Gougères
As we look to a new year with hope and promise, many like a celebratory toast with friends and loved ones to bid farewell to the past and welcome new beginnings.
The beverage of choice for a celebratory toast is champagne, its Italian cousin Prosecco or its Spanish counterpart Cava. Bubbly libations pair best with a bite that is rich and buttery with a fatty feel on your tongue.
Camembert and brie are wonderful cheese choices, as well as creamy cheesecake for a sweet bite. Lobster, oysters, prosciutto, smoked salmon, caviar, foie gras and sashimi or sushi are perfect protein-packed pairings.
Appetizers or desserts with butter-laden crusts of puff pastry, tart or shortbread provide a balanced bite for effervescent acidity. Even buttery popcorn, fatty nuts or crisp potato chips are surprisingly easy yet excellent choices for a nibble as you sip.
Many of our Southern favorites are perfect pairings for your bubbly. Deviled eggs can be enhanced with a little touch of caviar or prepared as tiny bites using quail eggs. Bite-sized fried chicken and waffles are also a fun little appetizer.
Our favorite fried hush puppies are another great choice. And who doesn’t love a mini crab cake with a dollop of remoulade.
I love a rich, flavorful and warm Gougère with my bubbly. Champagne’s dense yet crisp notes make it an excellent choice with this french hors d’oeuvre. Gougère are made with a basic French pastry that is a staple for most chefs called Pâte à Choux, pronounced “pot ah shoo,” and referred to as choux paste. This pastry dough produces such delicacies as cream puffs, eclairs and beignets.
Gougères are a traditional cheese-laced pâte à choux appetizer from the Burgundy region of France, flavored with mustard, Gruyère cheese and cracked black pepper. Try different cheeses and flavorings and you will have a whole new treat.
Enjoy!
Gougères
Makes 24
Try different cheeses and flavorings and you will have a whole new hors d’oeuvre. Or, split the baked puffs in half and fill them with crab salad, or any filling you like.
INGREDIENTS
1 recipe Pâte à Choux
3/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 green onions, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon ground or cracked black pepper
Egg wash
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the dough with grated cheese, mustards, green onion and black pepper. Mix on low just until evenly blended.
Spoon 1-inch rounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg to blend thoroughly. Brush a light coating of egg wash over the tops of the rounds, being careful that it does not drip down the sides (it will glue the dough to the parchment.) Sprinkle each round with a little parmesan cheese.
Bake the gougères for 15 minutes, rotate each pan, and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until the gougères are a deep golden brown and no bubbling moisture is visible. Transfer to a rack to cool briefly. Serve the gougères warm.
Storing: Baked gougères may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. Before serving, warm and crisp them for 7 to 9 minutes in an oven set at 375 degrees until the outside crust is crisp and the interior is heated through. Gougères freeze well. After baking, allow them to cool completely. Spread the gougères out on a baking sheet, cover the sheet with plastic wrap and freeze them until they are firm. Then store them in sturdy plastic bags for several months.
Pâte à Choux
Yields 24 puffs
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup water
1/4 whole milk
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup AP flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
PREPARATION
In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour. Stir vigorously for about 2 minutes with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
Scrape the dough into a bowl and let cool 5-10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time to dough, beating thoroughly each time to incorporate.
Proceed with recipes for Gougères, Chouquettes or Profiteroles.
Notes: You may transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip for use, or drop dough by spoonful using two spoons into 1 1/2-inch mounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between them.
When making the choux pastry, it is important to be sure that each egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Don’t worry if the batter separates and looks curdled at first. Keep beating, and it will come together nicely.