Oui, Chef

Fare for the family table

Pies + Tarts

Kale, Sausage and Feta Frittata

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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.

 

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Bouchon's Quiche Lorraine

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OK. 

This is not a recipe for the casual, "I just like to throw it together" kind of cook, and certainly not one you will be whipping up in a rush on a weeknight, but if you have any interest at all in making what is likely the best quiche on the planet, I urge you to stop clicking on your mouse and hang with me here for a while.

It also is not a recipe that you can give your kids free reign over, but it does have plenty of elements that the kids can help with, and I encourage you to make them part of the process.  Not only will most kids LOVE this quiche, but I think it important that we make the effort to train our next generation in the fine art of quiche making, an art that is still alive and well in Europe, but sadly died here in the States in the "real men don't eat quiche" days of the early 80's.  Americanized quiches baked in factory-made, soggy pie shells, with over-cooked, curdled custards make me want to scream….our kids deserve better, don't you think?

This dish is actually not difficult to make, but as with every recipe Chef Thomas Keller creates, it IS exacting, and therein lies its brilliance.  Keller is not one of those chefs who lives on the bleeding edge of culinary adventure, like Heston Blumenthal, Feran Adria, or Grant Achats.  These guys make their livings pushing the edge of the envelope with regard to cooking technology and high tech ingredients, that allow them to reconstruct food in ways that leave diners giddily questioning what exactly it was they just ate. 

In contrast, what Keller does better than anyone else is rip classic dishes down to their most basic elements, and then reconstruct them using only the finest ingredients, and with such a finely honed and thoughtful technique, that the end result is a dish that is instantly recognizable for what it is, but is of a quality that has been elevated almost beyond measure.  When finished, you will immediately recognize this dish as a quiche, but what you will have created will make every other quiche you have tasted seem like a cheap, plastic imitation.  Successfully creating this dish will not require technical wizardry on your part, but it will require a tight eye on a few key details.  The rewards for your vigilance will be ample, I assure you.  You game?…..Then let's go.

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Fig and Anise Clafoutis

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Clafoutis-Slice

 

I’ve been visiting a new website over the past few weeks, it is called Food 52.  It is the brain-child of Amanda Hesser (NY Times food writer) and her partner, Merrill Stubbs.  The purpose of the site is to hold recipe competitions among member “home cooks” every week for a year, with each winning recipe being featured in a cookbook that will be published by Harper Studio sometime in 2010.

My recipe for a Fig and Almond Clafoutis has been chosen as a weekly finalist….kinda cool, huh?  Users of the site have a week to vote on which recipe will win, AND THE VOTING DEADLINE IS TONIGHT, TUESDAY OCTOBER 20TH AT MIDNIGHT!

I suspect that the Fig showdown will be a close race, so I would REALLY appreciate your VOTE should you deem my recipe worthy.  CLICK HERE to register on the site and place your VOTE for my “FIG AND ANISE CLAFOUTIS”.  Below, you can watch a video of Amanda and Merrill making the two finalist fig dishes, which is way fun.

Your Best Fig Recipe from Food52 on Vimeo.

I am so pleased with the way this recipe turned out, and am thrilled just to have been chosen as a finalist in the competition.  I encourage all of you fig lovers to try this recipe while fresh figs are still in season, it really is special!

Cheers and Thanks – Steve

Fig and Anise Clafoutis

yield:
Cooking ModePrint Recipe

Ingredients

  • 20 Black Mission Figs
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon anise seeds, toasted
  • 1 plump vanilla bean pod
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1 tablespoon Calvados
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons of AP flour, sifted
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • Zest of one lemon, finely minced, about 1 packed teaspoon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 F
  • Butter and sugar a 10 1/2 inch round baking dish
  • Cut the stems off the figs, and quarter them lengthwise
  • Spread the almond pieces of a sheet tray and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until nicely golden, remove from the oven and set aside.
  • Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and using a sharp knife, scrape the seeds out of the pod and onto a small plate.
  • Place the anise seeds in a small, dry saute pan over low heat and toast gently till fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and when ready, add the butter, honey, 1/2 of the vanilla seeds, and the vanilla pod, stir well. Add the figs, a pinch of salt, the anise seeds, and cook, tossing occasionally, 2-3 minutes, until the figs are starting to soften, and are well coated with the honey butter.
  • Pour the figs into the prepared baking dish, and spread evenly across the bottom. Remove the vanilla pod, and sprinkle with the toasted almond pieces.
  • Zest the lemon with a fine toothed micro-plane, reserve.
  • In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, blend the eggs until frothy, add the balance of the vanilla seeds, the lemon zest, the sugar, cream, and milk, and Calvados, and mix well. Add the flour and a pinch of salt, and mix until well incorporated, 1-2 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes.
  • Pour the batter over the figs, and place the dish in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until the center puffs and turns a deep golden color, and the clafoutis feels firm and set, about 30-40 minutes.
  • Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm, or at room temperature, dusting with confectioner’s sugar, and with a dollop of freshly whipped cream if desired.
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Chorizo and Spinach Frittata

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Making a frittata, much like a fried rice, is a great way to use up all the left-overs in your fridge.  Pick a few main ingredients that will define your flavor profile, and then feel free to toss in little remnants of past meals that are hanging on, begging not to become a science experiment in the back of your refrigerator.

The dish is endlessly versatile, can be tossed together in minutes, is great hot or cold, travels well, can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  As long as you like eggs, it is a nearly perfect food.  I’ve even thought of making a large one each Sunday, strictly for use throughout the coming week.  A slice is great re-heated for a quick breakfast, can be a healthy addition to a school lunch, and a satisfying meal on the fly with a quick salad as you race between appointments on your evening schedule.

 

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Tomato Pie

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I have a confession to make.

The kids barely had anything to do with the making of this pie.

There, I said it….I’m such a bad, wicked, naughty boy…..will you ever forgive me?

We had every intention of conforming to the rules of our “Oui, Chef” work, and have Grid help me make the pie, but a cross-country track meet (his team won, YEAH) got in the way.  This happens to us occasionally, and when it does, we generally pass over the dish for inclusion in the blog so that we stay true to the spirit of our work here. Not that you’d ever really know, but we feel a responsibility to post only dishes that we actually made together, as we stand on our soap box and encourage you all to do the same.  But as Tom Cruise said in Risky Business, “sometimes you just gotta say, what the #@*?”, and break the rules a little bit, or as is the case here, bend them a whole lot.  I say bend them because Boris did help me to make the pie dough for this recipe, but beyond that, I was flying solo.

We decided to run with this post anyway, not just because it is a really fabulous recipe, which it is, but because tomato season is fast coming to a close here in the Northeast, and we want our local readers to have a chance to make this dish with perfectly ripe local tomatoes while they still can.

 

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