Smoked Bluefish Spread/Pate

Smoked Bluefish is a New England tradition, going back probably thousands of years.  Native people in the region often preserved fish for winter by smoking them....and Blue fish is about as good as it gets for smoking.  The early English colonists learned about this treat and added the cheese......a perfect marriage in my mind ( and to be sure it was probably thru marriage that this was passed down thru the years).

Smoked Blue fish can be purchased in many good fish mongers here in the northeast, or better yet you can catch and smoke your own, but that's a post for another time.
Take about a 1/2 pound of good cream cheese (you can try the low fat varieties but I have found they don't hold up). Let the cheese sit out till its soft or use your microwave to soften it.
Carefully flake about 1/2 lb of  awesome smoked bluefish, and fold it into the cream cheese. 
You can try this in a food processor (its a mess) but I use a fork. I like it to be completely incorporated, but you can also choose to leave chunks of the Bluefish.   At this point I often add some lemon juice, smoked paprika and ground black pepper.  Today I am adding some crumbled bacon ( its bacon, it goes with everything).   Transfer it to a container with a lid and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge.
Then spread it on crackers or toasted baguette slices with a topping of chopped chives, or eat it with your finger when no-one is around.
...this also works as a stuffing for mushrooms.....