Scott Cutaneo's Great Christmas Dishes

GRAVLOX

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of Salmon

- 1 Tbsp white peppercorns

- 1 tsp fennel seed

- 1 tsp caraway seed

- 8 ounce sea salt

- 4 ounce sugar

- 1 bunch dill

- zest of 1 orange

- zest of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Mix salt and sugar. Add the caraway, fennel seed, white peppercorns to the salt sugar mixture.

2. Lay out plastic wrap and place salt mixture on top of the plastic. Place the salmon over the salt mixture and close the plastic so all of the salmon are covered with the salt mixture.

3. Let the salmon sit in the refrigerator for 48-72 hours turning the salmon every 12 hours.

4. When the salmon is cured, rinse with cold water and add the dill/zest mix on top of fish and slice to order.

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE(ITALIAN CHEESECAKE)

Ingredients:

- 1 pre-made pie shell

- 3/4 pound of ricotta

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 tsp lemon extract

- 1 tbsp lemon zest

- 1 tbsp orange zest

- 3 eggs

- 3 heavy cream

- 2 ounce butter

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 385.

2. Mix eggs and strain. Add rest of ingredients to the egg mix and whisk.

3. Put mix in shells and cook for 1 hour 20 min.