Friday Night, Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb

Here is one that was new to me. I had never made A Rack of Lamb. I went to Whole Foods and I had a choice of American or New Zealand Racks of Lamb, the New Zealand ones were smaller and I think that's the one you might use for an appetizer size and the American ones seemed a better size for what I was doing so I got the American.

Pepper Jack Cheese and CrackersI didn't have alot of time today to spend most of the day coming up with something different and cooking so I made it easy on myself to just do a simple cheese and cracker plate and it did the trick.

Pistachio Crusted Rack of LambReally good. This was in the Bon Appetit December 2008 magazine under "fast easy fresh", which I always shy away from for a Friday Night Meal. But this said it's good enough for a dinner party and the timing was only 30 minutes from start to finish, I thought this would be perfect for tonight because I didn't have alot of time. You reduce pomegranate juice, dried currents and garlic then process it with some butter and spices. Rub it on the Rack of Lamb and press in a combination of Panko bread crumbs and chopped pistachios. Wow, so good!

Pureed Garlic, potato and marscarpone creme
I roasted a whole head of garlic in aluminum foil about 375 for 40 minutes or so. I heated some heavy cream in a pan and added the whole head of roasted garlic and mashed it together, seasoned with salt and pepper and whisked in room temperature marscarpone cheese. I put some boiled Yukon Gold potatoes through a potato ricer and folded in the marscarpone creme and a little cold butter. I finished the potatoes and put them in a small casserole dish then topped with about 2 Tbsp of butter, cover with plastic wrap and place it in the oven on warm. An hour later when I was ready to serve just mix the butter into the potato and serve. I learned that from Ann Burell on FN, she said that's how they do it in the restaurant to keep potatoes warm and ready to go all day.

Roasted Summer Squash
Just cut into angled pieces and roasted at 400 for 40 minutes with olive oil, salt and pepper

TiramisuIt has been a while since I made the real Tiramisu with Marcarpone cheese. I made up my own recipe last year using fresh ricotta cheese and I was making that version for a while. I made this one from Tyler Florance because the reviews were really good. I had to test it because the reason I didn't have alot of time to cook this weekend is because I am catering our Christmas Party at work, my third year doing it. Someone at work has requested a Tiramisu so I said I would make it. So like I said I had to test it and make sure it's not too rum-ee or Marsala-ee for work. I think it's perfect but for work I will use slightly less booze.