Bailey's Chocolate Mousse Pie

Here is the recipe for the Bailey's Chocolate Mousse Pie that I made for our March Cooking Club!

Ingredients:
1 Chocolate Ready-Made Crust
1 pkg. Unflavored Gelatine (envelope)
1 tsp. Vanilla
3/4 cup Milk
3/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
6 oz. Chocolate Chips
2 Cups Frozen Whipped Topping

In saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatine over milk. Let stand about 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatine is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Add chocolate chips and continue cooking; stirring constantly until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and stir occasionally; adding Irish cream about 5 minutes after removal from heat. When mixture forms mounds when dropped from spoon, fold in the whipped topping. Turn mixture into crust. Garnish with more whipped topping or real whipped cream before serving. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Tips:

- Rather than using the ready-made crust, I made my own. To make your own, mix about 2 cups of chocolate wafer or Oreo (sans cream) crumbs with about 6 or 7 tablespoons of melted butter. I just buy 1 pkg. of "Famous Chocolate Wafers", which ends up being the perfect amount. Press mixture into a greased pie pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Use whole milk
- Definitely chill the pie for 4 hours before serving. I didn't have that much time when I made this the first time and it was too soft when I served it at Cooking Club. If you are short on time, pop the pie in the freezer for a while.
- I have since made this pie again and I added more chocolate chips and about 1/3 to 1/2 of a second gelatine pouch to give it more structure. It turned out better that way!
- For presentation, you can garnish the pie with nuts, strawberries, etc... I used chocolate shavings.

Smoked Salmon Hors D'Oeurve

I went for a quick dish this month. As writen by Martha Stewart:

"Mix cream cheese with lemon zest and pepper, spread on rye bread and top with smoked salmon."

I've had similar hors d'oeurve but really liked the addition of lemon zest to this recipe.

German Style Oven Fries by Annika

I tried to find a Scandinavian recipe to make for our Cultural Heritage theme, but the only options appeared to be Swedish meatballs or pancakes. I decided to give the Deutsche side of me a chance and perused the Food Network for any appealing recipes in the German Food section. I came across this recipe which reminded me of some delicious potato wedges I had recently eaten at my mother-in-laws. I added chives and lots of Parmesan cheese to give them a little more flavor and cheesy goodness.

Spicy Grits Casserole

(Grits are kind of like Cream of Wheat made from corn, not wheat, and they're commonly eaten for breakfast in the South. This casserole should be a little soft on the inside with brown edges.)

6 c water
1 teaspoon salt
1+1/2 c quick-cooking grits
2 c shredded cheddar
1/4 c chopped jalapeno
2 dashes hot pepper sauce
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Bring water and salt to a boil. Stir in grits.
Cook using package directions (usually for about 5-6 minutes). Stir in the cheese.
Cook over low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in the jalapeno, hot pepper sauce, eggs, pepper and butter.
Spoon into a greased 3 quart baking dish.
Bake at 350 for one hour.

Kroppkakor (Filled Dumplings)

Ingredients for 4 - 6 servings
10 medium-sized potatoes
2-3 egg yolks
150g flour
1tsp salt
1 onion
200g salt pork
2tsp cracked allspice

Preparation
Peel and boil the potatoes, mash them and mix with the egg yolks and salt. Let the puree cool, then mi in the flour.  Knead the dough thoroughly and shape into a roll. Chop the pork into small cubes and dice the onion.  Fry the pork and onion quickly and mix with the allspice.
Cut the potato roll into 2cm thick slices, make a depression in the middle of each slice and fill with the pork mixture.  Flatten each dumpling so the pork mixture is in the middle and roll into a smooth, even ball. Boil the dumplings slowly in a pot of lightly salted water without a lid for 5-6 minutes after the dumplings rise to the surface