Oui, Chef

Bouchon's Parisienne Gnocchi

Alright, let's just get this over with, shall we? 

Here it is, the last Keller recipe in the pipe-line.  Not that any of you have been complaining, in fact, over the past few days I've received more than a few requests from readers to "Keep Cooking Keller", but in an effort to offer you all a better balanced and wide ranging selection of recipes to cook with your kids, this will be the last we see of our friend for a while.....I'm all verklempt.

I don't know about you, but I do find that I'll roll with a particular chef, a new cookbook, or even a style of cooking for some period of time in order to really pull a lot from the experience.  I do think it helps to spend some unhurried time with a chef, or perhaps a "regional" style of cooking to really come to understand him/it, and so I have enjoyed finally cooking some of Keller's fab food, and I hope you have too.  I'm sure we'll get back to his great food some day in the not too distant future, like maybe if someone buys me his new book "Ad Hoc at Home" for my birthday this year....anyone....anyone?

Thomas Keller's "Ad Hoc" Brownies

 

I have been struggling for the past few days about whether or not I should post this brownie recipe.  For starters, it has only been a few months since I blogged about the King Arthur Brownies, and one of the things I really strive to do, not just for my family, but for all of you who are taking the time to read our blog, is to offer up a nice variety of dishes to enjoy.  I guess I'm concerned that by posting two brownie recipes in about as many months, I'm not trying hard enough to bring fresh ideas to the table....Boo.

The second reason for my balking at writing this post is that the recipe happens to be YET ANOTHER one from Thomas Keller, you remember him right, the brilliant chef of  "French Laundry", "Per Se", and "Bouchon" fame?    So.....not only am I double-dipping with brownies here, but I am passing along my third Keller recipe (I've already written about Bouchon's Quiche Lorraine and Chocolate Bouchons, and I have YET ANOTHER one in the "Oui, Chef" pipe-line) ....talk about a rut. 

Will you ever forgive me?

Anise, Basil and Vanilla Marinara Sauce

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.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Peyton and I whipped up these burgers a few nights ago to critical acclaim from EVERYONE in the family, and I have to be honest with you, that almost NEVER happens, especially with a dish that is being tried for the first time.  This recipe is our adaptation of one that I found in the latest edition of Bon Appetit magazine, and it is absolutely a keeper.

In the photo, I show the burger served sans bun, more like a salad with a little marinara drizzled to the side.  My wife ate hers this way, I had mine between two toasted slices of a great, rustic pain francese from Iggy's Bread in Cambridge, and the kids all chose to have theirs on whole wheat hamburger buns.  Regardless of how we each prepared ours, we found the patties to be a delicious, moist and healthy alternative to a standard beef burger. 

It was nice to be able to serve "burgers" without firing up the outdoor grill that night, especially since it was pouring rain and howling winds at around 50 MPH the night we cooked these....Ugh. 

Black Bean Soup with Lime-Cilantro Cream

Inspired by my friend Devaki at "Weave a Thousand Flavors" who recently posted about Mark Miller's Black Bean Soup, I decided to dust off this old favorite of mine to cook a few weekends ago. Active time in cooking this dish is quite low, but you must plan in advance because the black beans require soaking overnight before cooking, and about 2 hours to cook once in the pot.  I like using chorizo or andouille sausages in this soup as I feel they are more in keeping with the southwest flavors here, but it would also be delicious with hot italians, some merguez (spicy lamb), or even a more delicate duck sausage if you have access to any.

I like this soup a little on the "creamy" side, so just before service, I give it a quick blast with a stick blender to break up some of the beans, if you prefer a "cleaner" soup, you can certainly skip this step.  Whatever you do, don't skip the dollop of the lime-cilantro sour cream on top, it makes all the difference.  If you are counting fat grams and calories, substitute some greek style yogurt for the sour cream, but don't eliminate the garnish entirely, the brightness of the cilantro and citrus really elevates the dish.

Muppet's Mint-Chip-Brownie Ice Cream

As is clear from the title of this post, our young friend Muppet has been back in the kitchen and busy with me.  In fact, the entire idea of this post was hers, and she had her hands in every aspect of the creation of this dish.  Those of you that remember Muppet from prior posts ( Killer KA Brownies and M Cookies ) will note that she is staying true to form here, rising above the din of the "Oui, Chef" kitchen to advocate for MORE CHOCOLATE in her diet, thank you very much.

As with all posts in which Muppet plays a starring role, this one too has a little story associated with it.  Would you like to hear the story?  Or as one of my favorite chefs at LCB used to say before launching into a colorful tale of his early days in the kitchen, "Voulez-vous une petite histoire?"

Beef Bourguignon

This is a dish that I’ve been making for years, in fact, it is one of the first recipes I learned when I started to get into cooking, and certainly played a part in drawing me to want to study French cuisine more seriously.  It has become a staple of our winter recipe rotation, and each year when we make it we always make a double batch (sometimes a triple) so that we have plenty to freeze, and I would encourage you to do the same.

Few things in life give me greater joy than to see the bottom pull-out drawer of our freezer packed with nice, flat vacuum-sealed bags of this bourguignon, some chili, a bolognese, and a variety of soups.  I love knowing that a delicious meal is ours for the making with nothing more than reheating required, or can be tossed into a cooler and brought north to feed us after a long day on the slopes. All this joy can be yours too with hardly any additional work on your part.  If you have the freezer space, you’d be crazy not to double this recipe and put aside some for a rainy (or snowy) day.

Chewy Fruit and Nut Bars

The internet is an amazing thing isn't it?  What with its millions upon millions of recipes to tempt and entice.  I have to fight the urge daily to not spend half my day cruising the web looking for new recipes to incorporate into our repertoire here in the Oui, Chef kitchen.  I love seeing what others, both professional chefs and home cooks are cooking, but if I'm not careful, I can lose hours bouncing from one site to the next, exploring the work of those I've come to trust to do GREAT food.  To be honest, even while exercising restraint, I can accumulate 20 recipes during one of these reconnaissance sessions.  Some, I'll cook with the kids eventually, many I'll file away and likely never get to, but every now and again, I come across a recipe that looks so perfect, that I find myself reorganizing our cooking schedule to make room for my new discovery right away. 

This is one of those recipes. 

Lamb and Fennel Bolognese

Here is another dish from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking with Shelburne Farms: Food and Stories from Vermont (Shelburne Farms Books) , written by my friend Melissa Pasanen, and the Inn's ex-chef, Rick Gencarelli.  I can't say enough good things about this dish, I could eat it every night.  It's funny, because by appearance it is clearly a bolognese, and texturally it is exactly what you'd expect from this classic Italian dish, but give it a quick taste and you'll find that this is a ragu unlike any you have ever had before.