Fare for the family table
I had never heard of posset before until my friend and co-worker Annie Petito developed this recipe last year for Cook’s Illustrated. It’s dead simple to make, and quickly became one of my all-time favorite recipes from the test kitchen. You can enjoy it anytime, but I find it particularly welcome this time of year as it’s light, lemony essence just seems to shout SPRINGTIME!
People toss around the term “life changing” for the silliest things these days, like….. “OMG that smoothie changed my life!”, but in this case, with this muffin, the phrase really does seem to apply. Now, I’m not saying that this muffin will change your life, I mean it’s really good, but in the end it is just a muffin. What I am saying is that this muffin helped to change my life. That’s because this little lovely is partly responsible for my landing my job at Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen. It’s the muffin I developed and presented to my boss and the editors of CI as part of my application for a job at the kitchen. Crafting the recipe for this banana nut muffin was the last step in a multi-month long process required to join the ATK team.
Curious about what else it took to land a job there? If so, read on.
The kitchen gods were good to me this week. Just as I was noodling on what to do with an almost full container of ricotta cheese in my fridge (leftover from making these seafood ravioli), this gorgeous recipe for a ricotta based cake arrived at my doorstep courtesy of my friends at Bon Appétit Magazine.
Now that most people’s New Year’s resolutions about eating healthier and shelling out for a gym membership have been summarily dismissed, how about we get back to some fun, sugar and fat fueled cooking. I made this little number as a dessert over the holidays – just about mid-binge – and it was a solid hit with everyone at the table. The meal we had just enjoyed was similarly rich (in good holiday form) so I was a little concerned that talk of dessert would be met with moans and pleading from the table that no one could stand to eat another bite.
These little lovelies were inspired by my need to do a little pantry cleaning last weekend. They were the perfect vehicle for knocking-off the last few dried figs we had laying about, as well as an unopened jar of fig preserves I bought at Hediard while living in Paris (I don't even want to tell you how long ago that was). Any of you who have been to Hediard know they sell foodstuffs of only the highest quality (with prices to match), so I am pleased to report that even after YEARS tucked away in the deepest recesses of our pantry, the jam was still superb. Whew……
This dish was inspired by one I read about while on our ski vacation in February. As you know, we are BIG fans of braises here at Oui, Chef, and with the resurgence of cold weather here in the northeast (it was 17 ℉ with the wind chill this morning….no, I'm not kidding!), it seemed the perfect time to share this heart warming recipe with you all.
Those of you who are regular readers of Oui, Chef learned of one of my musical heros not long ago when I wrote our first "Meatless Monday" post inspired by one of my all-time favorite musicians, Paul McCartney. Today you get another peek into the dark recesses of my musical mind as I am dedicating today's treat to another one of my favorite bands, Van Halen.
My how time flies. It hardly seems a year since Jess @ Sodium Girl invited me to participate in her 2011 "Love Your Heart Recipe Rally", and I contributed this low salt re-work of a Ming Tsai pork dish. Well, it’s that time again. Time to head back into the kitchen and take a dish that I normally make without regard to sodium content, and re-invent it as a dish that I’d be happy to serve to Jess herself if she were ever to grace our table with her presence....you're always welcome, you know.
A couple weeks back my wife bought some lovely looking plums at the farmer's market, they looked so meautiful in their little wooden panier. Sadly, they didn't taste nearly as good as they looked. Actually, to be fair, they tasted just fine, it was their texture that was all kinda funky.
Now, I am not a big fan of plums, love prunes, but fresh plums….not so much.
Not sure why, but plums (with the exception of the Mirabelle's that I fell in love with in France) have never done much for me. That said, if we've got some nice fresh ones in the fridge I'll be a good little soldier and eat them.
Unless, of course, they have a mealy-nasty texture that makes me want to gag. If that's the case I'm not touching the buggers. Not surprisingly, everyone else in the family felt the same way about the poor little fellas, and they sat forlornly in their cute woven basket for about a week before I finally decided that I had to make a project out of them or throw them away.
Ice pops are among the easiest things you can make with your kids, and are a perfect treat to enjoy during these dog days of summer. They are also incredibly versatile, offering those with a creative bent ample opportunity to design a custom pop of just about any flavor combination you can imagine. Muppet and I had fun the other night making these pops with ingredients we had on-hand, but all the while she was dreaming up a kiwi-strawberry combo that we'll be making next.
