2012 April

Cream Puffs and Profiteroles | Make Ahead Mondays

April 30, 2012 by Rebecca 6 Comments

My husband turned eleventy one on Saturday.

Okay, not really… He turned forty six, but to hear the guy talk, he sounds like he thinks he’s butter scraped over too much bread. Don’t feel too badly for him, though. He is the only person I’ve ever known in my life who -when asked how old he is- rounds up by a year or two. Somehow or another, he combines this funny aging complex with a playful personality. When we were dating, he once insisted, “I may be eight years older than you, but I’ll always, ALWAYS be WAY more immature than you are!” He meant it.

This is the dad who does back flips off of the swings when he goes to the playground with the kids (giving me a heart attack in the process.) This is the husband who panics over the thought of picking out a gift for me, yet still pulls off the coolest gifts ever*. This is the guy who lost track of time while photo-documenting the entire process of a snake eating a frog in the side yard, thus missing a family picnic. This is the man who loves cartoons (Looney Tunes is top of the heap), anime, Laurel and Hardy, playing guitar and drums and piano and bass and, and, and… This is my guy.

*Knowing how much I love dance, he scored two tickets to a limited showing of a touring traditional Chinese dance troupe. It required a trip to the city (he would probably rather have dental work done), going out to dinner (he’d prefer hitting his thumb with a hammer), and dressing up (he would rather let the eight year old drive the family van than dress up.) He got some serious husband points for that present.

…And whether he’s turning eleventy one or forty six, I am going to try to make him a birthday feast that will make him borderline weepy with joy. This year was my year to earn points. I made a dinner comprised of his favourite dishes of all time and capped it off with the dessert that makes him clap his hands and laugh with anticipation. I’ll be spending this week sharing my Evil Genius’s birthday feast. We’re going to start not at the beginning, but rather at the end of the meal, because it is the most perfectly perfect fit ever for Make Ahead Mondays. We’re going Cream Puffy! Actually, we’re going down Profiterole Lane, but let’s start with the cream puffs.

Cream Puffs are another of those marvelous children of pâte à choux or choux paste. I’ve already told you a little of my love for choux paste, but I have much, much more to share with you, and THIS is one of my favourites. In this case, you nix the cheese and Dijon mustard and let the choux paste stand on its own. Oh man, let me tell you, you’re going to make like my husband here and clap and laugh when you see this coming.

Profiteroles are the happy result of splitting a largely hollow cream puff in half and filling it with sweet, creamy filling. HOLLER! In this case, we’re filling our profiteroles with ice cream and then drizzling warm hot fudge sauce over the whole thing. Then we drizzle the hot fudge sauce directly into our mouths. I mean, really. This is Grandma Val’s hot fudge sauce that I’m using. I’m no fool.

That all sounds awesome already, right? Would you like me to make it even more awesome? ‘Cause I can. And I will. It is more awesome because you can whip up that choux paste, pipe it out into the shapes you want and freeze them. Then you can have cream puffs and profiteroles any old time you want. You don’t have to thaw the dough or anything prior to baking. You just pop them on a lined pan and bake. The only concession you have to make for baking them from frozen is that you add five minutes to the cooking time. That’s do-able, right?

That’s TOTALLY do-able. Make yourself some cream puffs. Make someone happy. Then make some profiteroles and make someone ecstatic.

Cream Puffs and Profiteroles | Make Ahead Mondays

Did you know you can freeze cream puff dough (choux paste) and bake cream puffs from the frozen dough any time you want? It's true. Bake them up and fill those crispy, brown, mostly-hollow poufs with your favourite ice cream then drizzle with warmed hot fudge sauce as the ultimate reward for having a well-stocked freezer. Happiness is a warm cream puff with cold ice cream!

Ingredients

For the Cream Puffs:

1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
1 cup (8 ounces by weight) water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces by weight) all purpose flour
4 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)

For the Profiteroles:

Ice cream
Hot Fudge Sauce

Instructions

To Make the Cream Puffs:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with silpats or parchment paper.

Bring the water, butter and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy-bottomed, 2 quart capacity saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the burner and add all the flour at once. Stir strongly until the flour is completely wet. Return the pan to medium high heat and continue stirring strongly until a light film forms over the bottom of the pan and the dough is smooth and soft and forms a ball when stirred. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or to a large, heat-proof mixing bowl if a stand mixer is unavailable.) Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. After the final egg is added, beat on high for at least 2 minutes, but not more than 4. (If beating by hand, you can count this as a large part of your daily workout. Beat it into submission!)

You must pipe or scoop out your cream puff dough immediately, but there are two options for after you portion them out. Either way, begin by using a pastry bag with a large plain tip or spoons to portion the dough into 16 equally sized rounds on the prepared pan(s). I use a pastry bag to pipe circles, piping in smaller toward the top. Traditionally, you tap down the little peaks that form, but my kids like to bite those off, so I leave them. Alternatively, you could use two large tablespoons portion it out, using one spoon to scrape the dough from the other over the pan.

At this point you can put the pan directly into the freezer, transferring the cream puffs to a resealable zipper top bag or freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid for up to 3 months.

~or~

To Bake the Cream Puffs:

(If preparing from frozen, simply add 5 minutes to the baking time at the end.) Place pan in the oven, bake for 15 minutes. Do not open that door! After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 375°F and cook for an additional 15 minutes. When the time is up, turn off the oven and stick the handle of a wooden spoon in between the body of the stove and the door to hold it open just a little and let the cream puffs cool in the oven like that for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. You can serve them immediately or cool to room temperature.

To Make Profiteroles:

Break open a cream puff at the midline (much like a muffin). Place the bottom on a plate, put a good sized scoop of ice cream on the base, add the top part of the cream puff and drizzle with warmed hot fudge sauce.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/30/cream-puffs-and-profiteroles-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Component Foods, Desserts, Freezer Pleaser, Holiday Food, Ice Cream, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, dessert, family-friendly, kid friendly, Make Ahead Mondays, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Whole Wheat Popovers with Greek Yogurt Creme and Strawberries

April 27, 2012 by Rebecca 9 Comments

Two days ago, I walked into a doctor’s office and paid them to shoot lasers into my eyes. I felt very Jetsons… very Star Trek… very Galaxy Quest. I half expected Dr. Crusher to walk into the room to scan me. My sole disappointment was the utter lack of sound effects accompanying the laser eye procedure. I would’ve paid another few bucks for a good solid “PEWPEWPEW”. One hour later, I walked out of the office in a very chic (ahem) pair of goggles and 20/20 vision for the first time in my entire life.

Woah.

Let me just say that again.

Woah.

Science is cool. Unlike me in my Weird Al t-shirt and goggles. I did my very best Bono impersonation. I think that judging by the sniggers-not-swoons reception that my attempts received, I should leave the rock-starring to Paul David Hewson and Weird Al (who DOES rock, thankyouverymuch) and confine my rocking to the kitchen. And I do rock the kitchen, goggles or no goggles.

Let me tell you, this recipe doesn’t just rock, it rocks. the. Casbah. Popovers are simplicity itself: a simple batter thrown together in the blender, poured into a greased pan, then baked at a high temperature until puffy. You already win when you make popovers, but these are special. These are (wait for it…) HEALTHY! Holy moly. It’s true. These are whole wheat popovers. True, they puff ever so slightly less than their all-purpose counterparts, but the difference is negligible really and what you lose in loft (I promise, it’s not much!) you more than make up for in flavour and health. What in the world does a popover have to do with dessert you ask? Oh boy. You are in for a treat. Whisk together some velvety thick Greek yogurt with a little mild honey, then some lemon zest and lemon juice. That’s easy, right? Pop *open* the pop *overs* and dollop the slightly sweet Greek yogurt creme. Then you gild the lily by spooning some sweet, fragrant strawberries folded into just a little strawberry jam.

I need a moment just luxuriate in that thought. (And to grab a spoon.)

Oh forget the spoon. They’re so last century, and I am clearly space age now. Just take a bite off of one of these…

…And pile in the goodies.

I’m all for progress, even if it means strawberry juice running down my arm. Maybe even especially if it means that. Pardon me, I’m off to go look at things…

Whole Wheat Popovers with Greek Yogurt Creme and Strawberries

Perfect whole-wheat popovers are not a myth! The finished simple, textbook pouffy popovers are honest-to-goodness whole wheat and are filled with a slightly sweet Greek yogurt creme made with honey and lemon. To gild the lily, we spoon sweet strawberries folded into a little strawberry jam over the whole thing. This beautiful and delicious dessert has the added bonus of being healthy! (Pssst. There's no reason to confine this gorgeous dish to desserts. Serve these as an eye and stomach pleasing brunch offering!)

Ingredients

For the Popovers:

3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (preferably whole)
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces, by weight) white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (2 1/8 ounces, by weight) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
solid vegetable shortening or non-stick cooking spray for the muffin pan

For the Greek Yogurt Creme:

2 cups Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons mild honey (clover, orange blossom, etc...)
the zest of one lemon (just the yellow part, not the white pith)
the juice of half of one lemon

For the Berries:

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled (or frozen whole strawberries, thawed)
1/2 cup strawberry jam ( preferably this Strawberry Freezer Jam)

Instructions

To Make the Popovers:

Add all of the popover ingredients to the work carafe of a blender in the order listed. Blitz on high for 15 seconds. Stop the blender, remove the lid to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula or scraper, replace the lid, then blitz on high for another 15 seconds, or until perfectly smooth. Put the blender carafe in the refrigerator to rest while preheating the oven to 450°F. It should take at least 15 minutes to preheat your oven, but if it doesn't, let the popover batter continue resting for a minimum of 15 minutes.

While the batter is resting and the oven is preheating, turn your attention to a 12-cup muffin pan. Use a paper towel to generously grease the wells and the top of the muffin pan. Be sure to grease the entire upper surface of the pan. Popovers have a tendency to spread while they puff upward and it's a sad, sad thing to lose a popover because you can't get it out of the pan.

When the oven has reached 450°F, divide the popover batter between the muffin cups evenly. This should fill them approximately 2/3 full. Carefully slide the pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat of the oven to 350°F and continue baking for 10 minutes more. Do not open that oven door at any point before the full baking time is complete. You will cry a thousand salty tears of regret.

After the full baking time is done, remove the pan from the oven, let the popovers rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn them out onto a cooling rack. These taste best when served still warm, but are still delicious at room temperature.

To Prepare the Greek Yogurt Creme:

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the creme until smooth. Refrigerate until you are ready to use.

To Prepare the Berry Topping:

Gently break up the strawberry jam with a fork in a medium sized mixing bowl. Fold in the strawberries.

To Assemble the Dessert:

Slice or gently pull a popover in half. Dollop a generous amount of the Greek Yogurt Creme on the bottom half, position the top half over it and spoon the strawberry topping over the whole thing. Serve immediately!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/27/whole-wheat-popovers-with-greek-yogurt-creme-and-strawberries/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Comfort Food, Desserts, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Holiday Food, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, dessert, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

We interrupt our normal programming…

April 25, 2012 by Rebecca 5 Comments

This space is usually reserved for the discussion of all things tasty and my multiple neuroses. While this is usually a winning combination I have to ask for your indulgence here just this once. Today, I want to talk about hunger and I’m warning you now, I’m going to use the word ‘grateful’ an awful lot.

This Friday and Saturday my kids are participating in something I had never heard of before two weeks ago: The 30 Hour Famine. My two eldest boys will be doing a 30 hour supervised fast to raise awareness about (and funds for) combating hunger wherever it is found. The three youngest will be doing their own version (3 hours, 2 hours and 30 minutes, respectively) in moral support of their brothers. I’m beyond touched that my kids have a heart for kids all over the world who don’t have it as good as they do.

During the 30 Hour Famine fast, the boys will be taking classes and doing activities designed to teach them about how to identify and combat childhood hunger, but that’s not all.

…And here’s where I get humbled and a little weepy.

They’ll be going to nearby Jericho Road Ministries to work on a service project. My little boys who aren’t so little any more. I’m so grateful for thoughtful young men who are willing to sacrifice their immediate comfort to help people they haven’t met. I’m sure there’s a touch of Mama pride in here, but there’s also relief. Relief that my young men are becoming the people I prayed they would be when they were born.

So yeah. My kids are doing this fast and they’re raising funds for it, but even if you’re not comfortable donating, would you please just have a look at their page? Acquaint yourself with the cause my kids are espousing right now? I’d be so grateful. Spreading awareness is every bit as important as raising money for hungry children. I want them to know that they can make a difference.

Unfortunately, we could not set the boys up as a fundraising team, so there are two links here. Click on the boys’ pictures to see their individual fundraising pages. So far, every person who has donated has kindly divided their donation evenly between the two boys’ pages. I know I keep saying it, but oh people. I’m grateful. I’m grateful in a very big way because every single donation -small, large or inbetween- is going to be food in the bellies of people who went to bed hungry.

Liam's Page

Aidan's Page

For those of you who don’t want to click through, but are still with me, please give me just another minute of your time to tell you about World Vision (the group running the 30 Hour Famine). Their mission is to provide short term food relief but also to provide long-term sustainable solutions for food sources. In other words, they’ll feed the hungry and give them chickens to raise eggs and meat and have an income to buy other necessities. (They do other things, too, I just wanted to give you an example of their approach.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches | Make Ahead Mondays

April 23, 2012 by Rebecca 17 Comments

I’ve been very listy lately. By that, I don’t mean I’m leaning markedly to one side but rather that I’ve been the Queen of List Making. This is how I keep track of what I’ve done and what I have to do. I’ve tried journal or diary keeping several times over the years and ended up destroying them within weeks of having written them because honestly? I don’t want to read what I was thinking three weeks ago let alone three years or three decades ago. Egads. That’s why time moves on. Onward and upward. But I was talking about lists…

Lists are the non-journaler’s way to keep track of what is/was/and will be. They’re impersonal. They’re mysterious. You can enter things on a list like “Go you-know-where with you-know-who and buy you-know-what.” And there’s rarely a concern if someone else stumbles upon your lists. The chances of embarrassing secrets being discovered (like that time you sneezed and blew a giant booger onto the back of that old man’s head in church, hypothetically speaking) are low-to-nil. Ah lists.

I’ve heard it said that control freaks are list makers. I take issue with that. In fact, I have a joke to illustrate my point. Ready?

Me: Knock Knock

You: (Who’s there?)

Me: Control Freak. NOW YOU SAY CONTROL FREAK WHO.

See? I don’t have any control issues at all. (As long as people do what I say.) Sigh. Lists are practical tools. I keep track of my grocery needs, appointments, assignments for the kids, things that need to be done, books I want to read, books I have read, and more.

But lists don’t have to be practical. That’s right. Sometimes lists are fun. Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. Take this list, for example.

Things that always go together:

Raspberries + Chocolate
Peanut Butter + Chocolate
Peanut Butter + Jelly
Pickles + Ice Cream (Before you ask, let me assure you I’m not pregnant. But they DO go together. Try ‘em.)
Potato Chips + Tuna Fish Sandwiches
Pizza + Wings
Eggs + Spinach
Eggs + Hot Sauce
Eggs + Toast
Eggs + Cheese

It’s true. Those are matches made in heaven. Here on Earth, you don’t always get the best results when you combine these über-couples. I mean you wouldn’t really want Raspberries + Chocolate + Pickles + Ice Cream. (Think Jennifer Aniston + Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie. That didn’t go well, did it?) But there are those occasions when the sum of combined heavenly matches is greater than all its parts. I refer, of course, to the supreme combination of Eggs + Spinach + Hot Sauce + Toast + Cheese.

*Insert choir of heavenly angels here. Alison Krauss is an acceptable substitute.*

What you get when you put all those dreamy-on-their-own combos together is the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwich. This sandwich is not served with a side of hyperbole. It really is superior not only in flavour, but also in convenience and thrift. Let me list the ways:

The most prep you have to do is grate a little cheese and mince a little onion.
What we have here is a wicked cheap recipe that makes a large amount and stores well.
Hey! It’s good for you! Start breakfast out with vegetables, eggs, cheese and whole grain toast. Win/Win/Win/Win!
It takes about ten minutes of hands on time to prepare ten to twelve breakfasts worth of the egg filling for the sandwich.
Those portions, when frozen, keep for up to six months.
…And furthermore, they take one and a half minutes to heat in the microwave while you’re making toast. (Alternatively, heat in the oven on toast for thirty minutes. Your choice!)
I mentioned they were wicked cheap, but I’d like to re-emphasize that. We’re talking about in the neighborhood of ten dollars worth of materials to make ten to twelve very generous servings. So let’s call that one dollar (or less) per serving, shall we? That’s fabulous.
My kids are each capable of grabbing an egg portion from the freezer and heating it in the microwave while making their own toast and rousting out the bottle of hot sauce. In other words, I get longer with my cup of tea because they can do it themselves!
With a stack of these egg portions in the freezer, I don’t have to think in the morning. Believe me when I tell you that is a very good thing. At least until I have the third cup of tea on board.
Finally -and most importantly- they’re just plain delicious and satisfying. They keep you full and happy for hours compared to a bowl of cold cereal or a breakfast bar.

By the way, lists are an extremely helpful way to keep track of your Make Ahead Mondays projects. Did you whip up Soup Dumplings, Pulled Pork, Meatballs, Mini Fruit Pies and Sloppy Joes? Make a list and post it to the front (or top, as the case may be) of your freezer. Cross off each item as you use it or make a note that you’re getting low. Control freak who?

Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches | Make Ahead Mondays

Hearty, healthy, frugal and filling, these simple egg and spinach breakfast sandwiches are the happy combination of a spinach, egg and cheese bake that is made ahead of time and frozen in individual portions. When it's time to eat, just reheat as many portions as you need. What a great way to start the day!

Ingredients

To Make the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:

2 dozen eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 cups fresh baby or tender spinach leaves, pre-washed or washed and dried
3 cups grated Cheddar, Pepper Jack or Monterey Jack Cheese (or a blend)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup finely minced onion
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
nonstick cooking spray or softened butter for the pan

To Make Each Breakfast Sandwich:

1 piece of the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake
2 pieces of bread, toasted ( English Muffin Bread is an obvious choice! )
hot sauce to taste

Instructions

To Make the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Generously butter a 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch baking pan or spray well with non-stick cooking spray. Be sure to get the corners and sides well, too.

Evenly distribute the spinach leaves over the bottom of the prepared pan. Scatter the onions over the spinach, then about half of the grated cheese and set aside.

Crack all of the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the 1/2 cup of milk and use a whisk to beat together until the mixture is an even colour. Pour gently and evenly over the spinach, onions and cheese. You can gently shake the pan a little from side to side to get the egg to fill in spaces around the spinach leaves if necessary. Scatter the remaining grated cheese over the top and bake for 22-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center (no longer liquidy, but they can still have just a little shimmy to them.) and golden brown around the edges and in places on top.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before using a knife or thin spatula to run around the edges and loosen the cooked egg. Lay a cutting board on top and invert the pan and board carefully together. The egg should come out (mostly) in one piece. Allow it to cool for 10 more minutes before slicing into 10 to 12 pieces. I like bigger sandwiches, so I tend to cut it into 10 pieces. For a more delicate sandwich, cut into 12 pieces.

To Eat a Sandwich Right Away:

Place one piece of the egg bake on one piece of toast, drizzle with hot sauce to taste, top with the remaining piece of toast and eat! These are nice and moist, so you may wish to wrap one end of the sandwich with a towel or paper towel.

To Freeze the Supreme Spinach and Egg Breakfast Bake:

Place a single layer of plastic wrap down on a tray or pan. Use a spatula to arrange the pieces of egg bake on the plastic wrap with a little space between them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in the freezer until solid. When they are firmly frozen, wrap each piece of egg bake with plastic wrap.

Transfer the wrapped pieces to a resealable freezer bag. Mark the date and contents and freeze for up to 6 months.

To Reheat the Frozen Egg Bake and Make a Sandwich:

Unwrap one piece of egg bake, place on a plate and cover loosely with the plastic wrap that contained it in the freezer. Heat for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on HIGH in the microwave. Remove plastic wrap, carefully move the egg bake to a piece of toast (because it will be hot!), drizzle with hot sauce, and top with the remaining piece of toast. Happy Breakfast!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/23/supreme-spinach-and-egg-breakfast-sandwiches-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Component Foods, Eggs, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Breakfast, budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread

April 17, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

I have a deep love for hush puppies that began -as so many things did- in my childhood in Kentucky. I was awfully young when we lived there and don’t have very many concrete memories of the place aside from creek stomping, salamander capturing, and sledding down coal piles in snow suits*, but one thing I do remember vividly is making occasional treks out of the holler and into the biggest nearby town for excursions that almost always ended in a trip to Long John Silver’s.

*No really. We did that. Being a family from Michigan, we missed our sledding hills and winter sports while living in Kentucky. My mom’s clever solution was to kit us out in snow suits and go sledding down a local coal pile.

Now, I know very well that hush puppies weren’t invented by or exclusive to Long John Silver’s but it was my favourite part of the long haul into town and back. In all likelihood, it was what made me behave in public. Deep fried foods have that power over me and always have.

A fried fish dinner with hush puppies was my inevitable order and -truth be told- I ordered that every time just for the hush puppies. I pushed the fish around the greasy little cardboard clam shell case hoping I’d missed a piece of hush puppy here or there.

Dead crispy, dark golden brown, deep-fried nuggets of cornbread studded with onions: what wasn’t to love? The answer is nothing. And though my time in Kentucky was limited, my adoration for hush puppies remained. My mom didn’t do a ton of deep frying, despite the fact that her affection for all foods fried is as abiding as mine. She did break out the boiling oil for special occasion foods like lumpia and hush puppies, but it wasn’t a regular thing. I think this cemented the idea that fried foods -hush puppies, in particular- equaled celebration food.

I’m a little (okay, a lot) more loosey goosey with the deep fat frying than my mom. I’m pretty easy to persuade that it’s time for some deep-fried something or other. When I got home from a successful vendor meeting for our local farmers’ market where I was introduced as the newest member of the management team (Shout out to Angelica Farmers’ Market: The best local producer and artisan market in Western New York!) I felt pretty excited. Where some people would take that excitement and go for a run, tidy a room, complete a project, I channeled it into HUSH PUPPIES! …Because that’s just the kind of gal I am.

I cranked up the heat under two inches of oil in a pan, spent five minutes chopping some goodies to toss in, measuring, and mixing, and in the time it took the oil to heat, I was standing by with my little scoopy thingy in hand, ready to get my fry on.

Here’s where the magic happens. When I dropped the first couple of scoops of hush puppy batter into the pan and the scent bubbled up on the oil, my kids -who had been energetically flying around the yard, climbing trees and living in their imaginary worlds all day long- materialized behind me asking things like, “What smells so good?” and “Are those for us? Please say yes!”. My wee six year old said, “Are those for dinner? Or just part dinner?”

Hush puppies don’t take long, folks. This is not a delayed gratification food. When I pulled the first batch out a mere three minutes after dropping them in, the kids were standing by with forks in hand, ready to skewer on my say so. And skewer they did. Forks rammed down into those hush puppies so fast I feared for my fingers. Little teeth nibbled away and happy groans were heard. The same six year old who had previously asked what part of the meal these would comprise announced, “This is the best part dinner of my whole life. Ever.”

Unlike back in the day of the simple unadorned hush puppy, though, today’s were extraordinary. A plain hush puppy is good enough, mind you, but when you add minced ham, green onions and spicy pepper jack cheese to the usual chopped onions, you get a hush puppy that will, well, hush your puppies. We’re talking about what is essentially craggy, crispy, deep fried corn bread balls stuffed with creamy, spicy pepper jack, salty minced ham and two kinds of onions. These aren’t your standard issue Long John Silver hush puppies, people. Not by a long shot.

What do I serve these with? Mainly I serve them with this sauce and gorge myself, but I suppose there are those of you with more will power than I have and to you I say, “Serve them alongside fish dinners, with soup or salad, with chili or with a good supply of toothpicks and napkins on a buffet table.”

While you whip up something to accompany these, I’ll be over in my chair with my feet up trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for how many of these I ate. Carry on.

Some Notes:

I prefer these made with a nice coarsely ground corn meal. The widely available canister cornmeal will do alright, but for the ne plus ultra of hush puppies, go for the really gritty stuff.
Please, for the love of all things good in this world, grate your own cheese for these. It doesn’t have to be fancy cheese. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but don’t use the pre-grated cheese-in-a-bag. That cheese is coated with stuff to keep it from clumping which also has the net effect of making it melt in a way that isn’t as happy making. There’s a time and a place for the pre-grated stuff, but it’s not here.
Mince your ham into the itty-bittiest pieces you can produce. The same goes for the green onions and the sweet onions. It’s all about the distribution, folks. The finer you mince those things, the better the chances that you’ll get a little of everything in each bite. That is a very good thing. Trust me.
Don’t get fancy with the way you drop your batter into the hot oil. You don’t want perfection of shape on these. The irregular, jutting-out parts are the crispiest spots on the hush puppies. Those are the bits that render me powerless against them.

Kitchen Sink Hush Puppies | Pepper Jack and Ham Deep Fried Cornbread

These dressed up hush puppies are craggy, crispy, deep fried corn bread balls stuffed with creamy, spicy pepper jack, salty minced ham and two kinds of onions. Eat them as a stand alone snack or appetizer, or serve alongside fish dinners, soups, salads or chilis.

Ingredients

2 inches of canola, peanut or vegetable oil, or lard in a high-sided, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet (or an electric deep fryer)
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4-1/2 cup finely minced or chopped fully cooked ham
1/4 cup finely minced or chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely minced or chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Instructions

Place the oil-filled pot over medium high heat and bring the oil to 375°F. Line a bowl or baking pan with paper towels and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, black and cayenne pepper with a whisk. In a separate bowl, use the same whisk to thoroughly combine the butter, yogurt or buttermilk and egg. Pour that directly into the flour mixture, add all of the mix-ins, and use a spatula to stir everything together gently, just until no more dry pockets remain and it is combined evenly.

Use a 1 1/2 teaspoon scoop (or simply mound the batter on a teaspoon) to drop the batter into the hot oil. Fry only as many as can comfortably fit into the pan while leaving room for them to move around. Don't overcrowd that pan! Fry the hush puppies for 2-3 minutes per batch, flipping them about halfway through the cooking. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the finished hush puppies to the paper towel lined bowl or pan and let drain briefly before serving.

These are best when served hot, but are still great warm or room temperature. You can store leftover hush puppies in a paper towel lined, tightly covered container in the refrigerator and reheat them for just a few minutes in a hot oven to re-crisp them.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/17/kitchen-sink-hush-puppies/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: budget friendly, cornbread, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, traditional food

Sweet and Spicy Asian Style Pickled Carrots | Make Ahead Mondays

April 16, 2012 by Rebecca 20 Comments

I harbour no illusions about my family’s eating habits. I know some of them are weird. Take, for example, the fact that when my sons were turning 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2, respectively, we served onigiri at their collective birthday party. Not weird in Japan, admittedly, but we weren’t in Japan. We were in Western New York. And while most of the friends present were pretty psyched to try something new, a couple kids and parents looked at us askew while making sure there was a clear path between them and the door. One poor woman involuntarily threw an onigiri back at the plate and it skittered across the table when she asked what the black stuff was around the rice ball and I responded, “Toasted seaweed!” enthusiastically.

Oh well. Can’t convince them all.

All of this is to say that since that moment, I’ve been a little more circumspect about what I serve where and to whom. I try to know my audience, so to speak. This works pretty well for the most part.

Then this past weekend, I posted the following query on the Foodie With Family facebook page:

“I have a question for you all. I’m positively addicted to these sweet and spicy pickled julienned carrots I make… I put them on slacker sushi bowls, on bahn mi, on other sandwiches, on salads, in homemade sushi. Are any of you out there interested in the recipe or is that too weirdo for you?”

I thought the question would be D.O.A. In fact, I kind of wondered why I even posted the question. Imagine my surprise when I saw that within ten minutes of posting the question, there were already four people who said they’d love the recipe. I think my jaw might’ve slackened a little bit. But that wasn’t where it ended. Within hours, twenty four people had assured me that they, too, wanted the recipe and twenty two other people had liked the status. At that point, my mouth was hanging open so far I looked a bit like a cod. We chat back and forth on facebook, but I can honestly say this was a pretty clear sign that I need to ask you guys more often what you’d like for me to post.

Here I’d been withholding one of my favourite staples from you all on the grounds that I was a dork and it was too strange/unique/niche/whatever for you guys when I could’ve just asked all along. Duh, right?

Lesson learned. I will now ask. But for the record, y’all are weirdos, too and I like you that way.

Let’s talk some practicality here… because who wants to go to the trouble of canning something unless you know you’re going to use it, right? Where can you put these gorgeous little orange strips? Use these anywhere you want a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of spice. Remember the candied jalapenos? These are in that category. Some ideas:

On bibimbap. This classic Korean dish gets a nice bit of oomph from the sweet and spicy pickled carrots.
On top of slacker sushi bowls. Rice piled in a bowl with sushi dressing poured over it, topped with these carrots, shrimp/tuna/salmon, cucumber cubes, cream cheese, green onions, wasabi, soy sauce, nori, sesame seeds, etc… Think of a Philadelphia sushi roll exploded in a bowl. Many deep thanks to Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake and her sister for the addition of cream cheese and a cool name to something we’d been making haphazardly for years. )
On sandwiches. Yes. Homemade bánh mì, simple turkey sandwiches, chopped up in egg/chicken/tuna salad, etc… They all taste incredible with these spicy, sweet, tender crisp carrot sticks tucked into them.
On salads. Toss a few of these and a fistful of chow mein noodles on a salad before drizzling a nice sesame vinaigrette over top. You’ll be blown away.
In summer rolls or spring rolls. These add a mega punch of flavour and texture to summer and spring rolls. Since you all told me you want an Asian style pickled carrot recipe, I’m going to go ahead and assume you like summer and spring rolls, too. See how I get?
By themselves. Every now and then I grab a jar of these out of the fridge and a pair of chopsticks and just nibble. Sometimes it’s exactly what I need.

Some Cooking Notes:

In the recipe, I tell you to julienne the carrots (in other words, cut into matchstick size/shaped strips.) If this is too much effort and/or you don’t own a mandoline slicer, you can always use a vegetable peeler to peel thin strips from the carrots. It won’t tuck quite so neatly onto slacker sushi bowls or look quite so polished as the mandoline rendered strips, but it’ll do and it’ll taste every bit as good.
Don’t be tempted to leave out the star anise. My husband hates (and I don’t use the word lightly) star anise, but loves what they do here. They give the carrots a certain je ne sais quoi. Just try ‘em.

One final bit of business. A reader asked where she can find all of the Make Ahead Monday recipes. If you are looking for an easy way to keep track of recipes in any category here on Foodie With Family, try the “Recipe” tab under the logo and header. I’ve categorized all of the recipes and Make Ahead Mondays has its very own section. Tada! …Or you could just click THIS. Ask and you shall receive!

Sweet and Spicy Asian Style Pickled Carrots | Make Ahead Mondays

These simple-to-make pickled carrot strips are sweet, spicy, tangy and flavourfully crisp-tender. Put them on sandwiches, bibimbap, sushi rice bowls, relish trays, tuck into salads and springrolls or just snack on them. Once you try them, you'll want to keep lots on hand!

Ingredients

2 pounds of peeled carrots, julienned (or use a vegetable peeler to peel long thin strips of carrots.)
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 whole star anise
3/4 cup raw or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Clean and sterilize 3 pint jars, lids and rings (For instructions on how to do this, see this link )

In a stainless steel -or other non-reactive pot- combine the vinegars, water, star anise, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes,ginger root, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring just until the sugar is dissolved. Use a slotted spoon to remove the star anise from the boiling brine and divide them evenly between the jars.

Add the carrot sticks to the boiling brine. Bring the liquid back to a boil, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Immediately use tongs or a slotted spoon to divide the carrot sticks between the jars, packing if necessary to fit them all in. Use a ladle to pour the hot brine over the carrot sticks, being sure to cover the carrot sticks with brine. Insert a sterile chopstick or knife into the jars to release air bubbles and add more brine if necessary to keep the carrots covered.

Moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the rims of the jars. Position a lid on top of each jar and screw on the rings to finger tip tightness. If you over-tighten, the jars will not process properly.

Place the jars on a rack in a canner, add hot tap water to cover the jars by at least an inch and cover the pot. Bring to a full rolling boil and process for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, but leave the cover in place and let the jars rest for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes have passed, carefully transfer the jars to a cooling rack or towel lined counter to cool, undisturbed for 24 hours.

Check the seals after 24 hours have passed. If it is a good seal, the center of the jar lid will be slightly sunken in and will not "poing" back up when pressed lightly with the finger. If the lid is domed, or it pops back up when pressed, store in the refrigerator.

Wipe down the jars with good seals, remove the rings, and label before storing in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/16/sweet-and-spicy-asian-style-pickled-carrots-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Component Foods, Condiments, Healthy Foods, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Asian, budget friendly, Frugal Food, home food preservation, Vegetarian

English Muffin Bread Pizzas

April 11, 2012 by Rebecca 14 Comments

I’ve entered that parenting stage where I am, apparently, running a taxi service for my children. I always thought the whole “Mom’s Taxi” thing was a cliché. It isn’t. Clearly.

I mean wow. I’m still having trouble mentally adjusting to the fact that I’m a grown up, let alone that I have an honest-to-goodness teenager and one on the cusp and three coming close behind. Eep.

Two to three days out of the week, I find myself on the campus of our local private college for various kid related activities; classes, youth group, etc… Early on in this weekly invasion schedule, I realized -in a grand shock to my system- that I was likely the oldest person in the student center and that I did. not. look. like. the. students. I got the vapours, folks.

I’m resilient though. I take one look at those five little men who keep me hopping and smiling -I know I’m living the life- grab a head and deliver a loving maternal noogie and race my kids back to the van to head home and whip up a batch of something that is going to make everyone happy in the kitchen before we’re off to our next commitment.

It’s at times like these that fancy is all wrong for all kinds of reasons. Every so often (and more often than not depending on circumstances) you just need good food good and fast. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to be refined. And in fact, it’s better if it isn’t.

This is when you toss things, scatter things with abandon, pause to kiss a little one walking by, and slap something into the oven (not the kid, not the kid, I tell ya!). Life is moving fast. We need to, too.

Here’s the just the thing for it. English Muffin Bread Pizzas. This riff on one of my own childhood favourites -my Mom’s English muffin pizzas- is lightening fast and ever so satisfying. It won’t win awards for its looks or its sophistication, but that does not make it any less crave-able or smile-producing. English Muffin Bread ends up being an even better vehicle for super fast pizzas than English muffins because it lets the little bit of olive oil drizzled over the top soak down to the bottom to give you a crisp bottom crust.

A crispy crust, gooey and stretchy cheese, favourite pizza toppings… That’s good enough, right? There is just nothing better than something that tastes so good with so little effort.

Because I promise there’s almost no work to this. Here’s the thing. You put bread on the pan, drizzle with oil, toast, toss a bunch of toppings on it and bake. The messier you get with tossing on the toppings the better! Little bits of cheese and toppings that fall between the slices get crunchy and snackable. Pinky swear.

…Just when I was looking like an adult.

English Muffin Bread Pizzas

A crispy crust, gooey and stretchy cheese, favourite pizza toppings and done in minutes to boot. Serve with a salad for a fast meal, or as a snack or part of your game day munchies. Comfort food is where it's at!

Ingredients

12 slices (about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick) English Muffin Bread or 6 English muffins, split
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup pizza sauce
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella
Optional:
Diced, cooked ham
Pepperoni
Thinly sliced onions
Pineapple tidbits, well drained
Black or green olives
Italian sausage, cooked
...Whatever floats your pizza boat!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet (or two) with heavy duty foil or parchment paper.

Arrange the slices of English Muffin Bread (or the English muffins) closely on the lined pan. There should be just a small amount of space between the slices. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the slices. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 6-8 minutes, or until the olive oil is bubbly on the bread and the edges of the bread are golden brown. If you lift a piece of bread, the oil should have soaked through and be bubbly on the bottom, too.

Remove the pan from the oven and set on a heat-proof surface. Evenly divide the pizza sauce among the slices of bread and spread with the back of a spoon to the edges. Scatter the cheese over the tops of the bread, not taking too much care. There will be cheese that falls between the slices. That is not just okay; it's desirable! Scatter any additional toppings you like over the cheese and return the pan to the oven.

Bake for 10-18 minutes (depending on how browned you like your cheese). Let the pizzas cool for 3-5 minutes on the pans before using a spatula to transfer to a platter. Use the spatula to scrape up any crispy brown bits from the pan and toss those over the tops of the pizzas on the platter.

Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/11/english-muffin-bread-pizzas/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, kids, quick and easy, quick meal

Dijon Cheddar Scallion Puffs (Gougères) | Make Ahead Mondays

April 9, 2012 by Rebecca 7 Comments

Nicolas Sarkozy has banned cheese from the Elysée Palace? Woah.

That, my friends, is trés, trés scandalous. The French meal -such as is my experience with it- revolves around the cheese course. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin -the French gastronome extraordinaire- is widely quoted as saying, “A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who is missing an eye!” To put it in other words, France runs on cheese.

All politics aside, the man is off his nut.

In a nation so brimming with luscious and unique cheeses, how could he possibly eschew such glory? Such possibilities. Oh, Nicolas, tsk… tsk…

…Because if he has pronounced, “Pas de frommage!” he has tossed out not only cheese plates, but also a list of delights longer than my arms and legs put together: tartiflette, quiche, fondue, tartine, soufflé, and gougères, just to name a few. And it’s that last one that we’re going to talk about today because- Qu’est-ce un miracle!- gougères are perfectly suited to Make Ahead Mondays.

One day last week, my friend, Pamela, sent me the following text:

“I think you should do gougères for a Make Ahead Monday. Freezable comfort food? Yes, please.”

I know a good idea when I hear one, friends. I was on it. What could possibly be better than crispy, airy, chewy, cheesy, versatile gougères within minutes? Nothing, I tell you! Nothing could be better! (Except maybe for eating them while actually sitting -oh, say- IN FRANCE. But I digress.)

Here’s the thing… if you’ve never had a gougère or perhaps never heard of them, I should tell you why you’re going to want these so badly. It’s like a cross between a hand-held souffle but far less delicate, far less difficult to mess up, far more versatile as an accompaniment, and far more fun to say. Try it. Gougère (GOO-zhair!) vs. Soufflé (SOO-flay!) Alright. They’re both fun, but the edge goes to gougére for that fun zhhhhhhh sound in the middle. It just feels so Frahnsh to say it. N’est-ce pas?

It’s time for a little food nerd interlude. Don’t worry! It all applies to the end deliciousness…

Gougères are made from that ubiquitous French building block pâte à choux, or for ease’s sake, Choux pastry. It is a simple concoction to whip together, but somehow manages to pull off as versatile a collection as eclairs, cream puffs, gougères, Paris-Brests, croquembouches, profiteroles, and more… Holy. I’m telling you, if you master choux pastry, the culinary world is yours. A plain choux pastry, unadorned, piped onto parchment and baked can be used filled with ice cream or crab salad. As if that isn’t enough, the choux pastry itself can be dolled up, studded with all manner of sweet or savoury add-ins. Today’s choux pastry adventure is the savoury puff known as (duh) gougères but with a TWEEST. I’ve replaced the the traditional Swiss or Emmental cheese with a good, hearty American extra-sharp Cheddar (yes, I know Cheddar is originally English, but people, we make good Cheddar these days!), some of the water with a pungent Dijon mustard and tossed in a few finely minced scallions for good measure.

While choux pastry must be piped or scooped out immediately after being made, it can be frozen in that form and then transferred to zipper top bags or tightly sealed containers for up to three months before baking. That’s right. Cheesey, pouffy, scallion-studded, crisp-exteriored, crackly, golden brown, moist-in-the-center French comfort food baked straight from the freezer. Can I get an amen?

Is anyone out there wondering what to serve alongside these little beauties? (Because these do rather steal the show…) Any good brothy soup or stew would love to play second fiddle to a plate of fresh, hot gougères. Serve alongside roasts, braises, or a simple salad. Give your kids the best after-school snack of their lives. Serve with a cup of tea for a quick breakfast. But for the non plus ultra, serve with cocktails or a glass of wine: something you know that deep in his French heart, Nicolas Sarkozy desperately wants.

I’ve heard it said that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, but I disagree violently. Skinny doesn’t taste as good as cheese. C’est vrai. C’est carrément vrai!

Pauvre Président Sarkozy, (Sad violins) we shall have to eat his share. (Insert Gallic laugh here.)

Dijon Cheddar Scallion Puffs (Gougères) | Make Ahead Mondays

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: about 72 puffs

Dijon Cheddar Scallion Puffs (Gougères) | Make Ahead Mondays

These cheesy, pouffy, scallion-studded, crisp-exteriored, crackly, golden brown, moist-in-the-center puffs are French comfort food baked straight from the freezer. Serve with soups, salads, roasts, braises, for snacks or for breakfasts with a cup of tea. These also make the perfect accompaniment to the cocktail hour or a glass of wine.

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), cut into pieces
5 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons strong Dijon mustard
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature (you can hasten this by putting chilled eggs into warm -not hot- tap water for 10 minutes.)
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
4 scallions, dark and light green sections only, thinly sliced (put the white parts- about 2-inches worth, root end down, in a glass of water. The greens will re-grow!)

Instructions

To Make and Freeze:

Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats. Set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, butter, water and salt to a full rolling boil. Add the Dijon mustard and return to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the flour- all at once. Stir vigorously with a sturdy spoon until all is combined then return the pan to medium-low heat, stirring vigorously still, until the dough comes together- balling up slightly around the spoon, and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan. Stir hard for 1 minute. The dough should seem cohesive, but still soft enough to break apart with the spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and let the dough sit for 10 minutes, undisturbed. After 10 minutes, you should be able to stick your finger -up to the first knuckle- into the dough and hold it there for several seconds before it becomes uncomfortable. In other words, it should be hot, but not blisteringly so.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer or a sturdy spoon and some serious effort). Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. After the last egg is added, beat the dough for 2 minutes before beating in the grated cheese and scallions.

You can use spoons, dishers or a pastry bag to portion out the pastry, but it must be done immediately! I prefer to use a disher (cookie scoop) or pastry bag to pipe out mounds that are about 1-1/2 tablespoons in size. Leave enough room between the mounds so that they are not touching. Immediately put the pan into the freezer and freeze until firm, about 6 hours. When they are hard to the touch, you will use a spatula or your hands to transfer all of the mounds to a re-sealable plastic freezer bag or container with a tight fitting lid. Keep frozen for up to 3 months, baking as many gougères as you need at a time.

To Bake from Frozen:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat and arrange desired number of frozen gougères so that there is at least 2 inches of space around each one to allow for expansion in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes, lower the oven heat to 375°F, rotate the pan(s) and bake for another 12-15 minutes, or until the gougères are puffed, firm, and deep golden brown. Serve warm for most pronounced flavour, or at room temperature.

To Prepare to Bake Immediately:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats. Set aside.

Bake for 12 minutes, then lower the heat to 375°F, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back, and bake another 12 minutes, or until they are puffy, firm, and golden brown. Serve warm for most pronounced flavour, or at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/04/09/dijon-cheddar-scallion-puffs-gougeres-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

“The pleasure of the table belongs to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries, and to all eras; it mingles with all other pleasures, and remains at last to console us for their departure.”

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin