We have a spice-cookie crumb crust filled with a stove top made pudding and then topped with a mascarpone whipped cream. On the surface this seems pretty simple, but combined together my tasters loved the end result. Chocolatey goodness is what they said…almost like a ganache. The only observation I got, other than how delicious, was that the chocolate is strong, so it seems to overpower the cookie crust. I personally don’t think a decadent chocolate is a bad thing haha.
It sounds like from the reviews, and my love of chocolate, I might need to make this again after Easter when we are back eating dessert so we can try it. 😃
Our recipe this month is a “forage in the kitchen-pantry and fridge salad”…a quick throw together with ingredients on hand. My usual “throw together” is roast whatever veggies we have left, add fish=dinner haha.
This was a fresh change of pace. I would not have these ingredients necessarily on hand to throw together, but this is a repeatable dinner with some planning.
There were three parts to the salad: vinaigrette, pickled onions, and the salad.
The vinaigrette is double mustard, grainy and Dijon, mixed with white balsamic, olive oil, sherry vinegar (which I could not find but found you can sub rice vinegar), salt, and pepper.
The pickled onions are quick…30 min which means you can prep these first and they are done by the time you need them. Consists of red onion mixed with cider vinegar, salt, and sugar. (BTW these were fantastic…we ate them all week on different things!)
The salad has chopped celery, red bell pepper, white beans, basil, pickled onions, and smoked fish…I used a can of smoked salmon sent to us from our son-in-law’s family in Alaska! Wild Coho Smoked Salmon in Alaskan Birch Syrup! What a treat. This is all nestled on a bed of lettuce if so desired.
Honestly, we weren’t too sure about this one but it quickly had us as fans. It is very fresh and light and I would think, a perfect dinner during the hot summer months. No cooking required. The dressing complimented the dish so well, without overpowering it which is hard with mustard flavors. I don’t usually have smoked salmon on hand and it isn’t particularly my husband’s favorite way to eat salmon, but I could totally see myself making this with baked salmon and keeping everything else the same. It was a delicious combination.
We had never heard of a brandade…which is the fun of this baking group!
This dish was created by Dorie as an easier home cooked version of a traditional brandade, which is made with mashed potatoes and salted cod….mixed together as a spread. In this recipe, she swaps smoked salmon for the cod and makes it more of a shepherd’s pie.
You begin by boiling milk and then letting half of the smoked salmon steep while you get the potatoes going for the topping. The potatoes are boiled until really tender, and then put through a ricer. To this you add butter and the salmon-milk mixture, season with salt and pepper and cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Meanwhile, you have onions and garlic going. To this, you add cubed salmon and then some white wine. The cooked mixture is mixed with some chives and the remaining smoked salmon. This is the bottom layer of the brandade. The mashed potatoes are smoothed on top and then dotted with butter and bread crumbs.
The whole thing is cooked until golden and bubbling.
I have to say, we weren’t sure about this one, but it surprised us! I had only made half the recipe in case we weren’t fans, but we were. It is a rich dinner for having regularly, but I could totally see this as a side in a fancy, upscale restaurant…an elegant version of a shepherd’s pie.
Is this a keeper? 