Gruyere Cheese Puffs

These are a little tricky, but really good when you get them right. Have a look:

• 1 cup water
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tbsps
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2.5oz Gruyere cheese, cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 2/3 cup). I used cave-aged.
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

They're simple to mix up. You preheat your oven to 400 (according to the directions) and line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a medium saucepan, combine the water with the butter & salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Reduce to low, add the flour all at once & beat with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth & pulls away from the sides of the pan. Beat for 1 minute longer to dry out the batter.

Remove from heat & let the batter cool for 5 minutes. Then, beat in 1 egg at a time, beating well between additions. Stir in cheese & pepper. Drop tbsps of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets & bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed & golden. This is where I had trouble. The original directions actually said 30 minutes but that was so way off. I gave them 20 minutes and got these:

Nice, right? We tasted them, and the bottoms tasted burnt. Now, does this look like a burnt puff to you:

Well, maybe a little. But it tasted BLACKENED. Not just a little brown. Some were ok though. And the ones that were, tasted great. As for the burnt ones, just remove the bottoms and they're delicious. But not too fancy for a party. Some that came out only moments earlier were ok:




Thats the bottom - same color as the top, right? Still tasted a little overdone. Crap. So I took the last batch out way early and got these:



Are you lauging yet? These little guys didn't puff up all the way and tasted more doughy, but they were DELICIOUS!!! Anyway, try making them. Maybe lower the heat a bit. And watch them really carefully. They keep well, too. The baked puffs can be frozen for up to 1 month (hello Christmas!). Just thaw them and warm them up in the oven a bit before serving.

I'm serving mine with cranberry chutney (recipe to follow)...

Roast Yourself Some Garlic

Roasted garlic goes great in so many pasta recipes and is awesome just spread on a piece of crusty bread. Maybe mash it in with some potatoes? The sky is the limit. It smells wonderful too (if you like the smell of garlic as much as I). Here's all there is to it:

• 1 full head of garlic
• olive oil
• aluminum foil (thorough, aren't I?)

Cut 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic head and remove any extra skin (still leave some on, though).

Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic.

Wrap garlic in a bit of foil and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

James' Baked Yuca

Yuca is the root of the cassava plant and starts out looking like the above. It's a tuber (just like the sweet potato) and has a really addictively good flavor when done right. It's really popular with our friends in South America, Africa, Central America and the Carribbean. And man, do they know what they're talking about. James made this for us last night and we went crazy for it.

• 1 yuca root
• non-stick cooking spray

Peel the yuca with any regular vegetable peeler.

Slice the peeled yuca into 1/2-inch discs.

Put the yuca slices in already boiling water and par boil them for exactly 5 minutes. Then strain and let them cool completely.

When the yuca has cooled enough that you can pick it up and hold it in your hand, stack them in a glass pyrex type baking dish that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes and you should have lovely lovely baked yuca. Very similar to the potato but much more flavorful.

Mango Salsa

Made this tonight to go with some lovely jerk chicken. I think the lime is what really gives it it's punch. You could vary this by adding red onion instead of green, or throwing in lots of avocado, pineapple or papaya, but it's great just like this, too!

• 1 mango, peeled, seeded & chopped
• 1 red bell pepper (I used a bit of red, a bit of yellow and a bit of orange)
• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced thin (I think it may have been better with a little less)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice, with pulp (dig the pulp out with a fork or just use your hands)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (other vinegars would do as well)
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all up and you've got salsa. :)

Prosciutto, Pear & Gouda Canapes

Saw something similar to this on either aol or msn's cooking page. Here's my version. Lovely little finger sandwiches. Made these for my BFF's 31st. They're just fancy enough for a special occasion, but delicious for any palette.

• box of melba toasts (square kind)
• 2 pkgs prosciutto
• 2 pears (used bosc)
• gouda
• small arugula

Lay out the melbas, pile on the arugula, place a slice of gouda, then pear on each and wrap with the prosciutto.

Kelly's Three Cheese Hot Artichoke Dip

My sister-in-law, Kelly made this for us when we went to visit her in Pittsburgh a couple of months ago and I begged her for the recipe. It's *that* good.

• 1 package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 can artichoke hearts (14oz), drained & chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or 3 cheese italian mix)
• dash of hot sauce
• dash of worcesterchire sauce
• salt & pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 1/2 container frozen spinach, squeezed to remove excess water

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand held electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the mayo until smooth. Add remaining ingredients & stir together until combined.

Transfer the dip to a pie plate or shallow gratin dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden & bubbling.

Serve hot with crostini, veggies & especially Ritz Crackers!

Ginger Scones w/ Lemon Curd

I have never made a scone. I don't really think I even know what a curd is. But today, we're making both. The ginger scone recipe is from a user on recipezaar.com. The Lemon Curd is pure Alton Brown (with a couple of my changes). They turned out LOVELY! This has tea party written all over it. Fancypants, indeed!

Ginger Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup half & half (or cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Cut in butter with a mixer (recipe called for a pastry mixer but once again, WHAT is a pastry mixer?). My handheld mixer worked fine. You want to mix it until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea. Be careful not to let the butter get too warm or it will make a paste & ruin your scones!

Chop ginger finely & stir in. Honestly, you could use more than 1/4 cup. They don't come on too strong at all.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the half & half.

Add to dry mix & stir just to moisten.

Gather the dough & knead it against the side of the bowl, collecting loose pieces into the dough.

Continue just until the dough comes together into a ball & cleans the sides of the bowl. Mine were quite sticky but still came out fine.

Transfer to a lightly floured board (I just used my cutting board) & pat or roll into a circle about 1-inch thick. cut into 8 wedges (pizza style cuts).

Place wedges on a parchment covered baking sheet at least 1-inch apart.

Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until the tops are just golden.

Lemon Curd

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 lemons, both juice and zest
• 1 stick butter, cold

Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1/2 inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks & sugar in a medium sized metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.

Add lemon juice to the egg mixture along with the zest. Whisk till smooth.

Once water reaches a near-boil, reduce heat to low & place bowl in top of saucepan (bowl should be large enough to fit on top of the saucepan without touching the water).

Whisk until thickened, approx. 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow & coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from head & stir in butter one slice at a time (maybe a tbsp at a time), allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.

Remove to a clean container & cover by laying plastic wrap directly to the surface of the curd.

Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks (don't worry, it'll never last that long).

Now, clearly these two would be great on their own, but together - they knock it out of the park I think!

FYI: S: (n) curd (a coagulated liquid resembling milk curd)

Seven-Spice Vanilla Chai

This is so great because it makes my entire apartment smell lovely and spicy. It's an easy thing to throw together when someone calls at the last minute and says they're coming over or just for a nice lazy Sunday by the fire.

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 5-7 cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp anise seed
• 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 dash ground nutmeg
• 1 black teabag (or 1 tsp black tea leaves)
• 2 cups water
• cream, half & half, milk or condensed milk - to taste
• I also add a splash of vanilla to mine. But it's up to you.

Combine spices & water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil & simmer three minutes. I usually let mine simmer much longer than that. I love the way it smells!

When you're ready to drink it, add the tea & steem for 3 minutes.

Strain into teapot or cups & stir in milk or cream.

Yes I actually took this picture!

Swedish Meatballs

This is another recipe from my mother (which means some of the ingredients don't have specifications for amounts). But this is hard to mess up.

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup water or milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp shortening
• sour cream

Blend soup with water (or milk). Combine 1/4 cup soup mixture, beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, parsley & salt; shape into balls about 1" in diameter.

Brown meatballs in shortening. Pour remaining soup over meatballs.

Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. OR you can bake them at 350 for 20 minutes. Whatever you do, just make sure you pour off some of that excess grease before serving. Over what? Massive egg noodles work for me.

Granola Bars

Like granola bars? Hate corn syrup? I'm here for you. These are really really good - and I'm honestly not the trail mix type. They're great and you can change the fruit & nuts to whatever suits you. Great to make before a camping trip. No one will want to eat that crap in the prepackaged individual wrappers when they see you have this action.

• 8oz old-fashioned rolled oats (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 oz raw sunflower seeds (about 1/2 cup)
• 3oz sliced almonds (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 oz wheat germ (about 1 cup)
• 6oz honey (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 3/4 oz dark brown sugar (about 1/4 cup packed)
• 1oz unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 1/2 oz chopped dried fruit (I used a mix of gold raisins, blueberries & cranberries)

Butter a 9x9 glass baking dish & set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan.

Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla & salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

...so I stole the picture. Can you really say you're surprised?

3-Ingredient Sausage Balls

Another of my mom's. Three ingredients. Yes really. It's delicious - feed this to everyone you know. Ok not the vegetarians, but everyone else.

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 10oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1lb package hot sausage (any kind, beef or pork)

Combine everything together (uncooked) & roll into balls (about 1-2 inches big)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

THAT'S IT!!!

Leftover Cheese Spread

Ever find yourself with a fridge full of small bits of all kinds of leftover cheeses? Don't waste those post-party leftovers! Put them all together for the classic "Fromage Fort" - leftover cheese spread. You'll pat yourself on the back for being so thrifty and not letting good food go to waste:

• 1 lb leftover cheese. Any kinds, as many kinds, it doesn't matter. The recipe always seems to work. Just make sure it's all room temperature so it mixes well.
• 1/4 cup dry white wine.
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter (you can get away with less).
• 2 tbsp parlsey (fresh is better but I did fine with dried).
• 1 clove garlic.

Mix all ingredients in food processor till well blended. Serve soft or refrigerate to make it a bit firmer.

Goes great with your leftover toast, bread, crackers, fruit, cold cuts....

...yeah I stole the picture. wanna fight about it?