March 2025 - Cooking with Rum

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                            Spinach Stuffed Salmon

Ingredients:

  • ½ (10 oz.) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach
  • 3 ½ oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
  • Pinch Ground Nutmeg
  • 2 Tbsp. Spiced Rum
  • Salt, to taste
  • Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
  • 4 Salmon Fillets, skin on (4 to 6 ounces each, about 1 inch thick)
  • 1 1/3 C. Breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbsp. Dark Rum
  • ¼ C. Salted Butter, melted
  • ¼ C. Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Thaw spinach under running hot water. Drain, squeeze dry and place in a medium mixing bowl. Using a fork, stir in cream cheese, heavy cream, nutmeg, and spiced rum. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Make a cut in the center of the top side of each salmon fillet – making sure not to cut through the skin or all the way to the ends. This will create a shallow pocket. Spoon the spinach mixture into each slit, dividing equally.
  4. Place the fillets, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Mix breadcrumbs, melted butter, dark rum, and Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Top each fillet with the breadcrumb mixture, pressing down to adhere.
  6. Bake salmon until an instant read thermometer placed into the salmon meat (not the filling) reaches 135°F - 140°F, about 12-15 minutes.
  7. Remove salmon from oven and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve. 

Yields: 4 servings. 

                            Rhubarb Custard Cake

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp. Melted Unsalted Butter, cooled, plus more room-temperature for pan
  • 1 C. All-Purpose Flour, plus more for pan
  • ¾ tsp. Baking Powder
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 Large Egg Yolk
  • 1½ C. Sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • ¼ C. Sour Cream
  • 4 Tbsp. Dark Rum
  • 2 tsp. Finely Grated Lemon Zest
  • 13 oz. Rhubarb Stalks, halved lengthwise if thick

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
  2. Butter and flour a 9”-diameter springform pan. 
  3. Whisk baking powder, salt, and 1 cup all-purpose flour in a medium size bowl. 
  4. Whisk eggs, egg yolk, and 1½ cups sugar in a large bowl until mixture becomes a pale color and consistency is thick, approximately 1 minute. 
  5. Whisk melted butter, sour cream, rum, and lemon zest in a small bowl. 
  6. Whisk butter mixture into egg mixture just to combine. Add dry ingredients and fold in until batter is smooth.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Chill for about 10 minutes to let batter set.
  7. Arrange rhubarb stalks over batter (don’t press fruit into batter, just place on top allowing to rest on surface however you like, trimming as needed. Don’t press fruit into batter—just place over top and let it rest on the surface.
  8. Sprinkle with more sugar and bake until cake is golden on top and browned around the sides, 45–55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 10 minutes. Slide a knife around sides of cake to loosen and unmold. Slide directly onto rack and let cool completely.  Yield:    8 servings.

**NOTE**  You can bake the cake one day early, just make sure to store tightly wrapped at room temperature.