Desserts

And the Winner is……Chewy Ginger Cookies!

December 23, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

This is the year that my sibs and I finally cried uncle and decided to suspend holiday giving between our families. We did this for a couple of reasons. First, all of our kids are now teens and are basically impossible to shop for, preferring to receive cold-hard cash (large denominations, please) in lieu of any creative gift idea we stupid adults might arrive at on our own. Second, we stupid adults are so fortunate as to have all that we need or want, and so the whole idea of braving the hordes of holiday shoppers to buy token offerings seemed a bit nutty to us all. We decided instead (full credit given here to my brother) to arrange a cookie swap between our three families, with each sending the other 4-5 dozen cookies of various types.

It was such a brilliant idea that I wish it were mine.

Raspberry Cheesecake

December 15, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

I learned a valuable lesson about meal planning over the Thanksgiving holiday. In short, developing a plan for the turkey day dinner alone is not enough…..not by a long shot. When 20+ people are expected, including 5 teen-aged boys, the least of our food planning worries was Thanksgiving dinner, it was the breakfasts, lunches, snack binges and dinners that rounded out the rest of our guest's time-in-residence that was our biggest challenge.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

December 2, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

Hot on the heels of our recent "Pumpkin Spiced Steel Cut Oats" success, I've been thinking of other ways to get pumpkin's goodness on our table without having to resort to making pumkin pie or pumpkin bread. Not that I have anything against either one of these lovely confections, but a few in our clan struggle with the thick, custard texture of the pie, and the rest struggle to get even a whiff of pumpkin bread when we make it.

Why?

Because Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread is one of Muppet's all-time favorite foods, and unless you're standing with her at the stove when the bread emerges, you haven't got a chance. The poor starved thing will either eat it all in one sitting, or more likely squirrel it away like a little rodent hiding nuts for another day. I've tried to nanny-cam her to see where she hides them, but so far no joy.

Apple and Cranberry Crisp

November 18, 2011 By Steve Dunn 1 Comment

HA….we're on a roll now. This tasty treat turned out to be the perfect foil for a 1/2 used jar of Trader Joe's Apple Butter hogging space in our fridge, and as easy as that the inventory of our refrigerator condiment museum took another hit. Perhaps we should craft a song for the occasion…."50 bottles of condiments in the fridge, 50 bottle of condiments….you take 1 out, and put it to use, 49 bottles of condiments in the fridge" Ugh, with 47 bottles left, this could take a while…..

Rugelach

November 11, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

These rugelach are a terrific cookie to add to your holiday dessert platter, though we like them so much we serve them year-round. Rugelach generally come in one of two forms, either shaped like a crescent roll, or prepared the way we have here, like a strudel. I've always liked them this way because it's easier to get a thicker layer of filling using this shape (hey….who are you calling a pig?), but if you prefer the look, or dough to filling ratio of the crescent shape, then by all means roll them that way.

Baked NYC – Sweet and Salty Brownies

October 6, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

In our seemingly endless effort to ferret out the best brownies on the planet, for you, our devoted readers, we come to you today with yet another contender for the title. Many of you will recall our first foray into "Baked NYC" territory with this post about them back in January. In it, we put the original "Baked" brownie to the test, and found we really loved it's deep dark flavor, and almost fudge like consistency.

Well, the guys at Baked Bakery in Brooklyn are back with not only a new cookbook called Baked Explorations , but also a new take on their now famous brownie. To put it simply, the Sweet and Salty Brownie is their original on steroids, and while we may hold steroids and all those stupid athletes that use them in low regard, in this instance, they are a VERY GOOD THING!

Cherry Clafoutis

September 13, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

I had never had a clafoutis before living in France, but once I had my first bite, I couldn't get enough of them. Perhaps my favorite was one made with golden Mirabelle Plums, which are fabulous little things that are a bit tough to find here, but are found EVERYWHERE in France during their short harvest season which runs from July to mid-September.

Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie

September 2, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

This lovely treat of a thing is something the Mrs. whipped up as a going away present for Grid, our recently departed college freshman. Always a fan of the classic peanut butter and chocolate combination, she was sure that this pie would be a fitting climax to his final dinner at home before leaving for school.

Passion Fruit – Basil Ice Pops

August 19, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

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.

Chocolate Ice Cream

August 16, 2011 By Steve Dunn Leave a Comment

Those of you who have been hanging around here for a while know I am loathe to call any recipe "the best". There are plenty of great recipes out there, and certainly lots of lousy ones too. Here at Oui, Chef we try to bring you tons of the former and none of the latter, but the best of anything? You've never heard me say that a recipe you find here is the best that you'll find anywhere, and you never will. That's because as much as I love all the dishes we share with you, there is always room for improvement and reinterpretation, and in fact, one of the things I like most about writing this blog is hearing from all of you and learning how you've made our recipes work better for your tastes.

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Desserts

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