer on the good stuff and chow down. But when it comes to lunch, provided you won't be eating it on an airplane, smoked salmon is the protein du jour.

Some smart ways to sub in this delightfully fragrant fish:

• Instead of sliced turkey on a club sandwich, cause guess what? Smoked salmon, like so many great things on this earth, loves bacon (and mayo, quite frankly).
• Stuffed in a baked potato with plenty of sour cream and chives. Smoked salmon and potatoes had a thing going on long before the advent of the bagel, ask any Russian. You can make a baked potato, right?
• Atop a salad. There is literally no salad whose lame grilled chicken breast can't be bested by smoked salmon. Highly recommended: Niçoise, Cobb, or if you want to get really fancy, add some extra smokiness to your smoked mozzarella caprese or wrap it around goat cheese to top a spinach salad.
• Chopped and mixed with fresh, hopefully homemade ricotta, lemon zest and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and tossed with some wacky pasta shape for the least boring Tupperware full of something in the office fridge. Seriously, get on the ricotta bandwagon.
• Wrapped around pretzel sticks and dunked in mustard oil.

And above all, isn't it pretty to behold? When I win a Grammy for my highly seductive narration of Modernist Cuisine, I'm going to show up Gaga in shimmery orange-pink silk chiffon...oh my goodness, is that a dress made out of lox?