I'm back!

After a hiatus of I don't know how long (December 2012?), I've returned, once again, to live among the living.

Yesterday, being Easter, I was back in the kitchen with a vengeance. I ate everything I have been forbidden to eat and will refrain now from eating any of the forbidden fruits until my birthday in September. Be that as it may, cooking and eating all the epicurean delights was a real treat. 

Here is my list of tender morsels!

We started out with three tiny hors d'ouevres:

Avocado and Yogurt dip with Sriracha and Lime Juice with Grissini
Goat Cheese with Fig Mostarda and Pecans
Baby Octopus Salad

Cold Pea Soup alla Vichyssoise in a small tea cup

Oysters on the Half Shell with Mignonette Sauce and Horseradish (freshly grated)

Lasagna with Passato di Pomodoro and Bechamel with 3 cheeses

Rack of Lamb with Herb and Pepper Crust
Asparagus with Orange Tarragon Vinaigrette
Carrots in Saffron Butter

Lemon Curd Tart with Raspberries and Meringue
Chocolate Sorbet

Coffee

Unfortunately,  I didn't take photographs of everything, but here is one of the dessert, which was quite something to behold! I'll be writing down the recipes for all of this soon. I just don't have the time today. Cheers!

Lemon Curd Tart with Raspberries and Meringue

Recipes:

This will take me some time to compile and write down in a coherent fashion, but watch for them all within the next few days, plus a few more things I did in preparation for Sunday's Easter dinner.

Let's begin with the octopus, shall we?

2 lbs. baby octopus
2 lemon slices
1/8 tsp. coriander seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp. anise seed
1/2 tso. pepper corns
2 bay leaf

1 shallot (minced)
2 tbl. chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
large dash or 2 of red pepper flakes
12 leaves fresh basil cut in chiffonade
juice of 1 lemon
Vinegar
Extra Vigin Olive Oil

Place octopus and first 6 ingredients in a large pan and fill with enough water to cover octopus.
Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook slowly for about one hour.

Let cool completely.

Remove octopus and chop coarsely. Put the octopus , shallots, pepper flakes and herbs in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add lemon juice, EVOO and Vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss. Refrigerate until ready to use. Remove from fridge well eough ahead of time to let salad come to room temperature.