Gorgeous Gougère

I've been busy.

Busy looking at a computer screen, waiting for the phone to ring, or watching a LOT of TV.  And not busy playing in the kitchen.

I guess you could say I've been in a funk.

Today, I vowed to slap myself out of my pity party and try to create one of my favorite San Francisco treats.  Not Rice-O-Roni.  But those delicious gougères from Tartine.  These fluffy, eggy pastries are one of my absolute must eats when I go to the City by the Bay.  Tartine makes them with just enough Gruyère and black pepper to keep things interesting and savory.  I didn't have any of that nutty cheese around, but I did have some Asiago...

Flecks of pepper and thyme make this a purty dish, too!

Asiago, Black Pepper, and Thyme Gougère

These tasty bites are a great little nibbley for a cocktail party or with Pesto Chicken Salad.

1 cup water

1 stick of butter

pinch of salt

1 cup of flour

4 eggs
1/3 cup Asiago, grated plus 2 tsp. reserved
2 Tbl cracked black pepper
1 Tbl thyme, minced

Preheat oven to 425 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a sauce pan, bring water, salt, and butter to a simmer. Once heated, add all of the flour at once and stir in the same direction with a wooden spoon. It will look freaky to begin with, but it will turn into a lovely little ball of dough in no time. You want to cook it until it dries out quite a bit. Take off heat and cool slightly

Transfer dough to food processor or mixing bowl, and add the eggs one at a time until dough is completely mixed and glossy. Stir in cheese, pepper, and thyme.  We're moving the dough again...this time to a piping bag. Or in my case, a gallon freezer bag with the end snipped off. Pipe out golf ball sized little poofs of love onto baking sheets.

Damp your finger and give the little poofy tops a push down so they don't burn. Pop 'em in the oven for 10 minutes on 425, then lower temperature to 375 for 20 minutes. During the last 7 minutes of cooking, sprinkle these poofy puffs with the reserved Asiago.

Point of Inspiration

I'm a kind of "Go With the Flow" kinda guy.

Well, not so much in life.

Perhaps in the kitchen.

Actually, I think my friends would probably tell you that I am quite bossy in the kitchen and a bit of a control freak.  My students would probably tell you the same.

But with a recipe, I kind of look at it as a jumping off point: a source of inspiration for some culinary play.  Last summer my friend and I were trying to be "good" about what we ate, and, as a result, I was trolling the interweb searching for healthy recipes with substance.  I found a FABU recipe for Hoisin Chicken with Cucumber Salad. 

I have since used this marinade for pork and sauce for grilled salmon, but I am constantly playing around with the ingredients:  using less garlic, adding Dijon mustard, using Thai chili paste instead of jalapeños, adding a ton of cilantro, using red wine vinegar.  You get the idea.  And it would always come out really tasty, but I would usually have a goodly bit left over (about 1/4 cup).

What to do with this extra deliciousness?

I know!  Add two additional teaspoons of rice wine vinegar and whisk in some olive oil and *VI-OH-LAY* you have a tasty vinaigrette perfect for hardy, bitter, greens.

Play wit-cho-food!

Bitter radicchio, radishes, and spicy wasabi peas play famously off the sweetness of this plumby vinaigrette!

GLOBO to the Rescue!

I'm in a jam.

I am underemployed and in need of some funds.  Unfortunately, alas and alack, I need to break into ye olde retirement fund.  The only problem is, in order to get the ball rolling, I have to fill out a rather extensive form.  A simple task for most folks, however, when I first looked at this thing, it scrambled my brain and threw me into a full on panic.

Never fear!  The Glamorous Ladies of the Business Office are here!  Faster than a speeding email, those lovely ladies who crunch the numbers hours on end have agreed to help me get my do re mi!

And to thank them for helping me out of my jam, I'm bringing them jam.  Onion and Fennel Jam to be specific.  Something sweet and savory and a little out of the ordinary.  Like me.

Onion and Fennel Jam

This delicious condiment is a perfect accompaniment to a cheese plate, pork, and can liven up any sandwich.  Try it, you'll like it!

3 lbs. yellow onions, sliced
2 fennel bulbs, cored and sliced
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 Tbl salt
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Melt butter over low to medium heat. Add onions, fennel, and salt.  Stir to coat the veggies. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until onions and fennel begin to caramelize.  About 45-50 minutes.  Once mixture has reduced significantly and reached a rich caramel color, add sugar and vinegar.  Continue to simmer jam and reduce by half.  Cool and store in sterilized jars.  Refrigerate.

A Heloise Moment: Chili Edition

In The South, there are two seasons:  Summer and Christmas.

Three if you count College Football.

Right now, we in Memphis are enjoying wonderfully cool weather.  The AC is off, windows are open, and I have even considered donning a summer sweater.  Shocking, I know.  And, when that little crispy bite permeates the air, I want one thing:  chili.

My Kick ASS Chili

Chili is the ultimate "play around" food because you can create so many different versions.  Not to toot my own horn, but I have been told on more than one occasion that I make the best damned chili folks have ever tasted.  And, I am completely embarrassed to put my recipe for chili on the interweb.  Basically it's opening a bunch of cans and dumping them into a pot.  BUT, thanks to a big sense of play in the kitchen, I do have a couple of tricks to elevate the flavor of canned beans and tomatoes to a level of chili excellence.

* Brown your meat first!  Whatever type of ground meat you are using (turkey, beef, chicken), brown that deliciousness in your chili pot and remove it before you start cooking the rest.  That way all of the flavors will stay in the pan and help season the pot.  And don't forget to give that meat some flavor love, which brings me too...

*Avoid the package seasoning!  Sure grab that bottle of chili powder, but don't shy away from adding additional seasonings.  Cumin, coriander, white pepper, cayenne, and even a pinch of cinnamon can wake up your chili.  Throw in some fresh cilantro at the end for a great bright flavor.

* Play with yo' peppers!  Different peppers add a different quality of heat:  chipotles are smokey, jalapeños are a bright blast, habaneros are...suicidal. You get the idea.  Play around to find which one best suits your palate.

* Season as you go!  Start by sauteing onions, garlic, and peppers with your spices.  Try throwing in some adobo sauce.  Keep adding spice as you add more ingredients.

* De glaze that pan!  You know there is a whole bunch of flavor lingering at the bottom of that pot.  Take advantage of it by adding wine, beer, or even coffee to add depth to your chili.

*Think outside the box.  Try adding black beans, corn, green chiles,  or sun-dried tomatoes. Mix it up!

*Make a ton!  Chili is always better with a crowd.  Invite folks over for the game (or the latest episode of Project Runway) and set up a chili bar with all the fixin's: diced onion, avocado, cilantro, cheese, jalapeños, tortilla chips.  And if no one shows, the stuff freezes like a dream!

Play on, Food Improvisers!

Note:  I love me some vegetarian cooking, but, in my humble opinion, you just need meat for chili.  And for those of you who like that beanless "chili"...you may as well open up a jar of spaghetti sauce cuz that ain't chili.

Requiem for a Grocery Store

When I was 16, I shot my first commercial.

It was for a St. Louis based grocery store chain called Schnucks.  I know...unfortunate family name, no?  The spot was one of those "how many happy people can we show eating fruit in a minute" type situations.  It was spring time, and they were getting ready for the summer fruit push.

I had stumbled into the gig; a mother of a friend of mine was a food stylist on the shoot and they needed a few fresh faced teens to stage a car wash and laugh and eat peaches.  A lot of peaches.  I think I ate about 27 in an hour, while being squirted with a garden hose in a parking lot on a beautiful (and chilly) spring day.  We tossed peaches to one another, taking a bite and making smiley faces to the camera. 

It took me a while to muster up the strength to eat another peach.  Like Prufrock.  Only younger.

When I moved to Memphis, several years later, I was happy to find the comforting sight of Schnucks just down the street from my home.  Something familiar in a strange town, and the point of inspiration for deliciousness.

Recently, Schnucks was sold. Yesterday, it was a ghost town in there as they attempt to clear their inventory to make way for the new owners. Bare shelves, nothing green, and crazy people stocking up on canned beans and bottled barbecue sauce.  All while Sarah McLachlan was piped in from above singing, "In the arms of the angel..."  It was the culinary version of a humane society commercial.

I left saddened and empty handed.  But mama still needs to eat. 

So, in homage to happy fruit eaters out there, I raided what was in my fridge to come up with a lovely lunch with strawberries, onions, and goat cheese.

Farewell, Schnucks.

I would have dared eat a peach (had there been one in the store).

Perfect for a brunch buffet or a light lunch!

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Flatbread Pizza

Take a little help from your store *shed tear* and use packaged flatbread wraps for your crust.  It's important to allow the bread to cool slightly before putting on your toppings.  This makes for a crispy crust.

1 spinach flatbread wrap
1/2 cup onion, sliced and caramelized
6 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup spinach leaves
Some Goat Cheese
Some Bleu Chesse (gorgonzola verde is the best)
Balsamic Reduction

Preheat oven to 400.  Lay wrap on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Flip wrap over and smear it around to spread out oil, then flip back over and season with salt.  Bake in oven for about 5 minutes, until it begins to brown.  Flip seasoned side down and allow to cool slightly.

Once cooled, layer spinach leaves, onions, strawberries and cheese and pop back into the oven until cheese melts slightly.  Garnish with basil leaves and a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.

To caramelize onions:
In a small sauce pot, heat 2 Tbl butter and 1 Tbl oil over low flame until butter melts.  Add onions and toss to coat.  Season with salt and cook slowly for about 25 minutes, allowing the natural sugars to come out.  I sometimes de glaze the onions with a shot of balsamic just to brighten things up.

Balasmic reduction:
In a small sauce pot, bring 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Reduce until you have about 2 Tbl spoons of syrupy goodness.

I'm Ready For My Close Up

So...I had to make this video.

It had to represent my personality, my cooking, and all aspects of my life.

In three minutes.

Oy.

After one false start, one delightful day making turkey meatballs (which quickly became a day of darkness when I realized we forgot to press "record"), and one marathon day makin' chicken.

Here's what I came up with.

To celebrate, I'm eating a flatbread pizza with grilled zucchini and eggplant, onion, oil cured olives, pepadews, pesto, Asiago and goat cheese.

The ShoeClad Count

Last night was a magical experience:  a simple supper enjoyed alfresco on a beautiful Chicago summer night with a trio of lesbians.  I felt like the Barefoot Contessa.

If she lived in Chicago.  And she had her lady friends over instead of her bevvy of gays.  And she were a dude.

I would be the ShoeClad Count.

Here is how the episode would have played out:

Cue Intro Music.  Close up on Scott.

I just got a last minute deal on a flight to Chicago.  My friend Amy is hosting my visit, and in return I'm going to make a light summer supper for her and her friends.  It's a backyard gathering with old friends, ShoeClad style.

Cut to Opening Theme Music and Food Montage.  There's a knife slicing through a fennel bulb.  There's Scott passing a platter of vittles and laughing.  Berries are tumbling into a colander.  Scott is blending soup.  Mmmm...look at that yummy salad.  Scott and J plop down on the couch with ice cream.  Uh-oh, here comes Buster Dog.  They laugh.  Fade to Logo.

My dear friend Amy was kind enough to open her home to me at the last minute, so to thank her I thought it would be great to have a couple of friends over for wine and cheese and an elegant backyard supper.  Most lesbians are vegetarians, feeding on twigs, berries, pumpkin soup, and salsa.  Fortunately, these gals are pescaterians and love seafood, and I thought, "Why not do scallops with grapefruit and fennel."  And that's exactly what I'm going to make.

First I want to start by making the salad.  Grapefruit and fennel are a perfect combination: the tartness of the grapefruit mixes deliciously with the sweet, anise taste of the fennel.  Slice the fennel...(and the ShoeClad Count assemble the delicious salad filled with grapefruit, fennel, julienne yellow peppers, honey and tarragon)

The salad is all set to go.  You know, since dinner is going to be so light, let's start off with a cheese plate to enjoy with some wine.  I'll call Amy to see if she can pick up some cheese.

Cut to Amy standing on front porch.  Her cell phone rings.

A:  Hey Scott! (trying to not look at the camera) I'm just about to walk in the door.

S:  Well turn back around.  I thought a cheese plate would be fantastic way to start things off tonight.

A:  But I'm about to walk in the house.

S:  I was thinking two firm cheeses and one blue.

A:  Well, I've been running around all day, and I would really like to...

S:  And maybe some olives, grapes, and almonds to go along with it.

A:  But...

S:  And some crusty bread.  Thanks!

Cut back to Scott

Scallops are actually a mollusk, and you won't believe how absolutely easy they are to prepare.  Once seared they take on a beautiful caramel color and are firm and sweet and perfectly delicious.  Let me show you how I do it. 

Cut to Scallop montage and voice over.  Perfectly manicured hands patting dry scallops. Close up on same manicured hands sprinkling salt and pepper on scallops. Close up on scallops entering a hot, dry pan.  Pretty hands using tongs to flip scallops.  Same lovely hands placing scallops atop a beautiful mound of Grapefruit and Fennel salad.

Now that looks like a simple supper that even the most finicky of lesbians would love.

Cut to Friend's Eating Montage, in a beautifully appointed backyard on a gorgeous summer night.  Prosecco is popped.  We over hear bits of conversation.

"These cheeses are delicious."

"Oh, Scott. The scallops are perfectly cooked!  So bright and clean..."

"Heather, with your hair like that, you look like a whore from a Bible movie epic."

A beautiful late night summer supper with friends.  How bad can that be.

Closing music and Fade to Black.

Disclaimer
Please know that this is merely satire and that I kneel at the altar of Ina Garten.  I would eat anything and everything that woman makes, and my biggest wish is to live in her barn and bake scones with her all day long.