Tag: Gruyere

Gougères

February 7, 2014February 9, 2017

I recently had a serious gougères craving. Which is not a normal craving. Normal people crave… I don’t know what. But my guess is not cheesy little dough puffs. Right?

Also, I’ve discovered I have a lot of cookbooks. I knew this. But when I was looking for a recipe to use for these gougères, I realized I have a few cookbooks that I have never even opened. Mostly these are ones I got for free. For example, I have about 5 old James Beard cookbooks. How many different recipes for one thing can the man really have? I think I need to do a little research and then pick one or two to keep. Because also, my cookbook bookshelf is officially overflowing. Books are starting to get piled on top of books, so you can’t see what they are, and everything falls out when you pull out your selection. Not good.

I also decided that I want to be the kind of person that writes notes in my cookbooks. In pencil. But still. Rather than attempting to remember what I liked about a recipe or what I did differently or what didn’t work, I should just write myself little notes in the margins. Or be like my Aunt Elise, who has layers of post-its all over her favorite recipes.

So, my February resolutions: clear out some cookbooks, or at least USE the ones I haven’t used yet and if I don’t like them, think about getting rid of them; and make notes in the margins. Totally doable, I think.

Gougères

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese OR 1 cup grated gruyère and ~1/2 cup grated Parmesan
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of dry mustard (optional – I didn’t add this, but wished I had afterwards, as my gougères were missing a bit of bite to them)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, milk, butter, salt, and pepper; Cook until the butter melts. Add the flour in one batch, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. The mixture will become this strange, shiny, kind of gelatinous mixture, and will pull away from the sides of the saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. It will seem, for a short while after you add each egg, that it won’t incorporate. I promise it will. There will be a magical moment where all of a sudden, the egg and the flour decide they like each other and want to be the best of friends. After adding all of the eggs, the dough should be nice and glossy. Add 1 cup of the grated Gruyère, dry mustard if you are using, and cayenne, and combine thoroughly.

Butter a baking sheet or line it with parchment or silpat, and drop the batter on by tablespoon. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining grated Gruyère or Parmesan. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before indulging, as they’re full of steam and can be very hot.

Weekend Finds 1:25:14

January 25, 2014February 7, 2017

Well, friends, it has been a long week. An emotionally tiring, physically exhausting week, full of phone calls and to-do lists. But it’s finally the weekend, which means weekend finds.

1. Toast and more at Trouble Coffee

Trouble Coffee in the Bay on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Not only does Trouble Coffee serve toast. It also serves coconuts.

This article starts out about the new toast crazy (funny, I read it while enjoying a large piece of toast slathered in lemon curd at The Sugar Cube), but then winds its way into a story about community. I really like the story of this coffee shop and it’s owner, Giulietta Carrelli. Also, I like that she has freckles tattooed on her cheeks.

2. Gougères

Gougères on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Little perfect light bites of cheese.

All I want to do is make gougères. And I have everything in my fridge to make them. So, you ask, why am I writing this and not currently stirring together large amounts of butter and cheese? I ask you the same thing.

3. The Salted Peach

The Salted Peach on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — I love how Dylan caught the flour in the air as Caitlyn was flouring her dough.

I don’t know if I’ve told you about my friend Caitlyn before, but I find her to be rather impressive. She went to culinary school for baking and pastry, and now works around Portland. She has this blog, the Salted Peach, and I love her writing – it is guaranteed to make me smile. Her most recent post for a S’more Tart has some of the most gorgeous pictures (which her boyfriend Dylan takes). I told them if they ever want to get me a present, they can give me a print of the picture above.

4. To remove or not to remove garlic germ?

On removing garlic germ from David Lebovitz on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — While we still may not have a certain answer, we’re a little closer.

I have always wondered whether or not you should remove the green garlic germ from garlic. And while you can really do whatever you want, this post from David Lebovitz seems to get us a little closer to at least understanding what that green germ does for our mouths.

5. Salted Rose and Honey Pie

Rose and Honey Pie from Adventures in Cooking on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Tell me that doesn’t look so delicious.

I still can’t get over this blog. And this recipe is not helping. I love a gentle rose flavor in some dishes (my dad made a rose water and harissa fish dish once that was incredible), and this pie looks so beautiful and sweet.

Weekend Finds 11:17:13

November 17, 2013February 5, 2017

1. Pie Alternative

Pecan Pie Ice Cream // Weekend Finds, Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Pecan pie ice cream from A Beautiful Mess

Pies are great, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it’s nice to have a little something else on your Thanksgiving dessert menu. This ice cream looks just lovely – I love the cream cheese in the base and the fact that, yes, there’s still pecan pie in it.

2. Fall soups

A Lighter Pumpkin Soup // Weekend Finds, Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Pumpkin soup with roasted garlic and leeks from Recipes a Volonte

I love a creamy fall soup, but sometimes they’re too heavy. This roasted garlic, pumpkin, and leek soup seems a little lighter (milk instead of cream, and only a half a cup), and would be perfect for a Thanksgiving appetizer or any other fall night. (Also, a lot of the recipes on Recipes a Volonte look lovely.)

3. DIY Leather Coasters

DIY Leather Coasters // Weekend Finds, Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — DIY Leather Coasters from Design*Sponge

Jonah and I have recently made a couple of trips to Scrap, a bits and pieces craft store a block from our house. And they have leather scraps. So maybe, you know, I could make these leather coasters. Talk about a neat present for the holidays.

4. Sweet Potato Gratin

Sweet Potato Gratin // Weekend Finds, Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Sweet Potato Gratin with chanterelles and cheese

I’ve been looking for a gratin recipe to make. Gratins are lovely for the winter – take root vegetables (or even something like cabbage), basically smother it in bechamel sauce, and bake it. Could there be something more rich and warm and comforting? Nope. This sweet potato one with cheese and chanterelles looks so rich and scrumptious, I might have to convince my mother to add it to our Thanksgiving menu.

5. Pie Trimmings

Pie Trimmings // Weekend Finds, Serious Crust by Annie Fassler — Old pie trimming tips on Buzzfeed

These old pie trimming tips look so beautiful, and just like something I’d use for my pie crusts. I particularly like the cornucopias and the ruffle effect.

French Onion Soup

January 31, 2012February 1, 2017

Yesterday, I was craving French Onion Soup. I found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen (duh) and luckily, we had most of the ingredients except wine, broth, and swiss cheese. After work, I swung by the grocery store, picked up what I needed, and I was ready to go. I halved the recipe, but I’ll give you the original in case you’re cooking for more than just two people (but half was the perfect amount for me and Jonah).

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt (or less)
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef stock (mushroom stock is a good vegetarian substitute)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese
Butter
Crusty bread, sliced into 1 inch thick pieces toasted until hard

Instructions

Melt the butter and oil together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, tossing to coat them in the butter/oil, and spread them so they cover the bottom of the pot. Reduce the heat and let the onions cook, covered, for 15 minutes. You don’t need to stir them during this step.

After 15 minutes, turn up the heat a little bit and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook them for 30-40 minutes until they have become a lovely golden brown, stirring frequently so they don’t burn. Yes, 30 minutes seems like a long time to stir onions, but allowing them to caramelize well will make for really nice flavor later on and will make the soup taste much more complex and, well, just better.

Once the onions are browned, add the flour, stirring it in well, and cook for another 3 minutes. Now add the wine (all at once) and the stock, a bit at a time, stirring between additions. Add a little salt and pepper. Be sure not to over-salt! The stock is plenty salty and the cheese on the gratinée is plenty salty, so don’t overdo it now. Once the stock is all in, bring the pot to a simmer and let is cook, partially covered, for another 30-40 minutes. And stir in the cognac if you’re using it.

Now for the gratinée. Jonah and I didn’t follow instructions, but rather chose to just try out our own process and see if it worked. It did. Turn on your broiler (we put ours on high). Pour the soup into oven safe bowls, and stir in about 1 Tbl of the cheese. Toast whatever bread your using (we used the bread I made in the previous post) until it’s hard. Butter the toast, and set it afloat on the soup. Now put on as much cheese as your little heart desires. We probably did 1/3 of a cup per bowl of soup. Put the bowls on a foil-lined baking sheet, and pop it in the oven. I watched the soups in the oven, and when the cheese was bubbling and starting to turn golden brown, I pulled them out of the oven. Be careful as the bowls will be HOT. Put them on plates and warn whoever is eating them not to touch the bowl, only the plate. Serve and enjoy!