Zabiglione - Untested

 https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/246464/chef-johns-zabaglione/

Wondering if any fruit would do or if it's always best with strawberries?

½ cup strawberries - hulled, halved and sliced
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons white sugar
¼ cup dry Marsala wine

1. Gently stir the strawberries and sugar together in a bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature until juices release, about 1 hour.
2. Divide fruit between 2 small, clear serving bowls or stemmed cocktail glasses.
3. Place egg yolks, sugar, and marsala into metal mixing bowl. Set over burner on low heat. Hold rim of bowl with a potholder. Whisk until mixture forms loose peaks, 7 or 8 minutes. Mixture should feel warm to the touch.
4. Spoon custard over the strawberries. Serve while custard is still warm.

Chocolate Budino - Testing

https://smittenkitchen.com/2019/06/chocolate-budino/

1 - Quite successful, but it's so similar to the Petit Pots de Crème that I think it may just be doubling.

5 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, plus another 1/2 cup for making whipped cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (60 percent range is perfect here), finely chopped
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
Two pinches of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons bourbon, brandy, or another liqueur (optional)

1. In the bottom of a medium-sized saucepan, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar until fully combined. Slow drizzle in 2 cups of cream, whisking the whole time. 
2. Warm mixture over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it is thick enough that it coats a spoon. (Don’t let it simmer or boil.) 
3. Place chopped chocolate in the bottom of a large bowl and set a fine-mesh strainer over it. Pour egg yolk mixture through strainer, onto the chocolate. 
4. Remove strainer and stir; the heat of the egg yolk mixture should melt the chocolate. Add butter, salt, and vanilla, and mix until butter is melted and combined. 
5. Divide between small cups (you’ll have about 2 1/2 to 2 2/3 cups of budino mixture) and chill until fully cold and set. 
6. Either right before you serve it or, when the chill is off the custard enough that it won’t melt the cream, whip remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream to very soft peaks. Spoon generously over each cup. Serve cold, with strong coffee, and your favorite biscotti.

ce soir

 https://www.troisfoisparjour.com/fr/recettes/plats-principaux/porc/boulettes-de-porc-asiatiques-sauce-au-gingembre-et-au-sesame/

Fried Spaghetti Pancake - PUBLISHED

 http://abeachhomecompanion.blogspot.com/2012/02/spaghetti-pancake-its-better-than-it.html

1 - I made this using leftover Fried Egg Pesto Pasta and it was very good. A fresh, crunchy side would go well with it. It may well replace the Pasta Frittata for using up leftovers. I'm looking forward to seeing what other pasta leftovers would work. I'm assuming saucy leftovers wouldn't work but then again, with the added egg...

2 - Still a winner. I made it in my cast-iron pan and while it made a good pancake, it was too wide to have a nice molded edge. It's fine like this, but a small pan would provide that edge. Made again with Fried Egg Pesto Pasta leftovers.

3 - Did it in the cast-iron pan again and, you know, it's works just fine. I suspect this may not work so well with very saucy recipes.

8 oz dried pasta OR 16 oz of leftover pasta dish
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp? salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp + 1Tbsp butter
OPTIONAL - 1 teaspoon minced garlic

1. If using leftover pasta, skip this step. If starting from scratch, cook the pasta and drain well, letting cool a bit.
2. Meanwhile, mix the eggs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper (and optional garlic) in a large bowl. It should be the consistency of a loose paste. 
3. Add the cool/cold pasta to the egg mixture and toss well. 
4. Heat a 6" (preferred but not essential) frying pan over medium low heat with one tablespoon of butter. When it's sizzling, about 5 minutes, add the pasta mix. Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes until a nice brown crust has formed.
5. Meanwhile, lightly grease a dinner plate for the next step.
6. When the bottom of the pancake is brown, make sure it's loose from the pan. Upturn the plate on top of the pancake, hold firm with your hand, grab the handle of the pan and flip the pancake onto the plate, removing the pan. Set the pan back on the stove-top, add the remaining Tbsp of butter and slide the pancake back into the pan. Cook the second side for about 3-4 minutes to get another nice brown crust. 
7. Once browned on both sides, flip back onto the plate and serve immediately.
8. And you're done. 
9. This should make a dinner for two people, or side dish portions for four.

Jhal Farazi - Testing

 https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipes/jhal-farazi/azoko45d

1 - In my first attempt I made half the recipe since it asked for a half kilo of beef, which would have ruined my plans to make Frugal Pie the following night. Ben was very enthusiastic about it - he does love his spice blends. I liked it, with a few reservations. I suspect I  may want to start making my own garam masala. The version I currently have, store bought in those little jars... McCormick's? No. Anyway, it has too much cardamom. Oh, and it's pretty dry, so definitely it needs condiments like yogurt, raita and/or chutney.

2 - It was very good, again, but it seems to need a little punch of salt to make the flavors pop. This may depend on the kind of roast beef it's paired with, so I'll just add 'salt, to taste'.

500gr roast beef, very thinly sliced
375gr (about 3) potato cooled and sliced
2 onions, very thinly sliced
3 Tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tsp ginger grated
2 tsps ground turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
4 Tbsps water
1/2 lemon juiced

Salt, to taste
1/4 cup fresh mint

Yogurt or raita

Fruit chutney

1. Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan and fry the onions on medium heat, stirring constantly until golden.
2. Lower heat, add garlic and ginger and fry for a minute, then add ground spices and salt.
3. Stir, then add meat and toss well in the spices. Add potatoes and toss.
4. Sprinkle with stock or water and cover and cook on low heat until heated through.
5. Finally sprinkle with lemon juice and mix through, garnished with the mint. 
6. Best served with a dollop of mango chutney and some spiced yoghurt or raita.
7. Serve with rice and other Indian dishes - mix and matching is fun!

Stovetop Potatoes "Gratin" with White Wine sauce - PUBLISHED

I don't remember where this came from. I think I may have drastically adapted a couple recipes.

1 - Very good, very simple. It likely needs to get a different name since it isn't really a 'gratin' dish at all given that there is no browning of the top.

2 - A good, easy side-dish (or main if really pressed). Served it with boiled ham and braised cabbage. Very nice.

3 - I made some slight changes that seem significant, to the instructions, specifically.

4 - Tried it with milk instead of cream. It didn't seem as good. The pepper came through too strongly. To be fair, there was an other variable - I cooked the wine for about 8 minutes and it reduced quite a lot. I think when I made it to great acclaim I had cooked it only until it thickened, which would have been quite quickly given all that potato starch released by the veg.

As a Side Dish for 6-8 people

2 Tbsps butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2lb potatoes, thinly sliced

1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

pinch nutmeg or 1 tsp minced fresh thyme

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup white wine

2 oz shredded Gruyère cheese

1. Sauté the onion in butter until well browned and soft. 
2. Add the potatoes, salt, spice of choice and wine. 
3. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the wine starts to thicken from the potato starch and has loosened up all the browned bits from the bottom. You may have to scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to get the yummy browning to move.
4. Add the cream and mix through. 
5. Cover and cook slowly, approximately 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. 
6. Remove the cover and sprinkle with cheese. Stir in very gently. 
7. OPTIONAL : place under a broiler until the top starts to brown.

As a Main Dish for 4 people (with bread and salad)

2 Tbsps butter

1 large onion, chopped

2lbs potatoes, thinly sliced

1 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper, to taste

pinch nutmeg or 1 tsp minced fresh thyme

1 cup heavy cream 

1 cup white wine

3 oz shredded Gruyère cheese

1. Sauté the onion in butter until well browned and soft. 
2. Add the potatoes, salt, spice of choice and wine. 
3. Cook for a couple of minutes or until the wine starts to thicken from the potato starch and has loosened up all the browned bits from the bottom. You may have to scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to get the yummy browning to move.
4. Add the cream and mix through. 
5. Cover and cook slowly, approximately 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. 
6. Remove the cover and sprinkle with cheese. Stir in very gently. 
7. OPTIONAL : place under a broiler until the top starts to brown.

Custard Pie - PUBLISHED

I've taken my Mexican Hot Chocolate Pie and I'm trying to make it into a plain custard pie. All the recipes I've found call for high heat and whole eggs. I tried one, and it turned into a rubbery mess. So, I've decided to build on success.

1 - If it was up to Ben this would go directly into La Mouffette Gourmande. As it is, it was a resounding success with both Ben and Paz. I would like to try reducing the sugar to 1/4 cup, but according to Ben, the sweetness diminishes when the pie has had a chance to sit until the next day.

2 - I made this for a potluck, always a good testing ground. I got vociferous acclaim and requests for the recipe! This may be a good sign...

3 - This time around I think I was a little impatient. A film developed on top, and I suspect I didn't take the time to properly incorporate the butter in the hot dairy. The key word is SLOW for this one. It remains at Test 2.

1 recipe blind-baked Cookie Pie Crust

67 gr butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 egg

1. Heat the oven to 325F.
2. Bring the cream and milk to a very slow boil in a saucepan.
3. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and the nutmeg. Cut the butter into small chunks and slowly whisk them into the hot dairy until it all dissolves.
4. In a bowl, whisk together the yolk and sugar until the yolk turns a pale yellow. Whisk in the extra whole egg.
5. Very slowly whisk the flavored milk and cream into the egg mixture. Do this slowly; this is to gradually increase the temperature of the egg and avoid making scrambled eggs with the hot liquid.
6. Strain the mixture into the baked tart shell.
7. Bake about 35 - 40 minutes or until set. The pie will puff up a bit when it is cooked, and will settle again as it cools.
8. Let it cool completely, which can take a few hours.
9. Delicious accompanied by a fresh sprig of currants or other tart fruit.