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FFwD: Gougeres


Well folks, Dorie Greenspan's new book, Around my French Table is out!  And with it, a new group to cook along with the book -- French Fridays with Dorie.  Of course I had to join!

Dorie chose the first month's worth of recipes herself, beginning with gougeres.  They are basically cheese puffs, which begin with a pâte à choux, something that I have never even attempted.  Hello!  Where have I been?  They were not nearly as daunting as I expected them to be. 

The recipe instructs you to bring your milk & butter mixture to a boil, dump the flour in, and begin "stirring energetically."  For some reason, I just love that description.  Anyway, as soon as I dumped the flour in, my phone started ringing.  Of course!  I let it go to voice mail (sorry Mom!).  After beating in the eggs comes the awesome part -- adding the cheese!  Oh yeah.  :)  I chose cheddar because, honestly, it's what I had. 

I followed Dorie's suggestion on freezing mounds of the dough before baking.  I only baked about 1/3 of the dough this time.  I enjoyed them!  Sprout liked them too.  D wasn't too fond of them, but then again, he ate one at room temperature a few hours after they were baked.  I did prefer them while they were still warm out of the oven. 

I really do love Dorie's books.  The recipes, pictures, and stories are all wonderful.  And so is she!  :)  So, I encourage you to check out the website, buy the book, and get cooking! 

Enjoy!  :)
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Comments

TeaLady said…
Weren't these fun and a great recipe to start with. And they were good too. Yours look perfect. Glad sprout liked. good snack.
October 1, 2010 at 1:06 PM
jayne said…
Your gougeres look perfect! I froze most of mine, too. I knew if they were baked I'd keep eating them!
October 2, 2010 at 5:59 AM
Katrina said…
I had some "issues" with the puffs, too (read-interruptions). Mine deflated, but still tasted great. I'm going to try to redeem my failures today by making sweet cream puffs. ;)
October 3, 2010 at 12:59 PM
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