As has been our custom for about 5 years now, my sibs and I exchange cookies at the holidays rather than shop for store-bought gifts. These Pecan Sandies were the hands down favorite of the three different cookies we baked and shipped this year. While not exactly a “holiday cookie” by the strictest definition (no cute cut-out shapes or colored icing), these easy to make treats elegantly blend-in with the more traditional spritz or gingerbread cookies that adorn most holiday dessert tables. A sprinkle of crystal sugar lend them a little holiday flare without making them overly sweet, and their tender, shortbread richness will have your guests begging you for the recipe.
Holiday
Pizza Rustica
This dish is called “Pizza” Rustica, but it actually has more in common with a quiche than a pizza. I had never heard of the dish until this past Easter when my wife craved one, fueled by a memory of the “pies” her Grandmother brought to every Easter feast of her youth. Sadly, her Nana’s recipe is lost somewhere in her extensive family tree, so she did some on-line research and chose this one as the one that best reflected what she remembers her Grandmother making. It comes from one of our favorite pastry chefs, Nick Malgieri. I debated holding this post until next year as the Easter holiday approached, but this dish is so good, and would make such a great addition to a Summer pot-luck, I thought I’d share it with you now. The filling is a rich mix of ricotta, mozzarella, and pecorino, studded with a variety of Italian meats such as prosciutto, and dried sausage. It has a slightly sweet crust which balances the salty, cheesy filling beautifully, and when baked, makes a photo worthy star of any family spread.
Buche de Noel – Repost
I don't have a lot of time today, but did want to wish everyone out there a joyous holiday season! As another year wraps to a close, we at Oui, Chef are grateful for the friends we've made here, and look forward to cooking more great food with you in the new year.
This buche de noel is one that Jackson and I whipped up a few years back, and was enjoyed after our Christmas Eve dinner. It is a combination of a few different recipes we found, inspiring a whole new holiday treat. It has a chocolate genoise cake layer, a filling of white chocolate mousse, and a coffee buttercream frosting….a few meringue mushrooms for decoration and you have a festive dessert worthy of any holiday table.
Apricot Rugelach
Today I present to you MY second favorite cookie of the three I made this year to satisfy the requirements of our family holiday cookie swap. I emphasise the MY in the prior sentence, because by most accounts the cookie I will be sharing next, a mint-chocolate offering, was the runaway winner of the popularity contest this year; but as I've stated here before, my being one of the very few folks on the planet not enamored of the combo of chocolate and mint, those cookies fell to a distant third place in my personal ranking of this year's cookies.
Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
It's time once again to share some of the sweet holiday treats that I baked up for what is now our 3rd Annual Dunn Sibling Holiday Cookie Swap. Per my brother's recommendation a couple years back, he and I and our sister (along with a few other select invitees) have exchanged holiday cookies to commemorate the season now that we've all reached the point in our lives where we need absolutely NOTHING in the way of traditional Christmas gifts, and our kids, poor deprived things, have so much that they can no longer even generate a Christmas wish list, let alone come up with a request for things they may actually need.
Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles
Not to sound like too much of a snob, but THIS is what chocolate truffles should look like.
Not that I really have anything against the perfectly round and smooth confections that most commercial chocolatiers (even very high-end ones) sell as truffles, as many of them can be quite excellent.
But for me, truffles should look like the gnarly little fungi that inspired their name, and not something so perfectly formed that they look like they were machine made. There….I'll step down off of my soapbox now.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
No recipe today, just a few festive shots of Muppet's Gingerbread Village to brighten your day.
Regardless of what holiday you celebrate this season, all of us here at Oui, Chef wish you festivities full of love, laughter, and of course, lots of great food!
See you in 2012!
Like they say…."It takes a village", preferably one made entirely of SUGAR!
Rugelach
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.
Buche de Noel
I don’t have a lot of time today, but did want to wish everyone out there a joyous holiday season! As another year wraps to a close, we at Oui, Chef are grateful for the friends we’ve made here, and look forward to cooking more great food with you in the new year.
This buche de noel is one that Boris and I whipped up over the past few days, and will be enjoyed after our Christmas Eve dinner tonight. It is a combination of a few different recipes we found, inspiring a whole new holiday treat. It has a chocolate genoise cake layer, a filling of white chocolate mousse, and a coffee buttercream frosting….a few meringue mushrooms for decoration and you have a festive dessert worthy of any holiday table. This is not a difficult cake to make, but it does take some time. It would be a great holiday school vacation week project to tackle with your kids…serve it at your New Year’s party and thrill the crowd!
Wishing you all holidays full of love, laughter and lots of DELICIOUS food! Thank you so much for being such an important part of our little blog, we’ll see you next year!
Cheers – Steve and the Mrs., Grid, Boris, Arthas, Peyton and Muppet
Lamb Sausage, Feta and Mint Stuffing
My wife is of Lebanese descent, and over the past few years I have enjoyed eating, and learning about her family’s delicious, middle eastern cuisine. I cook a fairly traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but wanted to give a little culinary nod to her folks who will be joining us for our feast again this year.
Thanks to Food52, and their recent “Best Thanksgiving Stuffing” competition, I decided to rework my turkey day stuffing to reflect some flavors of their culture. The resulting dish will be a welcome addition to a more “international” day of Thanksgiving. Lamb sausage, pistachios, mint, feta cheese, and zatar, combine with local flavors such as apples, cranberries, and leeks to make a deliciously new take on an old standard.