Chef Michael Salmon - Join me in my Kitchen
Desserts
Semifreddo, in Italian, translates to “partially frozen.” It has a lighter texture, and is more like a frozen mousse than ice cream due to the incorporation of lots of air in its preparation. I make several versions of this classical Italian dessert by adding different ingredients for various flavor and texture combinations. This version, made with Limoncello, is light, bright and simple to make.
This is a wonderful ending to any meal. The bananas are delicately coated with shredded coconut and fried until golden brown and crispy. The bananas are then served over a sublime papaya sauce with lychees, creating a dessert that is stunning to both the eye and the palette.
This recipe for Rhubarb-Raisin Bread Pudding came from my mom, Rita Salmon. She entered it into a recipe contest in 1983 in Minnesota and received an honorable mention. It was published in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune “Eighth Annual Reader’s Best Recipe Cookbook.”
Chocolate Mousse is a quick and easy dessert to make and will satisfy most sweet-tooth’s. Use a good quality semi-sweet dark chocolate with about 60% cocoa solids.
Tarta de Queso is a Spanish cheesecake that is very delicious and easy to make. I make a Peach and Strawberry Compote to serve with the cheesecake. The crinkled parchment paper creates a “rustic” look to the cheesecake and makes cleanup easy!
Chocolate lovers beware. Starting with a pistachio brownie crust and followed by a layer of rich chocolate ganache, chocolate ice cream and finally chocolate sauce, any chocoholic would be impressed.
The combination of Pistachios and Apricots in this Torte is hard to beat. The creamy-slightly crunchy filling of ground pistachios provides a great foundation for the sweet-juicy ripe fresh Apricots. The inspiration for this dessert came from our scouting trip to Provence in the town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in southeast France.
This recipe for Chocolate Dacquoise comes from the King Arthur Flour website. I use it on my Foodie trips to the Dordogne region of France. Thin-crispy meringue layers sandwich a rich Nutella filling with a caramel whipped cream.
Torta de Santiago is an almond cake dating back to the Middle Ages from the northwest part of Spain. It can be easily identified by its signature powdered sugar cross of St. James that adorns it’s top.
Crème Caramel has always been one of my favorite desserts. This version is made with tangerine juice and served with Grand Marnier plumped apricots and candied tangerine peel.
Join me in my kitchen as I prepare recipes from my two cookbooks, European foodie trips and explore new inspirations.
