Oui, Chef

Cherry Clafoutis

I had never had a clafoutis before living in France, but once I had my first bite, I couldn't get enough of them.  Perhaps my favorite was one made with golden Mirabelle Plums, which are fabulous little things that are a bit tough to find here, but are found EVERYWHERE in France during their short harvest season which runs from July to mid-September.

Coffee - Lemon Panna Cotta Parfait

Every now and again it's nice to bring something to the table that makes everyone gasp with delight, don't you think?  And even nicer when that something is a treat that takes no special skill or ingredients to make, just a little love and time.  

I'm one of those guys that would be just as happy eating a tasty, but not particularly beautiful, braised dish most nights of the week.  A solid savory dish, well prepared, and simply presented is just fine with me, thank you very much.  It's a whole different thing though when it comes to dessert.  Nothing gets me giddy like a beautifully composed temptation of sugar, one that looks as much a work of art, as it does a means of sustenance.  

This, my friends, is just such a dish.....

Buche de Noel

 
I don't have a lot of time today, but did want to wish everyone out there a joyous holiday season!  As another year wraps to a close, we at Oui, Chef are grateful for the friends we've made here, and look forward to cooking more great food with you in the new year.

This buche de noel is one that Boris and I whipped up over the past few days, and will be enjoyed after our Christmas Eve dinner tonight.  It is a combination of a few different recipes we found, inspiring a whole new holiday treat.  It has a chocolate genoise cake layer, a filling of white chocolate mousse, and a coffee buttercream frosting....a few meringue mushrooms for decoration and you have a festive dessert worthy of any holiday table.  This is not a difficult cake to make, but it does take some time.  It would be a great holiday school vacation week project to tackle with your kids...serve it at your New Year's party and thrill the crowd!

Wishing you all holidays full of love, laughter and lots of DELICIOUS food!  Thank you so much for being such an important part of our little blog, we'll see you next year!

 

Cheers - Steve and the Mrs., Grid, Boris, Arthas, Peyton and Muppet

 

Chocolate Tofu Pudding!

No...... your eyes are not deceiving you, the title of this post is "Chocolate Tofu Pudding".

Yes.....you are visiting "Oui, Chef", the VERY last place where you would expect to see tofu at all, let alone in a dessert!

For those of you who's jaws have dropped to the floor, we'll pause here a moment for you to pull yourself together.  

Feeling better now?  OK, let's proceed.

Cranberry Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Creme Anglaise

This is a dish I made recently sans kid-lets, though they did do their all for the team by helping to devour this treat in record time.  The recipe came about as a submittal to a Food52 contest for a "Best Non-Pie Thanksgiving Dessert", and as someone who comes from a family where there were never any non-pie desserts at Thanksgiving (not even a jello-mold thank you very much), I had to come up with one from scratch to enter into the contest.

Muppet's Madeleine - Mousse Cake

 

Pierre Hermé.....Ladurée.....Gerard Mulot......Hugo & Victor......Hediard.......Fauchon......Eric Kayser.

This is but a sampling of the famous pastry chefs / shops that kept us giddily happy and full during our recent trip to Paris.  This same group is also responsible for opening Muppet's eyes to the heights that the very best pastry can achieve.  These folks are the best of the best, the "Top Gun" pilots of the pastry world, and eating their confections has inspired Muppet to dream-up her very own original creation.

 Aren't we all lucky?

Challah French Toast Bread Pudding

This started out as a Bon Appetit recipe years ago, but we've tinkered with it over time to come up with this luscious, yet easy indulgence. I think the only thing we haven't changed is the use of Challah, because it is absolutely perfect in this dish. My favorite thing about this treat is that it is made in its entirety the night before serving, so in the morning, you just have to pop it into the oven, and set your timer. It is so easy, that I can even manage it before my first cup of morning coffee, and THAT is saying something.

Frozen Rhubarb Mousse with Strawberry Sauce

 

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.

Bouchon's Quiche Lorraine

OK. 

This is not a recipe for the casual, "I just like to throw it together" kind of cook, and certainly not one you will be whipping up in a rush on a weeknight, but if you have any interest at all in making what is likely the best quiche on the planet, I urge you to stop clicking on your mouse and hang with me here for a while.

It also is not a recipe that you can give your kids free reign over, but it does have plenty of elements that the kids can help with, and I encourage you to make them part of the process.  Not only will most kids LOVE this quiche, but I think it important that we make the effort to train our next generation in the fine art of quiche making, an art that is still alive and well in Europe, but sadly died here in the States in the "real men don't eat quiche" days of the early 80's.  Americanized quiches baked in factory-made, soggy pie shells, with over-cooked, curdled custards make me want to scream....our kids deserve better, don't you think?

This dish is actually not difficult to make, but as with every recipe Chef Thomas Keller creates, it IS exacting, and therein lies its brilliance.  Keller is not one of those chefs who lives on the bleeding edge of culinary adventure, like Heston Blumenthal, Feran Adria, or Grant Achats.  These guys make their livings pushing the edge of the envelope with regard to cooking technology and high tech ingredients, that allow them to reconstruct food in ways that leave diners giddily questioning what exactly it was they just ate. 

In contrast, what Keller does better than anyone else is rip classic dishes down to their most basic elements, and then reconstruct them using only the finest ingredients, and with such a finely honed and thoughtful technique, that the end result is a dish that is instantly recognizable for what it is, but is of a quality that has been elevated almost beyond measure.  When finished, you will immediately recognize this dish as a quiche, but what you will have created will make every other quiche you have tasted seem like a cheap, plastic imitation.  Successfully creating this dish will not require technical wizardry on your part, but it will require a tight eye on a few key details.  The rewards for your vigilance will be ample, I assure you.  You game?.....Then let's go.

Fig and Anise Clafoutis

 

I've been visiting a new website over the past few weeks, it is called Food 52.  It is the brain-child of Amanda Hesser (NY Times food writer) and her partner, Merrill Stubbs.  The purpose of the site is to hold recipe competitions among member "home cooks" every week for a year, with each winning recipe being featured in a cookbook that will be published by Harper Studio sometime in 2010.

My recipe for a Fig and Almond Clafoutis has been chosen as a weekly finalist....kinda cool, huh?  Users of the site have a week to vote on which recipe will win, AND THE VOTING DEADLINE IS TONIGHT, TUESDAY OCTOBER 20TH AT MIDNIGHT!

I suspect that the Fig showdown will be a close race, so I would REALLY appreciate your VOTE should you deem my recipe worthy.  CLICK HERE to register on the site and place your VOTE for my "FIG AND ANISE CLAFOUTIS".  Below, you can watch a video of Amanda and Merrill making the two finalist fig dishes, which is way fun.

Your Best Fig Recipe from Food52 on Vimeo.

I am so pleased with the way this recipe turned out, and am thrilled just to have been chosen as a finalist in the competition.  I encourage all of you fig lovers to try this recipe while fresh figs are still in season, it really is special!

Cheers and Thanks - Steve

Recipe:

Fig and Anise Clafoutis       

(Print Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients:

20 Black Mission Figs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon anise seeds, toasted
1 plump vanilla bean pod
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon Calvados
3 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons of AP flour, sifted
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
Zest of one lemon, finely minced, about 1 packed teaspoon
Kosher salt


Method:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F
• Butter and sugar a 10 1/2 inch round baking dish
• Cut the stems off the figs, and quarter them lengthwise
• Spread the almond pieces of a sheet tray and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until nicely golden, remove from the oven and set aside.
• Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and using a sharp knife, scrape the seeds out of the pod and onto a small plate.
• Place the anise seeds in a small, dry saute pan over low heat and toast gently till fragrant.  Remove from heat and let cool.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and when ready, add the butter, honey, 1/2 of the vanilla seeds, and the vanilla pod, stir well.  Add the figs, a pinch of salt, the anise seeds, and cook, tossing occasionally, 2-3 minutes, until the figs are starting to soften, and are well coated with the honey butter.
• Pour the figs into the prepared baking dish, and spread evenly across the bottom.  Remove the vanilla pod, and sprinkle with the toasted almond pieces.
• Zest the lemon with a fine toothed micro-plane, reserve.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, blend the eggs until frothy, add the balance of the vanilla seeds, the lemon zest, the sugar, cream, and milk, and Calvados, and mix well.  Add the flour and a pinch of salt, and mix until well incorporated, 1-2 minutes.  Let rest 15 minutes.
• Pour the batter over the figs, and place the dish in the center of the preheated oven.  Bake until the center puffs and turns a deep golden color, and the clafoutis feels firm and set, about 30-40 minutes.  
• Transfer to a cooling rack.  Serve slightly warm, or at room temperature, dusting with confectioner’s sugar, and with a dollop of freshly whipped cream if desired.