Gougères

Ingredients:

         1/2 cup water

         1/4 cup unsalted butter

         2 tsp kosher salt

         1/4 tsp mustard powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder or black pepper

         1/4 tsp sugar

         1 cup & 1tbsp all-purpose white flour

         4 large eggs

         3 ounces gruyère cheese

         2 slices deli ham

      (Makes 14 large or 28 small gougères)

Gougères (gu-zjehr) are small, savory pastries that remind me fondly of breakfast. Forget egg mcmuffins...gougères are made with a dough called choux pastry (other baked goods made from pâte à choux include profiteroles, croque-en-bouches, eclairs, French crullers, and beignets) and usually include cheese and maybe some ham or mushrooms. There is a definite egginess in the buns with the cheese just slightly peeking through. If you want to taste your eggs and ham in a cute little breakfast roll in the morning (or anytime, really), keep reading for directions.

First, you want to sift your flour into a small bowl. Then, in a separate small pot, take your butter, water, salt and sugar and bring to a boil on medium. 

Next, add your flour and keep heating on medium for at least 3 minutes. Make sure to keep stirring during this time until your mixture forms a single shiny mass of buttery goodness.

Adding flour (I just sifted right into the boiled mixture)...

Once the mixture is formed into a single, smooth mass, transfer to a clean bowl and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.

After cooling, add an egg one at a time, making sure to stir each one in completely until your dough is shiny and able to be scooped with a spoon (almost like very moist cookie dough).

 Finished choux pastry...

 I didn't add enough flour and I would encourage you to add as you feel necessary. Just make sure to keep the dough relatively moist because the moisture (and resultant steam) is what allows the dough to rise during baking (there is no yeast to provide that boost).

Once you are satisfied with your consistency and wetness/dryness, feel free to add your spices and your cheese. You can either use a pastry bag or a spoon to plate. I didn't have any piping tips at my disposal, so I settled with the good ol' spoon. But first, the filling!

Chop up the deli ham to place inside the gougères.

Place about 1/2 - 1 spoonfulls of the dough onto a baking sheet and then place a pinch of ham on top. Take another 1/2 spoon full and place on top to cover the ham (the bottom right gougère is still waiting for its top).

I know, it does look pretty messy and more flour would have been great. But after baking in the oven on 450 F for 7-8 minutes and then 375 F for 20 minutes did wonders and they turned out pretty well. I'm sufficiently satisfied with my first fully camera-documented endeavor in the kitchen. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to Joe Pastry for the recipe!

The Beautiful Game

Well, hello there...
       If you don't know me very well, one of the first things you should know is that I love football; or as we call it in America, soccer. I'm a big Liverpool supporter (and yes, still a Torres fan..) with an equally large hatred for all that is Chelsea FC..but that is not what this blog is about. Sure, you may find the occasional soccer reference soaring over your head like a glorious cross of my friend Dirk Kuyt (see?! it already started..) but I assure you, this blog is about food. Good food. Food you want to eat. Gourmet food. Peasant food. Street food and home cooked meals. Like the beautiful game, food exists as a relaxing yet intensely exciting endeavor.
       Finesse on the football pitch is creativity, grace, skill, strength, agility and balance all combined into one. From this union amongst teammates comes passes, flicks, crosses, runs, and eventually..goals. I want to use my ingredients with finesse. I want them to be beautifully and wholly simple individually as well as a whole. I want them to work with each other to eventually culminate into a meal, a dish...in short, food.
Finishing in football is the ability to score that precious goal under pressure; the ability to fool the eleven other players desperately trying to stop you. I want ingredients that can use the finesse, the creativity, the skill to find that elusive goal; that elusive final dish that hits the back of the net (or mouth) and makes you stand up with eyes widening as you throw your arms up and turn to your best mates in pure celebration  of your favorite team.
       There are many types of players, positions, formations, and styles of play in football. As I go on from here, I don't want to have a focus on only a few ingredients, styles, or methods of cooking. If all goes to plan, I won't get lazy and just make baked goods. I might be all over the place so be sure to search with the labels.
       In 1977, the year he retired from professional football, Edison Arantes do Nascimento (known throughout the world as Pelé) wrote an autobiography dedicated to "all those who make the game beautiful." In his native portuguese... jogo bonito. Although the marketing team has commercialized (some would argue, cheapened..), the phrase is the best description of the game that I have discovered.                
      And this is what football is all about...love. It is subtle; maybe slightly hidden. What outsiders see as imperfections, we consider our favorite parts. But when you discover it, you fall in love with this beautiful game. And with this blog I hope to help you discover food, its wonderful subtlety and fall in love with one more jogo bonito.