Oui, Chef

Fare for the family table

Condiments + Sauces + Jams

Grilled Swordfish with Green Caper Sauce

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Fish can be a tricky thing to serve a family.  There are some people, like my Mom, who likes fish as fishy as she can get it.  Then there are people like me, who can tolerate only the mildest fish.  Salmon is about the edge of my tolerance, and to be honest, I usually have to choke it down, the flavor is just too strong for me….I’m such a wimp.

Swordfish on the other hand is a fish that I love, it is meaty, flavorful (without being fishy), and as long as you don’t overcook it, is flaky and moist.  I love swordfish all on its own, but we eat so much of it that I try to introduce different condiments to serve with it in order to keep things interesting, and to show the kids just how different it can taste when paired with different flavors.  

Fruit salsas are delicious with swordfish, as are the more traditional tomato variety.  A great sweet – salty combo can be found in one of my very favorite swordfish recipes (I’ll blog it before grilling season is over, I promise), Andrew Carmellini’s “Grilled Swordfish with Orange and Olives”…..it is fabulous.

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Pork Tenderloin with Honey Mustard Sauce

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When people first learn that I trained professionally to be a chef, their eyes go wide and they look at me and say, “you must know how to make awesome sauces!”.  

Sauce creation seems to be the one thing people hone-in on when distinguishing home cooking from restaurant cuisine.  If you listen to people recounting their most memorable restaurant meals, they inevitably include a description of a fabulous sauce, either with the main course or dessert.   A good sauce also happens to be the element of the meal that most home chefs think is beyond their grasp.  Not so.

 

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Frozen Rhubarb Mousse with Strawberry Sauce

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How many of you would like to treat your Mom to a special little something this Mother’s Day?  One that is so pink, and sweet, and light that it’ll tickle her all over.  One that is so beautiful to behold that she’ll think you slaved away for hours in your kitchen making it for her, even though it can easily be done in under an hour (hey, play that angle up if you want, your secret’s safe with me).  Sound good?  Then pull up a chair my friends, because your Mom deserves a little of this goodness.

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Anise, Basil and Vanilla Marinara Sauce

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I know what you’re thinking….because when I first heard of this sauce (or I should say, the recipe that inspired this sauce), I thought the same thing too.

WHO IS THE FREAK THAT THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT VANILLA AND STAR ANISE INTO AN ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE?

I’m right, yes?  This IS what you are thinking, and I was right there with you until I stopped for a moment to further reflect on this seemingly odd combination.  The fact is, many varieties of basil (which is part of the mint family) exhibit a mild licorice flavor similar to anise to begin with, and in fact there exists a variety of basil called Anise Basil that contains an even higher level than most of anethol, the same chemical that makes anise smell like licorice.

HMMM…PERHAPS THIS DUDE ISN’T ENTIRELY NUTS AFTER ALL.

I then recalled having had a number of desserts over the years that featured tomato confit flavored with vanilla, the most memorable of which was a roasted tomato tarte tatin, which to be honest was sublime.

So…..the anise is a natural compliment to the basil, and the vanilla-tomato combination has been shown to totally rock.

OK….OK….I’M LISTENING.

 

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Nobu’s Spicy Shrimp Tempura

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One of my favorite features of Bon Appetit magazine has always been the r.s.v.p. section.  This is where readers write to ask the Bon Appetit staff to chase down chefs in order to discover the recipes of their favorite restaurant meals.  I’ve never written in myself, but have loved reading about people’s special food memories, and their quest to uncover the secrets to making a beloved “restaurant” dish at home.

That said, the boys and I came across a dish this past Spring, that had I not already had the recipe in a cookbook I owned (how lucky was that?), I almost certainly would have been begging Bon Appetit to get it for me.  My desperation not only driven by how perfectly tasty the dish is, but also by Grid relentlessly hounding me to figure out how to make Nobu’s “Tempura Shrimp with Creamy Spicy Sauce”….man, you’d think I never feed the kid.

The dish is so addictive that when we ordered it as a shared appetizer, I started to really fear that someone was going to get hurt, as the four of us stabbed our chopsticks into the serving bowl to fight for our share.  It got UGLY in a hurry!

 

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Local Organic Steak with Kalamata Chimichurri Sauce

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Steak-with-Chimichurri3s
I love my grill.  I love the act of cooking just about anything on my outdoor grill, from the freshest swordfish, to thick, fat-marbled, beef rib-eye steaks.  Every man I know is the same, even guys that avoid cooking in their kitchens at all costs.  Put them next to a screaming hot grill and they have an almost instant primal reaction to the thing…..it’s like we’re all back living in a cave and trying to tame fire for the first time.

Sadly, as a resident of the Northeast, my opportunities to grill outdoors in the winter are fairly limited.  We’ve had such a bad spell of weather as of late, that I haven’t even bothered to dig a path through the snow to my grill, you know, just in case we have a day that creeps above 40℉ and tempts me to fire up the beast.

That said, we have found ourselves doing more braising, making pastas and soups, and generally taking a break from grilled meats.  It’s been all good, and natural, and seasonal, and in keeping with the proper rhythm of life in New England.

That was, until the other day when Peyton said she was “really…really…REALLY hankerin’ for a steak, and questioned if there was there anyway…PLEEEEASE that we could cook one indoors, because she really missed the sizzling, juicy, charred goodness of beef flesh done on the grill!”  Clearly, she has been working on connecting with her inner cave woman.

Happily for her (and for all of us, really) there is a perfectly excellent way to cook steaks indoors, one that imparts many of the flavors that open-flame grilling does when cooking on an outdoor grill.  There are two keys to crafting a “grilled” steak meal indoors to satisfy your inner caveman (or woman as it were), the first is to start with a nice thick steak (at least 1 -1/2″ – 2″ thick), cut from organically and humanely raised cattle.  Second, you need BIG heat.  For me, that translates into a fully pre-heated cast iron grill pan over a high flame to start cooking your steak, and a pre-heated 425℉ oven in which to finish the cooking.  Oh….and you might want to be sure you have a good kitchen exhaust fan too.

I’m a proponent of adding complexity to the flavor of a good steak.  For a filet, that may come in the form of a nice sauce bernaise, or perhaps a dollop of compound butter on top, for a  sirloin or well marbled rib-eye, it is hard to beat a great chimichurri sauce.  I was first introduced to chimichurri when I used to travel to Houston frequently for work.  There was a great Argentinian restaurant there called Churrascos, that served fabulous steaks with the best chimichurri.   The freshness of the parsley, the acidity of the vinegar, and the bite of the garlic are all perfect foils for the melting fat and earthy chew of the beef.  It is so quick to throw one together, that once you’ve tried it, you’ll be making it a lot, I promise.

So let’s begin, shall we?

Kalamata Olive Chimichurri

by: Bon Appetit Magazine - February 2009
yield:
Cooking ModePrint Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons fruity olive oil, divided
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 bay leaf, broken in half
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 4 tablespoons roughly chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Instructions

  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, red pepper, and bay leaf. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic and sauté, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, olives, and vinegar. Season chimichurri with salt and pepper, and add a little water by teaspoonfuls to thin as needed. Let sit at room temperature while you cook your steaks, remove the bay leaf before serving.

For the Steaks

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Season steaks on both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Brush heavy, large oven-proof grill skillet (preferably cast-iron) with vegetable oil. Heat over high heat until just smoking. Add steaks. Cook until nicely browned, about 4-5 minutes. Turn steaks and transfer skillet to oven. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into steaks registers 125°F to 130°F for medium-rare, about 10 minutes.
  • Let steaks rest at least 5 minutes. Thinly slice crosswise, and spoon chimichurri over.
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Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney

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Cranberry-Chutney--2

I’m so excited to share with all of our “Oui, Chef” readers, that for a second time, one of my Food52 recipe creations has been chosen as a weekly finalist.  This time around, Amanda and Merrill have chosen my submission to their “Best Cranberry Sauce” competition, this sweet, tart and spicy “Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney”.  Please visit www.Food52.com before midnight on Tuesday, November 17th to join the site and VOTE for this dish.  Doing so will help us get the recipe into the Food52 cookbook….THANKS!

Click the image below to see a video of Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs preparing the two finalist’s dishes in the Food52 “Best Cranberry Sauce” competition.

Best Cranberry Sauce from Food52 on Vimeo.
I’ve never been much of a fan of straight-up cranberry sauce, in fact, the jellied kind makes me want to gag. I much prefer a condiment like this, that is more than just cranberries and a lot of sugar. This chutney gets it’s sweetness not just from sugar, but from raisins, some OJ and dried black mission figs. The cider vinegar and lemon juice lend a sparkling acid note, and the ginger and red pepper flakes bring heat. I finished it with some chopped, toasted hazelnuts to add an earthy crunch, and some freshly minced thyme for a hint of herbal complexity. The whole family loves the way it turned out, and while we’ll definitely reserve a spot for it on our Thanksgiving table, I can also see it working well with a roast pork or beef dish.

Given that prep requires just a few quick chops of an onion and chunking up some figs, almost any kid can cut, measure and toss the ingredients into a pan and whip up their own contribution to your Thanksgiving feast.  Let ‘em have at it!

Cheers! – Steve

Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney

by: Steve Dunn
yield:
Cooking ModePrint Recipe

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion, minced
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts, skinless, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 8 dried black mission figs, cut into eighths
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely minced

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients, with the exception of the chopped hazelnuts and fresh thyme, to a heavy bottomed pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to bring the mix to a simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chutney thickens some. Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts and fresh thyme and let cool slightly before serving.
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Rich and Spicy Applesauce

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When the boys returned from a visit to their grandparent’s house in VT. last weekend with a 1/2 bushel bag of fresh from the tree, organically grown apples, it could only mean one thing….time for some homemade applesauce!  Making your own applesauce is so easy to do, and the quality of the end product so far better than ANYTHING you can buy in a store, that we haven’t bought a jar of applesauce in many years.

 

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Roasted Halibut with Tomato – Shallot Salsa

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This is one of my favorite kind of recipes to cook with the kids.  It offers a healthy and beautiful dish, that because of it’s component parts, can be modified when plated to satisfy almost anyone’s tastes.  It can be a struggle with kids, trying to bend the family menus to suit everyone.  You lean too much to the kid’s tastes and you eat nothing but mac and cheese, to the adults, and you end up with frustrated kids that won’t eat their dinner because its too much of a reach for their young taste buds.  The magic of this dish is in the salsa that can be served over the fish for the more adventurous, on the side of the plate for those willing to at least try it, or be eliminated entirely for the younger kids who won’t even give it a chance.  One meal, and three ways of serving it that can satisfy almost any member of the family.

 

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Steak Frites with Sauce Bérnaise

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OK, I know what you’re thinking….”sauce bérnaise” sounds way too scary, fussy, and time consuming for you to EVER contemplate cooking, let alone with your kids.  I get it, and I used to think that too, until I was taught how to make it while at Le Cordon Bleu.  The fact is, sauce bérnaise is really quite simple to make, hardly takes any time at all, and is such a perfect complement to grilled steak, that once you’ve made it, you’re going to weep like a baby thinking about how every steak you have ever made in the past was just a shadow of what it could have been had you only known how to craft the magical bérnaise.  

Really, I’m not kidding.

Now, this is not a meal that I recommend you reach for every week (as much as you might want to), because between the fries and the bérnaise it is a real artery menace.  But, once you get some confidence with the sauce , and get your timing down for the fries, it is a meal that is totally doable on a weeknight, and mastering a classic French sauce is a great confidence builder for a novice cook. 

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