Salmon Mousse

Ingredients

• 1 lb freshly cooked or canned boneless salmon
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 1 can concentrated tomato soup or 8 ounces of puréed tomato sauce
• Tabasco sauce
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 4 teaspoons unflavored, unsweetened gelatin
• One greased or stick-free 6 cup mold, or a few serving bowls.

Directions

1. Start with the salmon in a bowl, then fold in the celery, green pepper, and onion. Add the dill, mayonnaise, yogurt, and lemon juice, and stir until everything is evenly combined.
2. For the tomato and cream cheese base, warm the cream cheese in a saucepan until it melts. Stir in either the tomato soup or tomato sauce, keeping the heat low and your spoon moving, until the mixture turns creamy and smooth. Shake in several dashes of Tabasco sauce. Scrape this warm mixture into the salmon bowl, then stir until it is fully worked through.
3. For the gelatin, put the cold water into a small pot, then stir in the gelatin. Use cold water here; it helps the gelatin disperse before it meets heat. Warm the pot slowly, just until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let it boil, or the mousse may not set the way it should.
4. Pour the dissolved gelatin into the salmon mixture and stir very well.
5. Transfer the mixture to a decorative mold or spoon it into serving bowls, then chill it in the refrigerator for 6 hours, or until it feels firm.
6. To unmold from a decorative mold, dip only the bottom of the mold into hot water for a few seconds, then invert it onto a large serving dish so the mousse can release. If the outside looks a little rough, cover the mousse with plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator to chill; the surface should smooth out.
7. Keep it refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
8. Set out the mousse with any mix of baguette slices, crackers, celery sticks, avocado slices, lettuce leaves, tomatoes, and olives.