Steve Dunn

Soy Braised Chicken with Star Anise and Orange

June 18, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

Remember a few days ago when I said that I didn't believe in food rules and that if I feel like cooking a braise in warm weather then I'm going to, rules be damned.

Well, here I am walking the walk, because while this dish would seem a natural today (it is about 55 degrees and raining as I write this post), when we made it a week ago it was in the upper 70s and the sun was shining brightly, not exactly the kind of weather that makes you think of a braise. I'm here to tell you though that this dish felt spot-on as we dined al fresco, watching the sun set over the beach, enjoying the chicken's Asian flavors along with a crisp green salad, some freshly baked bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Ain't no rules that can corral a dish as good as this, eat it when you want, with what you want, and with whomever you want.

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy – Charcutepalooza #6

June 15, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

It appears as though I jumped the gun and got a bit ahead of myself for last month's Charcutepalooza challenge when I made "stuffed" sausages. Marching orders from our lovely High-Preistesses of Pork, Cathy (Mrs. Wheelbarrow) and Kim (The Yummy Mummy) were for us just to "grind" meat into sausage, we were not required at that point to "stuff" said meat into casings, that is THIS month's challenge. If I were any good at all at following directions I would have caught that subtle detail, saved us a bit of work on this end, and formed our spicy merguez into patties rather than links. Oh well….I'm not complaining because our merguez-frites sandwich was an unqualified success and the practice we gained by stuffing the casings with our kitchen-aid meant that this month's challenge was that much easier, as we are now well seasoned stuffers.

As you've no doubt gleaned from the title of this post, this month's challenge takes us to the British Isles and one of the more famous of their silly named dishes.

What is it with these folks anyway, is it just me, or have they raised the craft of concocting strange names for dishes to a high art? Let's see there's "Bubble and Squeak", "Toad in the Hole", "Cullen Skink", "Black Pudding", "Bangers and Mash", and the ever popular "Spotted Dick". Excuse me?

No Botox Required – An Anniversary Facelift for Oui, Chef

June 12, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

A face lift good enough to eat, not a freakish one like Cher's!

As we celebrate our 2 year anniversary here at Oui, Chef we felt a little face lift was in order. No botox for our little blog, just a spiffed up banner, a new layout, a more unified design and color scheme, an upgrade to "Discus" comments, and some new search functionality including a full recipe index. We've wanted to pretty things up around here for a while, and felt hitting the 2 year mark was a good excuse to finally pull the trigger, roll up our sleeves and get to work. We hope you like what you see!

First, some words of thanks to the awesome Laura and Colleen at TypePad. Their questions guided me through the maze of design possibilities, and helped me to realize what it was I really wanted to accomplish during this "make-over" process. Colleen exhibited infinite patience as she taught me (an HTML neophyte) the few snippets of code I would need to format my posts to take advantage of the new design. You ladies rock! Thanks also to Dina Lyons the graphic designer who came up with my original logo and banner, and is responsible for the cool evolution of the banner you see above. Finally a shout out to my brother-in-law David, who's talent at making "food faces" inspired the lovely green tomato smiler above.

Nutella Banana Bread

June 9, 2011 By Steve Dunn 7 Comments

Fate dealt me a lovely hand last week when I found a bag of chopped hazelnuts in the pantry that were getting a little long in the tooth and needed to be used. I can't remember why I had bought them in the first place, in fact, I can't remember buying them at all…..dang memory.

My first thought was to toast them and toss them into a grain and veggie based salad to have with some grilled chicken over the weekend, and as I was rifling through the grain bin to find a suitable partner for the nuts, I glanced overhead and found a half-eaten jar of Nutella in the chocolate bin above.

Radish and Basil Pesto

June 6, 2011 By Steve Dunn 4 Comments

With summer just around the corner, our attention is drawn to fresh herbs, greens and veggies, and light quick preparations that highlight their goodness. This little ditty is delicious as a sandwich spread, tossed with whole wheat pasta, as a crudité dip or bruschetta topping, or stirred into some smashed potatoes to make them pop. Heck…serve a dollop along side a juicy grilled steak, piece of fish, or chicken to add a little blast of summer to your plate.

Roasted Cod Caprese

June 2, 2011 By Steve Dunn 11 Comments

Given that we live within spitting distance of Cape Cod, you'd think finding a beautiful piece of the fish that lends it's name to this region wouldn't be too difficult a task. Sadly, most of the cod we see around here, even in the best retail fish markets, doesn't get me very excited these days. Sob….sob…sniffle…

Smoked-Tea Rubbed Steak with Mango Salsa

May 29, 2011 By Steve Dunn 15 Comments

I'm not a big fan of rules.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of anarchist or anything. I do believe in the rules that govern a civil society, and I'm not by any stretch a bad boy that flaunts our society's rules, or think myself above the consequences of breaking them.

It's food rules that I have a problem with.

Bacon and Egg Farro Risotto

May 25, 2011 By Steve Dunn 16 Comments

What is that old saying about dogs and tricks?

Oh yeah….”you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and if by some lucky chance you do, you better be prepared to see him do the same stupid trick over and over and over, until he just about drives you to the nut house”.

You see, I AM an old dog, and ever since discovering a new egg poaching trick (first learned here), I’m staying up nights thinking of all the different ways I can use the lovely things. This dish, the second in as many weeks to highlight the eggs is, I’m afraid, just the start of my old dog doing a stupid new trick routine, ad-nauseum.

My apologies in advance.

Pistachio and Dried-Cherry Biscotti

May 21, 2011 By Steve Dunn 22 Comments

I found this recipe in the latest Bon Appetit magazine, and knew immediately that I wanted to make it. First, because I’ve NEVER made biscotti before (I can hear my late Italian grandmother rolling over in her grave at this news), and second, because while I haven’t yet dined at Locanda Verde, I’m a huge fan of it’s Chef-Proprietor Andrew Carmellini, and have heard great things about the restaurant’s pastry chef, Karen Demasco. When I saw Karen’s name associated with these biscotti, I knew they’d be great.

Sweet Potato Chips!

May 18, 2011 By Steve Dunn 29 Comments

Making this gorgeous treat hardly requires a recipe at all. In fact, crafting homemade potato chips is so easy, and the results so delicious, that once you give ’em a try, I bet you’ll think twice before buying store bought chips again. Really….. still warm from the fryer, and seasoned with a generous sprinkle of salt, they are very hard to beat.

I first pursued making sweet potato fries and chips as a means of getting the kids to take more of a liking to them….um….that would be the sweet potatoes, not the chips and fries. It’s funny, but while they all love potatoes, and adore all things sweet, when you put the two together, not one of them would eat them. I’ve baked them, steamed them, and smashed them, and always the answer was the same….no thanks.

« Previous Page

Steve Dunn

Footer