Snacks

Cranberry Nut Bread

November 14, 2010 By Steve Dunn 20 Comments

This recipe is from the simply gorgeous Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, and is a really terrific take on this New England favorite. Having some cranberries to use up after making last week’s cranberry tart, I was determined to find a new recipe for one of my favorite cranberry studded treats, cranberry nut bread. I cruised the web looking for the best recipe I could find, and while I came across tons of them, found Elise’s to be the most appealing for a number of reasons.

First, she used less sugar than most in her bread, and given that I often eat this treat for breakfast, I find a less sweet version more appealing. Second, her addition of orange juice and zest adds a depth of flavor that makes this bread truly memorable. There is hardly anything better (for breakfast, or at any other point in the day) than to toast up a thick slice of this goodness, slather it was some lovely salted butter, and luxuriate in its tender, tart-sweetness.

Chris’ Cranberry Crumb Tart

November 6, 2010 By Steve Dunn 25 Comments

This lovely confection comes to us courtesy of MY lovely confection, my wife. We are quite swimming in cranberries these days up here in “Pilgrim Country”, the bogs are flooded, the harvest is on, and big bags of our local tart treats can be found on every corner.

When we had our neighbor, Richard (who used to be in the cranberry biz) to dinner the other night, I thought I’d use the occasion to kick off our cranberry cooking season with a bang. I was originally planning to cook a chocolate – cranberry tart that I had found on Epicurious, until my lovely reminded me that Richard is not a big fan of chocolate (a little factoid that I continually forget, most likely because I find the notion so utterly preposterous….”you don’t like chocolate, huh….you ARE joking aren’t you?“) When I shared this little bit of trivia with Muppet, tears welled up in her eyes…“that poor poor man, I can’t imagine not liking chocolate. You don’t think he’s contagious, do you? Because if he is, he has to go home now…and I mean RIGHT NOW!”

Ganache Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

October 21, 2010 By Steve Dunn 31 Comments

It will come as no surprise to any of you who have been visiting us here for a while, that the impetus for this particular recipe comes from our young friend, Muppet. I honestly can’t remember a post on this site that featured the use of chocolate and DIDN”T have something to do with her. To say that she’s been riding me for a while to help her concoct a ganache centered cupcake would be an understatement. It’s fairer to say that our persistent little angel ground me down by hounding me morning, noon and night for weeks in order that I get off my soft, large bottom and get focused on making this dream dessert with her. Mission (finally) accomplished…..

Garlic, Black Pepper and Blue Cheese Chicken Wings

October 17, 2010 By Steve Dunn 11 Comments

While I am a HUGE fan of Buffalo Wings, I’ve found that over time my taste for wings has evolved to favor sauces a little more multi-dimensional (and not scorchingly hot) in nature. The base for this sauce is a slight twist on Ming Tsai’s Black Pepper-Garlic Sauce (Simply Ming: Easy Techniques for East-Meets-West Meals) , which he serves with a fabulous lobster dish at his restaurant “Blue Ginger”. Ever since I tried that amazing meal, I’ve been twisting his sauce to and fro to satisfy the requirements of a number of different culinary whims.

EVOO’s Local Blueberry Crisp

August 23, 2010 By Steve Dunn 19 Comments

This is a great, seasonal and simple dish from a favorite chef of mine, and one of our “Chef’s Table” contributors, Peter McCarthy, the very talented chef / owner at EVOO restaurant in Cambridge.

Here in the Northeast it’s blueberry season, and while there are plenty of great things to do with all of our local flavor bombs, like make blueberry jam, blueberry cake, blueberry pie, or blueberry ice cream, I challenge you to find a recipe as good and simple as this blueberry crisp.

There is hardly anything more to this recipe than some simple measuring and mixing, a brief stint in a hot oven to burst the sweet berries and crisp the streusel topping, and then if you wish (and why wouldn’t you?), a reach into the freezer for a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream. This dish is all about a lot of goodness for not a lot of work…..Amen.

Muppet helped me measure and mix the topping while I pulled together the simpler filling ingredient list (I’m no fool). We quickly combined our efforts in an 8″ round x 3 1/2″ deep ceramic baking dish and tossed it into a 350℉ oven for about a half hour, piece of cake…or crisp, as it were.

Support Local Farmers!

Buy Local Blueberries!

Make This Crisp!

Cheers – S

EVOO's Blueberry Crisp

by: EVOO Restaurant, Cambridge, MA.

yield:

Cooking Mode Print Recipe

Ingredients

Topping:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 pound softened butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
2 cups toasted slivered almonds

Filling:

8 cups local blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon brandy
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Instructions

Topping

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the first 8 ingredients until they come together. Add the toasted almonds and mix until combined. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter set.

Filling

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (wow...that was tough).

Assembly

Place filling in an adequately sized baking pan or individual baking cups. Crumble topping on top. Depending on the size of the baking dish you use, you may have some of the topping left-over, if you do, toss it into a zip-lok and freeze it for later use. I like my crisp with a higher blueberry to topping ratio, so I use a deeper baking dish with a smaller surface area on top for the streusel. If you like more crunch in your crisp, use a larger, shallower dish that will take more of the topping to cover. Bake in a 350℉ pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, until filling is bubbling around the sides. Serve with a scoop of ice cream, or some freshly whipped cream.

Basil Infused Fresh Fruit Salad

July 23, 2010 By Steve Dunn 15 Comments

Having returned from Paris a few pounds heavier than when I left (imagine that), I thought it might be wise to pick up some fresh fruit to keep on-hand to satisfy my daily pangs for something sweet. Now that’s not to say that I didn’t eat any fruit while in France, because I did, its just that the fruit I ate there was almost always nestled in a big pillow of pastry cream, or resting comfortably in a butter-rich pâte sucré shell…..oh dear.

Thinking back to all the fabulous treats I ate while there, I can only think of one thing to say…..

VIVE LA FRANCE!

I can’t think of any other place on Earth where I’d rather pack on a few pounds than in France, can you? Without exception, the pastries we ate there were so dangerously good they should have come with warning labels. Though to be fair, the odds of our actually heeding their warnings would have been about NIL, but I’m just sayin’.

Kale, Sausage and Feta Frittata

June 15, 2010 By Steve Dunn 12 Comments

I know that we’ve already done a frittata dish here, but I am such a big fan I wanted to bring you another one. The last one we cooked together was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants frittata that I threw together with a bunch of left-overs in the fridge, and it is that “everything but the kitchen sink” aspect of crafting a frittata that I love so much. Eggs, cheese, and almost anything else you can think of can make a delicious frittata, they are a perfect foil for any kind of leftover meat, fish or veggie you have laying about.

Today’s recipe is actually not that kind of free-wheeling creation, but rather one from a pretty great recipe that I found in Bon Appetit last month. It is a well balanced creation of meat, vegetable and cheese that really satisfies. Unlike many frittata recipes, this one is cooked in a baking dish, not a frying pan, and is cooked at a low enough temperature that it maintains a nice light texture, and doesn’t get tough as they can when cooked with a higher heat.

Green Apple and Basil Sorbet

April 25, 2010 By Steve Dunn 9 Comments

We made this little treat a few weeks back in an effort to use up some apple purée that I had stored in the freezer. I had bought some raspberry purée some months ago to use in a really delicious strawberry-raspberry jam that we make for holiday gift-baskets. For years, I used fresh raspberries for my jam, but the process of mashing them, and then pressing the purée through a tight sieve to strain out the seeds really put me in a bad way….it just took waaaaaay too long.

Of course, like any good specialty foods shopper, once I found a reliable source for fruit purées, I couldn’t help but order a few more tubs in various flavors. I mean, I was sure to be able to find some creative use for some passion fruit purée, or maybe green apple…. oh yeah, and how about blood orange?

The stuff was like crack to me, I couldn’t stop myself.

Thomas Keller’s "Ad Hoc" Brownies

March 26, 2010 By Steve Dunn 28 Comments

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?

Muppet’s Mint-Chip-Brownie Ice Cream

March 12, 2010 By Steve Dunn 9 Comments

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?”

« Previous Page