Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday so a nice meal was in order. Everything turned out great and I just loved the recipes that I had to share! 

Honey Mustard Salmon:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Hellmann's or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Hellmann's Deli Mustard
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch salt
• 4 salmon fillets or steaks (about 1 pound)

Preparation 

1. In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except salmon. Reserve 1/3 of mayonnaise mixture.
2. Grill or broil salmon, brushing with remaining mayonnaise mixture, until salmon flakes with a fork, turning once. Serve salmon with reserved mayonnaise mixture and garnish, if desired, with additional chopped green onions

Mascarpone Chive Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients

• 3 lbs potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 6 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• pepper
• kosher salt
• 1/2 bunch chives, snipped

Preparation

1. Add potatoes to a stockpot with hot water. Add the bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer and allow to cook until very tender, 20-30 minutes. 
2. While the potatoes cook, whisk together the milk, chicken broth, mascarpone cheese and butter in an oven safe bowl that is large enough to add the potatoes to. Stir in the pepper.
3. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and discard the bay leaves. Press potatoes through a potato ricer and into the bowl with the mascarpone mixture. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. 
4. Bake covered with foil in a 350 degree oven until heated through. Stir in the chives and serve

Sauteed Asparagus:

Ingredients

• asparagus
• olive oil
• butter
• salt and pepper

Preparation

I don't go by any recipe...I just heat up the olive oil and butter and throw the asparagus in with the salt and pepper and cook until tender in a pan. Simple!

Individual Brie and Apple Tarts

Ingredients

• 1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
• 1 green apple
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 medium wedge of brie
• 1 egg
• flour (for rolling)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
2. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10 inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters. Place a good sized slice of brie and 3 or 4 thin slices of apple in the middle of each square. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and brown sugar and top with a pat of butter. Brush the border of each square with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash and place pastries in the oven. 
3. Bake for about 20 minutes until puffed and brown.