Poached Salmon With Mousseline Sauce

Here is a beautiful dish for Spring that appeared on my table recently.  It is also included in the book "Cooking For Madam" (a book from Jackie Onassis's housekeeper, cook, and personal confidant) which my friend Joy lent me recently.  It is also a dish that I included in my "Last Dinner on  the Titanic" class.  So you see it is kind of an old-fashioned haute cuisine dish.

Poaching the salmon insures a moist and succulent piece of fish, and it can be served warm or cold.  Mousseline sauce is the combination of whipped cream folded into hollandaise.  The hollandaise must be slightly cooled to make sure the whipped cream doesn't collapse.  I seasoned it with some fresh dill, which is also an excellent compliment for the cucumber and carrot side dishes.

1/2 cup clarified butter
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Large dash of Tobasco sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream

Add the yolks to a food processor, heat the butter.  With the processor running, slowly pour the hot butter into the yolks.  Season the hollandaise with some salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Tobasco.

Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks.

When the hollandaise sauce has cooled slightly, fold the whipped cream into the hollandaise until thoroughly combined.  Taste for additional seasoning and add some chopped fresh dill.  Basil or tarragon would also be an excellent compliment to the salmon and vegetables as well.