Oui, Chef

Killer K-A Brownies

I am generally more than a little skeptical of a chef (or a company's) claims that a certain recipe will yield the "best" representation of a dish.  It is why I have always bristled a bit at Chris Kimball's proclamations of such through his "Cook's Illustrated" and  "America's Test Kitchen" entities.  Now, before any of you who may be big fans of his go all apoplectic on me, I actually do the like the guy, and his publications and shows.  I frequently learn new and useful cooking "tips" when reading "Cooks Illustrated", and have found many of his recipes over the years to be quite good.  I just don't believe that anyone has a lock on the "best" iteration of any dish, largely because there is no single definition as to what constitutes the "best" of any kind of recipe.  My idea of a great Duck Confit is not likely the same as Thomas Keller's, or Joel Robuchon's, or Chris Kimball's, or my wife's for that matter.  Given the subjectivity of all of our likes and tastes, how could it be any other way?

That said, imagine the look of disdain that crossed my face when I unexpectedly came across a brownie recipe the other day entitled "The Best Fudge Brownies Ever".

Oh really?

Soup au Pistou

This is a dish that may not be a home-run with very young kids because its absolutely packed with veggies (YUK, what are you trying to do, poison me?), but its easy, flavorful, and can provide plenty of room for creativity for your budding teenage cooks.  Soup au Pistou is a traditional Provencal dish that is made in as many different ways as there are cooks who make it.  Loosely speaking, it is a summer vegetable soup served with a blast of fresh pesto, and many serve it, as I do, with a pesto topped crouton floating on top as well.

This is a great soup to make on your local Farmer's Market day.  If you can, bring the kids with you to meet the farmers who grow your local veggies, and let them choose some of the bounty that will find its way into the soup.  There are no hard and fast rules as to what to include, and in fact, every time I make it, I end up with a distinctly different soup in the end.  As long as you buy the freshest veggies you can get your hands on, and work to include a variety of color and texture in your choices, you'll have a beautiful, fresh and satisfying soup in the end.  If you use a store bought chicken stock, make sure it is a low sodium brand, and if you have the time, allow an hour at the start to infuse it with some aromatics to add a little more interest and depth to your soup.

Peyton missed the trip to the Farmer's market this time around, but was fully up to the task of practicing her knife skills (which are really coming along) by prepping our mise of chopped, sliced, and diced veggies.  While she was busy doing her ginsu thing, I crafted a little sachet that included, white peppercorns, anise seed, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary, and set it steeping in our barely simmering store bought stock.  The finished soup is delicious hot or cold, with a crusty bread as accompaniment. 

Recipe:

Soup au Pistou

By: Steve Dunn

(Print Friendly Version)

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce can of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 large carrot, cut into 1/4 inch dice

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1/4 pound green beans, cut into 1 inch lengths

10 leaves of swiss chard or kale, sliced into 1/2" thick ribbons

1/2 cup of shelled peas

2 cups of tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cob

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced into rounds (on a  Kyocera Adjustable Mandoline Slicer, Red , if you have one)

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

EVOO

Salt and Pepper

Basil Pesto

aromatics - 1 stem fresh rosemary, 3 stems fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 1 teaspoon anise seeds

Method:

Place chicken stock and water in a sauce pan over low-medium heat.  Add the aromatics tied in a cheese cloth bundle, and simmer for 1 hour.  Remove the bundle and reserve the stock.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot over low-medium heat.  Add the onion and carrot and saute 15 minutes to soften.  Raise the heat to medium, and add the green beans, zucchini, cannelini beans, tomatoes, and chicken stock to the pan, and cook 10-15 minutes.  You want the soup at a simmer, not a rolling boil.  Add the corn, peas, and swiss chard and cook for another 5 minutes.  Check seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Ladle into warm bowls and top with a spoonful of fresh pesto.  You can also make a crouton by taking a slice of baguette, topping it with some gruyere cheese, and toasting it under the broiler.  Spoon some pesto onto the crouton and float it on top of your soup.  Oh, la, la.

Serves 6

Roasted Halibut with Tomato - Shallot Salsa

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.

Madeleines

"The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach".  I think on this point, most of us would agree. 

But did you know that the same can be said for young girls? 

Well, I’m here to tell you that this strategy is equally effective when attempting to vie for a young chica’s affections, especially if what you’re offering to put in her stomach is something, that warm out of the oven, is as delicate and delicious as a homemade madeleine.

It was to this simple recipe that I turned shortly after I started dating my second wife, when I felt a little “sweetener” would help to warm the hearts of her two young daughters.  To be fair, Muppet and Peyton seemed OK with me dating their mom from the get-go, but I must say that the introduction of madeleines to their world certainly helped to grease the path of my acceptance into their lives.

Creamy Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

I am happy to report that the four basil plants that almost snuffed it before reaching their adolescence due to the horribly wet weather we had in the Spring, have recently turned into the most prolific producers in our garden.  Twice over the past few weeks I have had to seriously prune them back before they collapsed under their own weight.  Hallelujah!

While there are many creative ways to use basil in the kitchen, whether it be to brighten a sumptuous panzanella salad of freshly diced tomatoes, toasted cubes of peasant bread, and a drizzle of EVOO and balsamico, or a quick puree with cannelini beans and a little lemon juice for a crostini topping or crudite dip, there is no finer use for basil, in my humble opinion, than to use it in a homemade pesto.  To me, pesto is a nearly perfect food.  The sharpness of the raw garlic, the earthy warmth of the toasted pine nuts, the vibrant color and herbal aroma of the basil itself, and the salty chew of the fresh parmesan.....I could eat it by the bucket-full.  Don’t laugh....I really could.

Chicken Paillards with Lemon Caper Sauce

I think that many people struggle with cooking at home because they get bored.  Most people don't have the time, or the inclination to pull out a cookbook each night and push themselves to try a NEW recipe.  Instead, they rely on a handful of old favorites that they can make from memory, and cook them again, and again, and again, until everyone in the family finally cries UNCLE!

When kids are part of the mix, the challenges to more creative cooking are often multiplied.  When the kids are young, many families feel held hostage to their immature palates, and their unwillingness to eat anything but hot dogs, peas, and mac and cheese (yes, this was me as an ankle-biter).  As the kids get older, the fates unfurl a cruel joke on most families.  On one hand, the kids' are more accepting of experimentation, and they become eager to try new foods. On the other, the family's schedule becomes such that most people can only find time to slam together the quickest and most routine dishes for dinner.  In addition to the time constraints imposed by a busy family life, the pinch on the budget caused by the food intake demands of growing teens, has folks reaching for the mac and cheese and hot dogs all over again!