"A Little Schmear" Snack Plate

In memory of weekend breakfasts at my grandparents' house.

May 18, 2025

One the absolute best things about my work is that every few weeks I get to spend a day standing around in the kitchen at one of the best restaurants in the world, watching as some remarkably talented (and wonderfully kind) chefs show me how to make the dishes that are going into the cookbook I’m co-authoring. The food is amazing, of course, but the things I love most about those days are the people I spend time with and the opportunity to be part of the life of the restaurant for a few hours. Three Michelin-starred restaurants are extremely busy places, and on any given day, in addition to regular meal prep, there might be a photo shoot, a tour for hospitality students, or preparations for a collaboration meal—or all of the above happening at the same time.

This week, the Head Chef of Special Projects was getting ready for a sold-out bagel pop-up, and as I worked, I also watched him make a huge container of creamy lox spread to accompany the bagels. I didn’t end up taking any bagels home (the chef very kindly offered me one, but I live near Boichick, which makes some of the best bagels in the country, so I thought someone else might enjoy it more). But on my way home, I did find myself craving that lox spread.

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Big spreads of bagels and lox (and cream cheese, sliced onions, capers, and tomatoes) were a staple of my childhood—especially when we visited my grandparents and other relatives on the East Coast. My paternal grandmother was a great cook, but she didn’t always want to make food for a crowd of relatives, so out came the bagels for breakfast (and sometimes deli sandwiches for dinner). Later, when my grandparents passed, those same spreads showed up on the table after their memorial services; mourning requires fuel, and we’re not really a casserole people—why would we be when delis will put together big trays of bagels and toppings for you to pick up on your way to sit shiva?

My dad also put together small versions of these spreads at our house every couple months, despite the fact that Santa Barbara was a bagel wasteland in the ‘80s and ‘90s. His favorite toppings were cream cheese, lox, and onions. As a kid, I preferred scallion cream cheese with some tomato and capers. It took me a while to come around to lox, but I eventually saw the light.

After tasting the delicious spread the chef was putting together, I decided to make my own version—and to use it as a dip for crudités and crackers and maybe even a mini bagel. (Bagel chips would have been more fun, but the Bay Area doesn’t appear to be a big bagel chip spot.) I added everything I like to put on bagels, including cream cheese (we keep the whipped version in the fridge), lox, scallions, and capers, then seasoned everything with lemon zest and cut up some carrots, celery, and cucumber, as well as some pickles, to serve as palate cleansers. A sprinkling of Everything Spice finished up the spread.

The ingredients and ratios below reflect my favorite flavors, but you should feel free to adjust and add/subtract as you like so that your dip has your favorite bagel flavors.