Oui, Chef

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Fruit

Chris’ Cranberry Crumb Tart

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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!”

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EVOO’s Local Blueberry Crisp

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Blueberry-Crisp-Top

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:
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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.

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Basil Infused Fresh Fruit Salad

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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’.

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Green Apple and Basil Sorbet

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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.

 

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Chewy Fruit and Nut Bars

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The internet is an amazing thing isn’t it?  What with its millions upon millions of recipes to tempt and entice.  I have to fight the urge daily to not spend half my day cruising the web looking for new recipes to incorporate into our repertoire here in the Oui, Chef kitchen.  I love seeing what others, both professional chefs and home cooks are cooking, but if I’m not careful, I can lose hours bouncing from one site to the next, exploring the work of those I’ve come to trust to do GREAT food.  To be honest, even while exercising restraint, I can accumulate 20 recipes during one of these reconnaissance sessions.  Some, I’ll cook with the kids eventually, many I’ll file away and likely never get to, but every now and again, I come across a recipe that looks so perfect, that I find myself reorganizing our cooking schedule to make room for my new discovery right away.

This is one of those recipes.

 

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Turkish Figs with Anise and Walnuts

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Fig---Walnuts

I was first served a treat similar to these by Patricia Wells, the famed cookbook author, when I was a student of hers for a week long cooking class in Paris.  We students enjoyed them with a glass of champagne as we were putting the finishing touches on lunch one day.  I must have eaten six or seven of them before she noticed my intake rate, and moved the platter to the other side of the room so that everyone else could get a crack at them.  These are the simplest nibbles to make, are terrific with cheese and wine before a meal (or as the French do, after a meal), or eaten as I frequently do, as a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea.  I always like to keep a Tupperware bin of these on the counter-top to provide a quick and healthy snack to anyone passing through.

Tell your kids that they are basically a Fig Newton without the “Golden Flaky Tender Cakey Outside”, and they’ll be snarfing them down right along with you.  Sweet like candy, with a delicious crunch from the walnut, and a crackling bite from the fig and anise seeds, they are a perfect school lunch snack as well.

I always make a big bin of them for the holidays as we frequently have lots of family and friends stopping by, and these will keep for weeks as long as you keep them in a well sealed container, ready for any visiting dignitaries.  Boris helped me slice a couple dozen figs the other day, while I roasted the walnuts and lightly toasted the anise seeds.  He then assembled the whole batch while I prepped my little counter-top photo studio to shoot the photos for this post.  In about 20 minutes flat we had a whole stack of these babies ready to go!

Boris-cutting-fig

Turkish Figs with Anise and Walnuts

by: Patricia Wells
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Ingredients

  • Dried Turkish, or domestic Calmyrna Figs
  • Walnut halves, roasted
  • Anise seeds, lightly toasted

Instructions

  • Lightly toast the anise seeds in a small pan until just fragrant.
  • If your walnuts are raw, roast them on a cookie sheet in a 350℉ for about 8-10 minutes.
  • Cut the hard stem from the top of the figs and discard. Slice each fig almost through along the horizontal "waist" of the fruit and open the fig to accept the anise seeds and a piece of walnut.
  • Sprinkle a pinch of anise seeds inside the fig, top with a piece of walnut, and then close the hinged top of the fig back over the filling, pressing to make sure all your goodies stay intact.
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Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney

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Cranberry-Chutney--2

I’m so excited to share with all of our “Oui, Chef” readers, that for a second time, one of my Food52 recipe creations has been chosen as a weekly finalist.  This time around, Amanda and Merrill have chosen my submission to their “Best Cranberry Sauce” competition, this sweet, tart and spicy “Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney”.  Please visit www.Food52.com before midnight on Tuesday, November 17th to join the site and VOTE for this dish.  Doing so will help us get the recipe into the Food52 cookbook….THANKS!

Click the image below to see a video of Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs preparing the two finalist’s dishes in the Food52 “Best Cranberry Sauce” competition.

Best Cranberry Sauce from Food52 on Vimeo.
I’ve never been much of a fan of straight-up cranberry sauce, in fact, the jellied kind makes me want to gag. I much prefer a condiment like this, that is more than just cranberries and a lot of sugar. This chutney gets it’s sweetness not just from sugar, but from raisins, some OJ and dried black mission figs. The cider vinegar and lemon juice lend a sparkling acid note, and the ginger and red pepper flakes bring heat. I finished it with some chopped, toasted hazelnuts to add an earthy crunch, and some freshly minced thyme for a hint of herbal complexity. The whole family loves the way it turned out, and while we’ll definitely reserve a spot for it on our Thanksgiving table, I can also see it working well with a roast pork or beef dish.

Given that prep requires just a few quick chops of an onion and chunking up some figs, almost any kid can cut, measure and toss the ingredients into a pan and whip up their own contribution to your Thanksgiving feast.  Let ‘em have at it!

Cheers! – Steve

Gingered Cranberry Fig Chutney

by: Steve Dunn
yield:
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Ingredients

  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion, minced
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts, skinless, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 8 dried black mission figs, cut into eighths
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely minced

Instructions

  • Add all the ingredients, with the exception of the chopped hazelnuts and fresh thyme, to a heavy bottomed pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to bring the mix to a simmer, and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chutney thickens some. Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts and fresh thyme and let cool slightly before serving.
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Farmer’s Market Cheddar Melt

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Cheddar-Melt1

 

This open faced sandwich was inspired by a trip to our local farmer’s market the other day. While there we bought a loaf of delicious whole grain bread, some locally cured ham, organic apples, some sharp cheddar cheese, late season arugula, and a nice little acorn squash (although a sweet potato would have worked equally as well, I think). In keeping with these local New England flavors, we added some maple syrup and a tangy cranberry chutney to the dish. I love the contrasting flavors and textures of the sandwich, the peppery arugula along side the sweet squash and smokey ham, the gooey cheese juxtaposed with the crisp apple, and all of it popped by the tangy cranberry chutney.

Tell me, what kid wouldn’t like a sandwich with sweet fruit in the middle, and gooey cheese melted all over the top of it.  This sandwich would be delicious with a bowl of Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider Cream!

Enjoy – Steve

Farmer's Market Cheddar Melt

by: Steve Dunn
yield:
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Ingredients

  • Whole Grain, artisan baked bread
  • Smoked ham, locally cured, thickly sliced
  • Roasted acorn squash, smashed
  • Organic honey-crisp apples, cored and sliced (or any other local apple you have handy)
  • Vermont, sharp cheddar cheese

  • Arugula
  • Whole grain mustard
  • Cranberry chutney

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400℉
  • Split acorn squash in half, top to bottom, and scoop out the seeds. Please 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup in the cavity of each half, and place in a baking dish . Sprinkle the squash with kosher salt, and pour a little water into the dish to keep the skins from burning and sticking to the bottom. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour (or longer if you have a big squash) Remove the squash from the oven and let cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop the insides into a bowl and mash with a fork, making sure the butter and maple syrup is evenly distributed, check for seasoning and set aside.
  • Set your oven to broil. Cut a thick slice of the bread and toast it. Build your open faced sandwich starting with the mustard, then the sliced apples, the smashed squash, the arugula, the ham and finally the cheese. Place the sandwich on a sheet tray and pop under the broiler, cook until the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.
  • Remove from the oven and serve with a big spoonful of cranberry chutney (I have a great recipe I'll share in a future post), some squash soup, or a simple green salad.
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Rich and Spicy Applesauce

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When the boys returned from a visit to their grandparent’s house in VT. last weekend with a 1/2 bushel bag of fresh from the tree, organically grown apples, it could only mean one thing….time for some homemade applesauce!  Making your own applesauce is so easy to do, and the quality of the end product so far better than ANYTHING you can buy in a store, that we haven’t bought a jar of applesauce in many years.

 

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Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider Cream

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This is a favorite recipe from Epicurious.com that I have cooked for years.  Each Fall when butternut squash are abundant, I make a huge batch of this soup and freeze about a half-dozen gallon sized ziploks of the stuff to get us through the Winter.  The recipe calls for a little cream which can certainly be eliminated if you are trying to watch such things.  When I make this, I do not add the cream prior to freezing, but will swirl a bit into the soup after it has thawed and been reheated.  This allows me to serve some without if someone requests it that way.  The drizzle of cider cream on top at service is a delicious touch, one I recommend you NOT skip unless you really must.

This year I got my squash from my guitar teacher, who, much to his surprise, found a bevy of the beauties growing out of his compost pile behind his garage!  How cool is that?

 

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