Cucumber & Smoked Salmon Snackers with Honey Mustard Sauce

Goooood morning! I hope you're in the mood for some cucumber & smoked salmon snackers today, because they're on the menu.

I've got some news...I created a cooking club!

In real life, I don't spend a lot of time talking about cooking and my blog. But since many of my friends and acquaintances eventually stumble upon my blog's social media accounts, I inevitably get questions and comments about my food-filled alter ego. "How do you come up with recipes?" "I wish I had the time/skills/knowledge that you do!" "Can you just make dinner for me?"

As flattering as a lot of these questions are, I often can't help but feel impostor syndrome - I'm no cooking expert, I'm self-taught, most creations take very little time. And while those things are true, I have to remind myself that even though I'm not a professional chef, there are tips and tricks to be shared. Since I'm also hoping to be a little more social in 2016, it just seems right to start up a little cooking club for the friends who want to learn a kitchen skill or two while hanging out and drinking wine.

It's an awesome idea, but the first gathering could have gone better. Only one person showed...but the -17 degree weather + wind chill warning may have been a deterrent for most. First tries don't always pan out. I just have to try again! If I'm able to get the whole thing off the ground, I'm sure I'll be posting about it a lot more.

What does all this have to do with these cucumber & smoked salmon snackers? The first cooking club gathering was about knife skills. I needed something quick and easy that involved cutting, but wouldn't deal food that was too messy or that people would be uncomfortable with (like cutting up a raw chicken).

Of course, an appetizer was the clear option. And for whatever reason, I couldn't shake the simplicity of slicing cucumbers. The picture in my head featured grape tomatoes. And eventually, smoked salmon just made its way in the mix and I knew I had my project for the cooking club.

Surprisingly, the honey mustard sauce was an afterthought that I whipped up minutes before the cooking club began...but really, I wouldn't be posting this recipe without the sauce because they elevated these little snackers to the next level.

These snackers are very quick and easy to put together—they can be crafted minutes before guests arrive. I wouldn't suggest making them too far in advance, because leftovers I had ended up watery overnight (but were still edible). If anything, just drizzle the honey mustard sauce overtop just before serving.

A reader on Instagram suggested adding avocado to these, and while I didn't have any on hand to try myself it's an excellent suggestion! Give it a try and tell me how it is!

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