Oui, Chef

Momofuku's Fried Chicken

What came first the chicken or the egg?  Well, in this instance I can definitively say the egg came first.  

Yes, it was Chef David Chang's slow poached egg that first made its way into the Oui, Chef kitchen to much acclaim from the whole gang here (and many of you out there that tried it).  We had so much fun with his egg that I've been curious to try one of his other recipes, and what could make more sense after trying his egg, then to give his chicken a whirl.  This recipe comes from his tremendous cookbook Momofuku , which is not just a fab collection of recipes, but a real glimpse behind the scenes to give the reader a sense of what makes Chang tick.

Blood Orange Frozen Yogurt

How many of you have ever made your own ice cream?  It's really easy isn't it?  I mean, whether you've got a motorized "old-style" bucket ice maker, one of the cool Cuisinarts where you pre-freeze the canister insert, or a full fledged commercial monster with it's own built-in compressor (like me, he says shamefully), making home-made ice cream is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your kitchen.  

And your kids....are you kidding me?  Want to be their hero.......like, forever?  

Make ice cream with them and bask in all the glory that is rightfully yours.

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy - Charcutepalooza #6

It appears as though I jumped the gun and got a bit ahead of myself for last month's Charcutepalooza challenge when I made "stuffed" sausages.  Marching orders from our lovely High-Preistesses of Pork, Cathy (Mrs. Wheelbarrow) and Kim (The Yummy Mummy) were for us just to "grind" meat into sausage, we were not required at that point to "stuff" said meat into casings, that is THIS month's challenge.  If I were any good at all at following directions I would have caught that subtle detail, saved us a bit of work on this end, and formed our spicy merguez into patties rather than links.  Oh well....I'm not complaining because our merguez-frites sandwich was an unqualified success and the practice we gained by stuffing the casings with our kitchen-aid meant that this month's challenge was that much easier, as we are now well seasoned stuffers.  

As you've no doubt gleaned from the title of this post, this month's challenge takes us to the British Isles and one of the more famous of their silly named dishes.  

What is it with these folks anyway, is it just me, or have they raised the craft of concocting strange names for dishes to a high art?  Let's see there's "Bubble and Squeak", "Toad in the Hole", "Cullen Skink", "Black Pudding", "Bangers and Mash", and the ever popular "Spotted Dick".  Excuse me?

Sweet Potato Chips!

 

Making this gorgeous treat hardly requires a recipe at all.  In fact, crafting homemade potato chips is so easy, and the results so delicious, that once you give 'em a try, I bet you'll think twice before buying store bought chips again.  Really..... still warm from the fryer, and seasoned with a generous sprinkle of salt, they are very hard to beat.

I first pursued making sweet potato fries and chips as a means of getting the kids to take more of a liking to them....um....that would be the sweet potatoes, not the chips and fries.  It's funny, but while they all love potatoes, and adore all things sweet, when you put the two together, not one of them would eat them.  I've baked them, steamed them, and smashed them, and always the answer was the same....no thanks.  

Pasta Un-Carbonara

 

As a cook, I’d love to be remembered as someone who took inspiration from my culinary heritage, but also relished making dishes my own, not feeling shackled by recipes, but rather enjoying the freedom to apply skills I’ve acquired over the years to bring new techniques and ingredients to my cooking.  I’d also like to be remembered for the time I’ve spent cooking with my family, teaching my kids a few things about cooking before they head out on their own in the world.

Savory Buckwheat Crêpes - Galettes de Sarrasin

 

While traveling to Paris this past Summer, our young Muppet fell in love.  Awww...I can hear you all sighing at the news.....how sweet.  

Yeah, the poor little thing fell fast and hard, and I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that her Mom and I were a bit concerned, it all happened so quickly.  One day she's a sweet and innocent 5th grader on her first trip to Europe, the next she's on her knees begging that we take her back to the little restaurant on the Ile St-Louis where she lost her heart to a........savory crêpe.  Zut alors!

That's right, it wasn't a handsome young frenchman that stole young Muppet's heart (though Pierre Hermè came close), it was a delicate egg and bacon (oeuf-lardon) galette that brought her to her knees.  She was, in fact, so smitten with the thing that we returned to the scene of her infatuation (the charming "Au Lys D'Argent" at 90 Rue St-Louis-en-I'lle) two more times during our time in Paris.....such are the demands of a girl in love in the "City of Light".

Monkey Bread

 

This is one of those dishes that should come with a warning label.  

You know, something written in neon ink, and including words like....."not to be made or consumed without proper adult supervision"...and...."the manufacturer shall not be held liable for any physical or emotional damages incurred as a result of the chaos typically associated with the consumption of this product".

I am not kidding.

The sharks will start circling about half-way through baking, when the aroma of this lovely will have finally found its way to each corner of your home.  The real fun starts though with the onset of the feeding frenzy which is guaranteed to commence as soon as the bugger is cool enough to touch.  You've undoubtably seen it before, the gruesome footage they show over and over again during "Shark Week", of sharks in such a tizzy over a bucketful of chum, that they actually start eating EACH OTHER in their frothy confusion.  

You've been warned.

Artisanal "5 Minute" Bread

 

For years now we have talked about baking our own bread, but the vigilance and care required to nurse a sourdough starter, or the time required to mix, knead, proof and bake a traditional loaf, always proved too much of a hurdle for us to overcome.

That all changed recently when we were given the game-changing cookbook, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking , by our sister-in-law Margo, who is a very accomplished bread baker in her own right.  Margo has been baking fabulous breads and bagels the old fashioned way for years, keeping everyone she knows abundantly supplied with delicious baked goods.  She has trained at the King Arthur Flour Education Center in Norwich, VT. (which she has come to affectionately refer to as “Mecca”), and has diligently baked her way through a few of the bibles of bread baking such as The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread , & Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers.

In short, this gal knows what she’s doing, so when she endorsed the new “short-cut” methodologies in “5 Minutes a Day”, we decided we had run out of excuses for not making our own....it was time to get baking.  

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?

Pierre Hermés' Triple Chocolate Meringue and Ice Cream Puffs

 

No, this is not a photo of the bustier Madonna wore during her "Who's That Girl" tour.....get your head out of the gutter, will you please?

What it is, is something even more spectacular, and I think you'll have to agree, that upstaging one of the material girl's bustiers, is a mighty impressive feat.

So...what is it, exactly?

Before you read any further, I suggest you sit down.

Yeah, you heard me....sit down.