I've had the thought of these little buggers marinating in the back of my brain for a while now. In fact, about 6 months ago I titled a post "S'more Tarts" as a placeholder and reminder that the concept seemed worthy of a little investigation and culinary creativity. Well, last week after having seen that empty post yet again, I decided it was time to get off my ass couch and get busy making a Oui, Chef version of these treats.
Here's a treat designed to please the little kid in all of us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I still have days where I crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on white bread, of course) with a handful (or three) of crispy potato chips and a tall glass of cold milk for lunch. It was my favorite lunch as a kid, and still satisfies like nothing else can to this day.
Thankfully I've given up my childhood vice of eating "Peter Pan" creamy straight from the jar with a spoon (it wasn't a good look on me), but I bet I still eat a good old-fashioned PB & J about once a month. If you haven't had one in years do yourself a favor and make one soon, it will make you smile.
For Peyton's "Sweet Sixteen" birthday dinner she stayed true to form and just like last year chose an Asian themed meal and CHEESECAKE for dessert. She was a little concerned that they weren't the most natural of pairings, but I assured her that on your birthday there are no rules. If the little nutbag she wanted sushi and cheesecake for her birthday feast, then an East meets West mash-up it would be.
My friends over at Food52 showcased this recipe recently in their "Genius Recipe" feature, and if the picture above doesn't sell you, a single bite will convince you that the Food52ers sure know how to pick'em.
It's been a while since we've made brownies around here, so I suppose there's a chance that brownie deprivation had something to do with the ravenous welcome these treats received among my gaggle of chocoholics. That said, I don't care if you've been eating a brownie every day for the past month, if dark, fudgy brownies are your thing, these killers are gonna rock your world!
Anyone who has spent any amount of time visiting Oui, Chef knows that we're a household of chocolate freaks and brownie aficionados of the highest order. There are countless ways to kill yourself with chocolate here, and at current count 6 different brownie recipes with which to indulge even your darkest cocoa-laced fantasy.
You will also note that up until this point we haven't posted a single "blondie" recipe.
Why?
These cookies may look a bit like the ubiquitous Peanut Butter Blossoms, but they are something else entirely. I'm a fan of the blossoms, but mostly for the peanut flavored cookie because let's face it, the Hershey Kiss is a rather disappointing piece of chocolate. I know...it has a pretty shape and a cute name, but its waxy mouthfeel and boring flavor always leaves me wanting.
Not so with these thumbprint cookies, these little morsels totally satisfy with their almond-shortbread base studded with crunchy crystal sugar, and their filling of a simple ganache made with the finest bittersweet chocolate. They're a breeze to make, and the ideal cookie to bake and share as the recipe as written here will easily make 6 dozen of these little gems. In case math isn't your thing, that means 5 dozen for you to enjoy, 1 dozen to share ;-)
One of the best sweets I learned to make while at Le Cordon Bleu was the classic Linzer Torte. The thin tart with a nut-rich crust, sweet jammy filling and decorative lattice top is standard fare during the holidays throughout Europe. I had enjoyed a slice here and there while travelling through Austria years before, but only fell in love with it when I finally got around to making my own when in Paris.
I haven't made a full tart in years (we'll have to change that soon), but when devising my baking plan for our 2nd Annual Dunn Sibling Holiday Cookie Swap, I decided to do the next best thing and work up some of these super tasty Linzer Cookies. Their warm spiced cookie laced with hazelnuts and cloves, along with their glowing red center of raspberry jam and snow-like dusting of confectioner's sugar make them an ideal holiday treat.
Ever have a craving for a good old fashioned chocolate puddin'? You know, like the kind your grandmother made you when you were a kid?
How about an adult version of that childhood memory, all gussied up with high-quality bittersweet chocolate and a fancy Italian name?
Yeah, me too....read on.
Now that you've polished off the last of the pies, cakes and crumbles left over from your Thanksgiving feast, it's time to replenish your dessert larder with a new treat. God forbid you go more than a day or two without a holiday worthy sweet in your house this time of year....what would the neighbors say?
You might think from the name of this recipe (Riz Au Lait is French for rice with milk) that it's all about the rice....it's not. This dish is all about vanilla and cream, the rice acts only as a mechanism to deliver these two stars to your taste buds and to provide a little texture. This is not the rice pudding of your youth, the cold, gummy cup of misery that the lunch ladies served up on occasion. That dish was cold rice soaked in low-fat milk and sugar, this one by contrast delivers plump grains of short rice luxuriating in a bath of warm, sweetened cream and vanilla. You follow?
It's snowy whiteness is so enticing that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is the dish that Mrs. Claus uses to fatten Santa for his long, cold journey on Christmas Eve. Yeah, this dessert is sinfully rich and should therefor be served is appropriately small portions (unless of course you're looking to Santa-size yourself). In fact, it's so rich that it's one of those dishes that warrants a mention on the Q & A form presented at your annual physical.
With just under a week to go before Thanksgiving, it's time to start training for the big day. I'm not talking about kitchen time trials where you block out cooking times for your various dishes to make sure you have the oven and burner space to pull everything together in a timely fashion.
No, I'm talking about deliberately increasing your food intake over the next week to prepare your body for the onslaught that is the Thanksgiving feast. Just as you would never dream of running a marathon or swimming a mile without some serious conditioning, don't kid yourself into thinking that you can survive Thanksgiving without some pre-feast indulgence.
Continue reading "Apple Cranberry Crisp with Hazelnut Topping and Creme Anglaise" »
"Oui, Chef" exists as an extension of my efforts to teach my kids a few things about cooking, and how their food choices over time effect not only their own health, but that of our local food communities and our planet at large. By sharing some of our cooking experiences, I hope to inspire other families to start spending more time together in the kitchen, passing on established familial food traditions, and starting some new ones. Read more...
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