Bstilla, Feta and Haricot Vert Salad

How about them words....really Feta and Green Bean Salad...no recipe....made a dijon mustard vinaigrette ( o.o. and canola and apple and rice vinegar)...use the taste test, verts, feta and red onion.  More details on Who Shot the Chef blog.

The Bstilla that I made a couple weeks ago...remember the small one I made from the 'leftovers'?  That one went into the freezer, out two days ago to thaw and into the oven this afternoon.  Then out to rest, decorate, and prep for Marie and her friend to take to the 'gathering' tonight.  What a wonderful thing it is to be able to pull something out of the freezer to looks like it took hours...well the first cooking the chicken was the only thing that took 'hours'.  Putting the pie together do not..and baking it off...about 45 minutes....

Both dishes off with a beautiful handmade pottery bowl for the beans...leave the bowl...and a plate for the pie...leave the plate..this time did not send serving utensils...that way easy to leave...bring my knife and the ring that was used to protect the pie in transport...what will I make tomorrow?

Stuffed Artichokes

What am doing? Went to the Buford Highway Market to pick up some fresh veggies for this week. I also picked up two items from the meat department...Mohammed's ground lamb meat on a skewer and his pieces of marinated lamb on a skewer. The seasoned ground lamb was good..had it with left over risotto..and tonight had the lovely seasoned lamb chunks...with it only being myself and not wanting to turn on the grill...just cut the pieces smaller and panfried and put on a piece of wonderful French baguett which I had pulled from the freezer. Being in a hurry, just used good old Kraft mayo...using a light touch. Then that stuffed artichoke that I had thawed and turned the oven on to heat....would have been too much...so tomorrow will heat that up again.

Day before yesterday I did the risotto bit. I do not follow a recipe...just know what I am doing...for me..part of the liquid was a little white wine and cream...then cooled the risotto, added a couple of eggs which I had beat up..and then folded in gently by hand one pound of lump crab. Then I made individual patties and wrapped each in plastic wrap. These will be taken out of the freezer and generally panfried as the occasion arises....

I had also make a couple of quiches using be basic quiche recipe from Julia Child added a little more cheese..onion..and bacon. These were cut up and frozen in individual servings. This is great for that breakfast on the go or when you want something but don't have the time or patience to cook.

Oh, yup, out of the freezer again the night before...the most wonderful....yum, mac and cheese. And again..I just don't know what is wrong with writing down a recipe as I make it up...the mac was the hollow spirals....the sauce, who knows what cheese...a little lighter than velvetta..smooth, oh so smooth, then I had added blanched cauliflower and pieces of cured chorizo...I had been to a checkup..of sorts and wanted something that would soothe my soul as well as the body...well that was it! I ate the WHOLE thing...yup..maybe left one piece of pasta...how much did I eat...wellllll...it was packed in a 2.25 pound container...and I heated another one last night and could only eat half..almost half...so how did I eat the whole thing? heaven only knows...

Tiramisu Recipe

First I went to the store to buy the pound cake...didn't have it so had to make it..but did find them ready made a couple of days later...marked 'butter pound cake'...that makes the whole system faster.

And how did I make the tiramisu you ask?? from the old Gourmet recipe..Our favorite...
I made the pound cakes...not that I like to bake
1# flour
1# sugar
1# butter
1# eggs in the shell
2T vanilla
This from The Settlement Cook Book..mine from 1941...was my mother's

The recipe for the theTiramisu...well..can't seem to make the link work...so go to http://www.epicurious.com/ and search for Our Favorite Tiramisu. It is not your standard...but really great. The changes that I made:
instead of the 1.25cup water use: 1 pk gelatin (bloom)in 1/4 c water, add 3/4c water and heat, add 1/4 cup Kaluha and add the espresso powder to that.
I also cut my pound bread in slices about 1/4-1/2" slices, and make two layers of cake ending with the cream/cheese mix topped with chocolate. **also used Davison pasturized eggs....

If you have ready made pound cake that is good it can go faster..but allow for the two hours of cooling time during the prep...and yes, forgot to take pix after putting it all together or even along the way..but easy...and it also gets the rave reviews..and it freezes well..key point..make ahead for the holidays.