We celebrated the return of Shabana Basij-Rasikh, a young woman who not only rose above her situation to get an education and survive in this highly repressive society, but went on to build SOLA, School of Leadership Afghanistan, a school for girls which is breaking the cycle of female oppression. It was a terrific insight into the challenges faced by women in her country, and an inspiring story of how she has begun to remove the obstacles for young women by making them equal to the boys in terms of what they expect from themselves and what others can expect of them as a new generation of leaders.
If you want a deeper glimpse into Shabana’s story, you can see the National Geographic coverage here.
From the kitchen
Salmon Lollipop Appetizer Yield 42 – 3/4 oz servings
Ingredients
6 oz Smoked Salmon, Wild Caught
16 oz Mascarpone Italian Cream Cheese
8 oz Sweet Cream (un-salted butter)
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, Fine grated
1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill
Extra Dill for dusting and Fronds for Display
Plenty of Fresh Cracked Pepper
Bread Sticks or Pretzel Rods
Method
Place Mascarpone and Sweet cream in a 5 quart bowl. Let it come to room temperature.
Mince plenty of dill and set aside. Reserve minced dill for dusting and fronds for garnish.
Chop the salmon into fine pieces.
When the Mascarpone and sweet cream are at room temp add all of your ingredients and mix well.
Use a #40 3/4 ounce disher and place scoops in a square baking dish or square aluminum pan. I can usually fit 16 scoops per pan. You can place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the first layer and make an additional layer of 16 scoops/spheres for a total of 32 ready for assembly. Refrigerate to harden the spheres. Best to make a day ahead of service and assemble the day of your event just before serving or the sticks will get soft.
The day of service shape the spheres as needed, have them at the ready and place onto half of a bread stick or half a pretzel rod (Snyder’s Brand). Display on a serving platter and dust with minced dill and decorate the plate with some fronds.
You can also roll into a log, dust with more minced dill, place on a cheese board and serve with sturdy crackers.
