Some of my thoughts: If one day I became “Oprah rich” I’m going to hire a “Pillow Fluffer” because every morning I wake up to squashed and evil looking pillows. Then I have to go to the couch and fluff them back to normal. So that’s how my days start, fluffing pillows and sometimes collecting some cookies crumbles from the floor that somebody left a trail behind, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. My lovely husband always stays longer in the living room watching some boring (for me at least) fights or a documentary about the feeding of the wild life. How many times one can see that carnage and still enjoy it? I don’t mind that because I think to have a healthy marriage everybody got to have some alone time to do whatever you feel like doing. And thank God for the second TV, so I can see my ladies programs in peace. We have our togetherness (how he like to call it) moments and then we just go separate ways. It works wonderfully. And would be even more awesome if one could fluff the pillows and collect their own crumbles before leaving the couch. (hint, hint, hint).
This recipe I adapted from the book “ The Zuni Café” but instead of using the filling they suggested I used chicken salad and spinach.
So here is the recipe for the Gougeres.
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1teaspoon salt
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs, cold
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ cup Gruyere cheese grated
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. In a 2- to 4-quart saucepan, bring the water, butter, and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until the mixture masses and detaches itself from the sides of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and cook, beating constantly, until the batter is very stiff and almost shiny, usually a few minutes.
3. Off the heat, add the eggs one by one, beating thoroughly with a wooden spoon to completely incorporate each egg before adding the next. The mixture will initially resist each addition; you’ll find yourself cutting through and slapping together slabs of slippery, warm paste until it gradually absorbs the egg and becomes sticky again. The final mixture should be no hotter than tepid. Add the pepper to taste and stir in the Gruyere.
4. If you are proficient with one, transfer the batter to a pastry bag, and pipe 2-to 3-inch-long bands onto a parchment paper-lined (or nonstick) baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Otherwise, use a spoon to scoop out a heaping tablespoon of batter per gougère and a second spoon to scrape it into a peaky mound on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake until firm and a rich golden brown, about 25 minutes. Inevitably, some bits of cheese will ooze and form a delicious, crispy bib on the edges of the gougères. To check doneness, remove 1 gougère and pry open. The interior strands of dough should be tender and moist, but not mushy; if they are, close the gougère and return it to the oven to bake with the rest for another few minutes. If you are concerned they may over brown, simply turn off the oven and leave to finish cooking in the ambient heat.