mushroom and leek bread pudding & raspberry crumble bars

For tonight's Ina meal, I let the boyfriend choose what we would make and his choice thoroughly surprised me! Neither of us had ever cooked with leeks so we knew we were in for either a terrible disaster or great success. In addition to buying my first bunch of leeks, I bought the following ingredients for the first time: tarragon, sherry,  gruyere cheese, and pancetta.

If you are a texture person, be careful where you tread. This one got me with the soggy bread. Boyfriend loved it though! He got past the texture right away. We also thought the salt could have been lessened. I would probably do a 1/2 tablespoon of salt next time around instead of the whole shebang. The mushrooms soaked up every last flavor and made this dish kick butt though I must admit. One helping for me and two for him. I'd call that a success, wouldn't you?

Yum, this dessert is a definite repeat! I knew it was a winner when I read the first couple ingredients: sugar, raspberry jam, and granola. Uh, hello - YUM. Despite the unfortunate lack of a Kitchen Aid mixer, my shortbread turned out as well as a hand mixer can do. It baked up sweetly though and the raspberry preserves (oops - still worked!) created the perfect flavor with it. Next time I'd add more almond slices. What a great flavor! Another success! At this rate, I am anticipating every recipe being the best.