Oui, Chef

Spring Risotto with Poached Eggs

Here's a dish that is perfect for the transitional weather we're having here in the Northeast.  While we are warming up slowly, most days have still been pretty cool and our nights continue to dip into the low 40s.  That said, we are just starting to see spring's local bounty showing up in the markets, so I was excited to make this dish which calls for some lovely spring green veggies, but also has the soul-warming feel of a dish made for cool weather.

PB & J Bars

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.

Breakfast to Go....Eggie Muffins

 

Two flavors of muffins cooked up in a silicone mold

These little bites are a perfect, hot breakfast with which to start your day.  They are basically individual frittatas, and as such can be custom made to suit all the picky mouths at your table.  I used to make one large frittata over the weekend for cutting up and doling out as a grab and go breakfast option over the course of the week, but got tired of each of the kids squawking that there was some ingredient in them that they couldn't stand.  Now, everyone fills their respective muffin cups with the ingredients that turn them on, we fill them all with plain scrambled eggs, et voila....everyone is happy!

Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake

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.

Broccoli and Tarragon Quiche

Fine Cooking Magazine recently ran a "Create Your Own Recipe" feature for how to make quiche.  As they've done with braises and stir-fries, they focus on the basic elements of a dish, then suggest all sorts of ways to inject your own creativity to come up with an original taste.  We took their basic crust and custard recipes and added veggies and cheese to our liking.  The result....quite delicious.

A Truly Tropical Banana Bread

I struggled for a while to come up with a clever name for this bread that combines the great flavors of banana and coconut.

There was Banacoco....Cocobanan....Cocobanut.....and the very worst, Nutcoban Bread!

In the end I through in the towel and decided not to name it at all, but to describe it simply as "Truly Tropical" because thoughts of banana trees and coconut palms lead me straight to a warm, sunny island.  I've generally been somewhat of a purist regarding banana bread, occassionally adding chopped walnuts to the mix for a little excitement (I know...I really should get out more), but otherwise choosing to let the bananas rule on their own.

Sweet Potato Pie

I've made countless pumpkin pies over the years, but this was my first dance with a sweet potato version.  I was expecting it to be nearly identical to all the squash pies I've made over the years, and while it looks just like a pumpkin pie, and has a similar texture, in many ways this is an entirely different beast.  For me, this darling was head and shoulders above any pumpkin pie I've ever made, and in fact, now that I've found this recipe I'm not sure I'll ever go back to the pumpkin pies of my youth.

Meatless Meatballs!

So dig this.  A couple of weeks ago my father in-law, George, popped by with a dish of some "meatballs" that were the product of his latest kitchen experiment.  Still slightly warm from the oven and fragrant as all get out, we couldn't wait to try his new goodies.  I popped one in my mouth and thought immediately that it was a tender veal meatball that had been braised in a rich tomato sauce.  Was I right?

No.

Corn and Cream Muffins

 

I have been searching some time now for a world class corn muffin recipe with which to satisfy our young corn lovin' diva, Muppet.  For as long as I've known her, her favorite snack, bar none, has been a really well made corn muffin or piece of corn bread.  Panera's corn muffin-top is the gold standard by which all others are measured, though she's also a fan of Trader Joe's box mix that we make at home.  That's provided of course that someone take the time to sift the whole corn kernels from the mix before proceeding to add the wet ingredients.  You see, this girl won't abide whole kernels in her muffins.

Leek, Shiitake and Gruyere Frittata

I know what you're thinking.

We cook and post about so many frittatas around here we should rename the site "Oui, Frittata".

What can I say....we're such huge fans of these Italian sorta quichey-omelette things that we're always thinking up new versions to share.  Never had one before and wondering what they're like?  Picture a crustless quiche or an unfolded omelette, and you pretty much have a frittata.