GOUGÈRES: CHEESE PUFFS

Gougères are light and delicious cheese puffs made with pâte à choux, the same pastry dough that's used for profiteroles, eclairs, etc. It's a quick and fairly easy dough to make, somewhat fool-proof since it relies on aerating rather than a rising agent like baking powder or yeast.

Typically, gougères are made with Comté or Gruyère cheese, but really any cheese that melts will be fine if you don't specifically want the flavours of Comté or Gruyère cheese. This time, since I was pairing them with a slew of southern Rhône wines, I used a mix of Comté and Füürtüfel - a terrific spicy Swiss cheese.

GOUGÈRES: CHEESE PUFFS

makes: ~20 medium gougères

- Equipment: hand mixer with two beaters

- 1 cup milk

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 3 large eggs

- 4 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1-1/2 cups grated Comté, Gruyère or other Swiss cheese

- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Optional: Fleur de sel to sprinkle on top before baking

1. Bring the milk, butter and salt (and cayenne, if using) to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the flour all at once, and mix vigorously with a wooden spatula until the mixture forms a ball, taking care to scrape up all the flour/dough from the base and sides of the pan. Return the pan to medium-low heat and cook for about 1 minute to dry the mixture a bit. Stir to make sure the dough doesn't stick to the pan. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
2. Add the eggs and use the hand mixer to mix thoroughly and aerate for 4-5 minutes. Let the choux pastry dough cool for 7-10 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 °F/200 °C. Line 1 large or 2 medium baking trays with parchment paper.
4. Add the grated cheese to the dough and stir just enough to incorporate. Use 2 spoons - 1 to scoop the gougère dough and 1 to help drop it on to the baking sheet - to place the dough on the baking tray, spaced ~2 inches apart. Sprinkle a few grains of the coarse salt, if using, on each gougère.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until browned. Do *not* open the oven while the gougéres are baking or they might: not puff up, deflate after cooling, remain dense!
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature with wine - including champagne - or any other beverage.

MUSHROOM + GRUYERE QUICHE

Mushroom + Gruyere Quiche

Makes: 6 servings

- 1 recipe shortcrust pastry 

- 6 eggs 

- 2/3 cup crème fraîche (or heavy cream) 

- 1 cup whole milk

- 8 ounces gruyère cheese, grated 

- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (white, crimini, baby portabellas, or shiitake are excellent)

- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 

- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

- 1 tbsp butter

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F / 220 C. 
2. Roll out the pastry to fit a 10-1/2 inch pie plate or a cake pan with removable bottom. Press the edges against the pie plate or cake pan, poke the bottom with a fork, and place the pastry in the freezer for 30 minutes. 
3. In the meantime, heat the butter in a pan and sauté the mushrooms until they're cooked and somewhat crisped at the edges. Turn the heat off and set aside. 
4. Remove the pastry from the freezer and line with parchment paper. Add pie weights (I use dried beans that are solely for use as pie weights) and bake in the middle rack of the oven until the pastry is just browned at the edges, about 15 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven, remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Return the pastry to the oven to bake until the bottom is lighty browned, an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. 
6. In a blender, process together the eggs, cream, milk, and all the spices and seasonings. 
7. In the par baked pastry, spread the grated cheese in a layer, then add the egg mixture and the mushrooms. 
8. Bake in the center of the oven until the filling is golden and puffed, and is completely baked through, about 30 - 40 minutes. The quiche is done if it's not shaking in the center, or if a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 
9. Remove the quiche from the oven and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME

Chocolate Pots de Creme

makes: 10 servings

- 10 oz. (300 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

- 1-1/2 cups cream

- 1-1/2 cups whole milk

- 4-1/2 tbsp sugar

- 1 espresso (or 1 tsp instant coffee powder - optional)

- 1 tsp salt

- 7 egg yolks

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract

- to garnish: your choice of fresh raspberries, chopped pistachios, whipped cream, shaved chocolate, etc.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).  Set 10 4- to 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups in a roasting pan or deep baking dish. Or split between two pans like I did, if you don't have a large enough pan to fit all the containers.
2. Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half, sugar, instant espresso or coffee powder, if using, and salt until quite hot, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot half-and-half mixture over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let cool until tepid, then whisk in the egg yolks and the vanilla. (If the mixture looks at all grainy, whisk well or purée in a blender until smooth.)
3. Transfer the custard mixture to a large measuring cup or pitcher and divide evenly among the ramekins.
4. Fill the roasting pan or baking dish with warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the perimeters of the custards are just set and the centers are still slightly jiggly, about 35 minutes.
5. Transfer the custards from the water bath to a wire rack and let cool.
6. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, garnished with small mounds of whipped cream, raspberries and chopped pistachios.