Melange E' Trois and a Little Summer Solstice Dinner

Last Saturday evening, some of my family gathered to celebrate Summer Solstice.  There was Roast Beast accompanied with a Red Wine and Cherry Reduction Sauce. Whipped Potatoes were served with Butter, Sour Cream, Shredded White Cheddar and Chopped Green Onions.  We also had Fresh Green Beans with Bacon, Onion, Red Bell Pepper and Slivered Almonds!  We had Mead along with several other beverages for drink, and Rosemary Parmesan Biscuits.

For desert I created a dish I labeled, Melange E' Trois.  This Melange is similar to the "Belle Melange" (translated to 'Beautiful Mess'), which was featured in the Hector Elonzo movie, "Tortilla Soup."  My version has three alterations, however.  I used only Brioche (one loaf of Lemon Brioche and one loaf of Chocolate Swirl).   I also added a little Rum to the Buttery Brown Sugar mixture.  I used Golden Raisins and Chopped Dates, instead of Dried Cranberries.  

After our tummies were full, and or mood delightful, we observed a ritual of burning a little incense, while each of us in our circle of chairs provided a wish for the coming year - All in honor of our Celtic roots!

The recipe for Melange E' Trois is below the following pictures.

 

Melange E’ Trois

1 loaf of Cinnamon Brioche, cut into 1” cubes          1 loaf of Chocolate Swirl Brioche, cut into 1” cubes          1 Stick butter          1 cup brown sugar          ¼ cup Rum (optional)          1 ½ cup Water (I substituted Apple Juice)          1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon          ½ teaspoon nutmeg          3 large Apples (I used Gala apples)          1 cup chopped walnuts          ¾ cup Golden Raisins and/or Dates          ½ pound cream cheese, chilled and cut into 1” cubes

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a saucepan, melt butter, and add brioche cubes.  Stir evenly to coat.

Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and lightly brown. Watch carefully. Brioche tends to brown much faster than regular bread.  After removing from the oven, increase temperature to 400 degrees.  

In a saucepan, I combined the brown sugar and apple juice.  Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and rum.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the apples, walnuts, golden raisins and/or dates, cream cheese and toasted brioche cubes. Drizzle with the sugar syrup and mix to evenly distribute. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

Bake uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. 

Then bake without stirring, until the top is golden brown and crusty and the liquid is almost gone – approximately 10 minutes.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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