Desserts

Lisa’s "To Die For" Apple Pie

December 9, 2010 By Steve Dunn 15 Comments

I’m not much of a Facebook guy. Any of you who have been to my Oui, Chef Facebook Fan Page, can undoubtably attest to that fact…..sorry. I set up the page on a friend’s recommendation because “everyone” has one, so I should have one too. Problem is….I can’t figure out what the #$%& to do with it, so all it really contains are re-postings from my blog….ugh. To the 310 of you who have become my fans (Thanks!), please accept my apolgies for there not being anything more compelling on the fan page than what you find here. If any of you have any recommendations as to what I should do on my fan page, please let me know….I’m all ears. Perhaps one day I’ll figure it out on my own, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.

I’m really no better with my personal Facebook page, in fact, I’m starting to think that I just don’t get the whole Facebook thing. All my “friends” find on my page are linked posts from this blog….I”M SO BORING. I mean, I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with old acquaintences from high school and college, but after a brief “hey nice to see you’re still alive”, and a “so what are you doing to keep yourself busy these days?”, I quickly run out of things to say. It’s not that I don’t care. Well, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

Cranberry Bread Pudding with Pumpkin Creme Anglaise

November 30, 2010 By Steve Dunn 17 Comments

This is a dish I made recently sans kid-lets, though they did do their all for the team by helping to devour this treat in record time. The recipe came about as a submittal to a Food52 contest for a "Best Non-Pie Thanksgiving Dessert", and as someone who comes from a family where there were never any non-pie desserts at Thanksgiving (not even a jello-mold thank you very much), I had to come up with one from scratch to enter into the contest.

Monkey Bread

November 22, 2010 By Steve Dunn 16 Comments

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.

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…..

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.

Muppet’s Madeleine – Mousse Cake

August 7, 2010 By Steve Dunn 39 Comments

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?

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’.

Challah French Toast Bread Pudding

June 7, 2010 By Steve Dunn 14 Comments

This started out as a Bon Appetit recipe years ago, but we’ve tinkered with it over time to come up with this luscious, yet easy indulgence. I think the only thing we haven’t changed is the use of Challah, because it is absolutely perfect in this dish. My favorite thing about this treat is that it is made in its entirety the night before serving, so in the morning, you just have to pop it into the oven, and set your timer. It is so easy, that I can even manage it before my first cup of morning coffee, and THAT is saying something.

Pierre Hermés’ Triple Chocolate Meringue and Ice Cream Puffs

May 30, 2010 By Steve Dunn 16 Comments

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.

"Three Cities of Spain" Cheesecake

April 12, 2010 By Steve Dunn 7 Comments

It is amazing what we food bloggers have to do sometimes to track down a top-notch recipe for our readers. As you may have guessed from the title of this post, this one took a lot of travel and research to pull together for you guys. I'll have you know that I just landed back from a trip to….can you guess? Yeah, three cities in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid and Seville to be exact), where I traveled to uncover the secret recipe for this deliciously light and creamy cheesecake.

What…..you don't believe me? You doubt my spare-no-expense commitment to scouring the world for only the very best recipes to share with you all? Boo….you make sad.

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