My brother and I are very different from one another, but there is definitely one thing we have in common: we both LOVE to eat. We also share a lot of favorite foods. I’m talking to you macaroni and cheese, sushi, and asparagus!

Another item high on the list is smoked salmon. Man, we can seriously chow down on smoked salmon. Toss us a platter with toast, hard boiled egg and some red onion and we are very, very happy campers. Or happy diners. I wouldn’t suggest bringing a smoked salmon platter camping, but that’s just me. When the two of us walk into a buffet we… oh you got the point already? Okay then, I promise all this raving about our cravings has a point.

And it is this amazing smoked salmon salad. All the balanced flavors you love from a traditional smoked salmon platter with an added freshness. Refreshing leafy greens are piled with salty smoked salmon, fluffy hard boiled egg crumbles, crunchy mini pumpernickel croutons and red onion.

The whole salad is lightly drizzled with a lemon and shallot vinaigrette that brings an extra pop of acidity and brightness to the dish.

So a special happy early birthday to my brother who inspired this outrageous dish! I hope you get to eat all your favorites on your birthday.

Smoked Salmon Salad

 

Print

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

for the salad

• ⅔ cup ½ inch cubes of pumpernickel bread
• 8 cups mixed greens
• 6 ounces smoked salmon slices
• 2 hard boiled eggs, crumbled with a fork
• Thinly sliced red onion

for the dressing

• ½ shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon capers, optional
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

for the salad

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Very lightly toss the bread cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place evenly on a pan and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes.
2. Place the greens on a medium serving bowl or platter. Layer the smoked salmon, hard boiled egg crumbles and sliced red onion on top. Drizzle the salad dressing on top then serve.

for the dressing

1. Combine the shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, parsley and capers, if using, in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.2.2802

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

Brie is a heavenly cheese. Encased inside an edible rind, brie has a creamy and buttery texture with a mild taste. When I was younger I used to take my best friend up to New Hampshire to go skiing with me and my family. Her parents used to give us a little food-packed thank you basket every time. The sole reason I remember this is because of the brie.

Oh the brie! There was always a wheel of it and my friend and I would dive right in, no serving dishes needed.

Brie’s versatility makes it pair well with everything from turkey artichoke paninis to wedges of apple. Sweeter flavors also complement brie well because it’s so mild and you know how I feel about my sweets.

This honey walnut topped baked brie is a simple and addictive happy hour appetizer or dinner party dessert. Well, pre-dessert, actual dessert must still be involved.

Brie is already a spreadable cheese, but when you melt it into warm gooey deliciousness it becomes both spreadable and habit-forming. The honey and walnuts on top add just the right amount of sweetness, earthiness and texture to really elevate the baked brie. And doesn’t the topping make it look fancy? You can serve this baked brie on its own, but I like to serve it with warm soft bread or raisin crostini.

Honey Walnut Baked Brie

 

Print

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 wheel of brie
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the brie in a baking dish. Top with the honey and the walnuts then bake for 15 minutes.
3. Serve hot with crostini, slices of bread or crackers.

3.2.1311

Recipe slightly adapted The Food Network.

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

Asparagus has always been one of my favorite vegetables, even when I was a picky little kid. Everyone always loves the tops, which for some reason are my least favorite part. My dad doesn’t like the stems so sometimes we swap. Just like how Matt’s favorite Starburst are the red and orange, while mine are the yellow and pink. You can’t force these things. Only fate can cause the food stars to perfectly align.

My favorite way to cook asparagus is to roast them. It is incredibly simple and I am all about ease of preparation, especially on weeknights, but more importantly roast asparagus are delicious. They are tender, yet crunchy, have a slight char, and they soak up all the flavor from the olive oil and seasonings.

You might be nodding your head and thinking, “Yeah, roast asparagus are the best! They are so tasty there’s nothing in the world that could make them taste even more awesome!” But, my friends, you need to go one step further.

Prosciutto. Salty, delicate prosciutto makes everything better. Especially when it’s blanketing a spear of roast asparagus. I’ve had prosciutto wrapped asparagus a variety of ways, but I’m really digging this crispy version. The prosciutto is wrapped on the raw asparagus before being broiled to crispy perfection.

Served warm or cold, these are right on par for your next gathering this spring. Easy to make and so tasty everyone will be fighting over vegetables. What’s better than that?

Crispy Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

 

Print

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place an oven rack about 5-6 inches below the heating element then preheat the oven to broil.
2. Lay the asparagus on a baking sheet then toss with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Wrap each stalk of asparagus with a slice of prosciutto. Take 1 piece of prosciutto and wrap it tightly around the asparagus stalk in an upward spiral starting at the bottom of the stalk. Repeat for the rest of the asparagus.
4. Spread the wrapped asparagus out on the baking sheet so that none of them are touching each other. Broil the asparagus for 3 minutes, flip the asparagus, then broil for 3 more minutes. The prosciutto should be crisped and lightly browned.

3.2.1263

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments

This post was originally published on 4/10/2014. It was updated with new photos and content on 4/19/2019.

At Thanksgiving a while back there was a baked spiral ham that was served alongside Pineapple Bread Pudding. At first I was nervous as I’ve always had bread pudding exclusively as a dessert. Two servings later I was completely hooked. Fast forward to five years later and this is hands-down still my absolute favorite dish to eat with baked ham.

Bread pudding as a side dish? Sure it sounds strange, but after one bite you will be saying, “I can’t believe I ever ate baked ham without this!” Except it will sound like, “Om nom nom nom,” because when something is this delicious you don’t have time for things like manners and not talking with your mouth full. But try to keep it classy, you don’t want grandma giving you the stink eye at the dinner table.

As a lover of sweetness, carbs and all things delicious this Pineapple Bread Pudding is right up my alley. I chose to use challah bread because there is a richness and subtle sweetness about challah bread that is a result of its higher egg and butter content, which stands up perfectly with the pineapple. My favorite part about making this recipe is that there’s only five ingredients. Five! It can’t get more simple or easy to make than that.

I am at a loss as to how else to describe this amazing dish because just thinking about this pineapple bread pudding is making my head cloudy with desire. So let’s just get right to it.

I could eat this Pineapple Bread Pudding every night of the week. I can’t think of anything I would rather eat with baked ham. I think it also might be good as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Go make this now.

Pineapple Bread Pudding

 

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• ½ loaf challah bread, about 5 thick slices
• 4 large eggs
• 1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup sugar

Directions

1. Cube the challah bread into 1” pieces. You should have enough pieces to fill a 9” x 9” baking dish. Place the bread in a large bowl and let sit uncovered for at least an hour. You want the bread to get a little stale so that it stays firm when you add the liquid.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly spray a 2 quart baking dish and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and then combine with the can of crushed pineapple, melted butter and sugar. Once combined carefully mix in the bread cubes until coated. Spoon the entire contents of the bowl into the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.

3.2.2802

Lauren Uncategorized 6 Comments

I have made a terrible mistake. Truly awful, really. You probably already noticed and have been secretly scolding me, but I will confess anyway. I have been posting on Lemon & Mocha for six months and have yet to post a full-blown fresh lemon recipe. Whew, ok, now that the elephant in the blogosphere has been addressed I already feel a lot better. I know I was moments away from protest forums and lemon-lover blog trollers taking over so this recipe was posted just in time.

And I know once you taste this lemon curd tart with fresh berries you will forgive me because your mind will be so overloaded with delicious and joyful thoughts that you will forget I kept this recipe from you for so long. Lemon, like many other ingredients and flavors, took a while for me to cozy up to, but once I did, I fell madly in love. A romantic my-eyes-light-up-at-the-mention-of-its-name love, not an obsessive have-its-name-tattooed-on-my-chest-and-we-aren’t-even-exclusive love, just to clarify.

This tart is not only stunning, but incredibly easy, amazingly fresh and positively simple! If you’ve never had lemon curd, don’t let the name scare you away. It has the texture of pudding and will make you want to eat it with a spoon in the pantry closet so you don’t have to share. The lemon curd is sweet, but the tartness of the lemon flavor definitely pushes through to the forefront of your tastebuds. Paired with the flaky puff pastry, the sweetness of the berries and the light dusting of powdered sugar, this treat is the perfect fresh ending to a big holiday meal.

Lemon Curd Tart with Fresh Berries

 

Print

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

for the lemon curd

• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced into small pieces

for the tart

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted according to package instructions
• ¾ cup blueberries
• ½ cup raspberries
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

for the lemon curd

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and eggs. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in the pieces of butter. Whisk the curd frequently until the curd is thick enough that it keeps the mark of the whisk when you touch it to the curd in the saucepan.
2. Transfer the lemon curd to a small bowl to cool. If there are small lumps of egg you can push the curd through a fine mesh sieve, but I typically skip this step. Cover the surface of the lemon curd with a piece of plastic wrap so that it’s completely touching the curd. Place in the fridge to cool.

for the tart

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry and lay on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
3. Let the baked puff pastry cool. Once the puff pastry is cool top generously with the lemon curd. Place the berries on top of the lemon curd then lightly dust with powdered sugar. To serve, cut into squares.

3.2.1263

Lauren Uncategorized 0 Comments