Gruyere Puff Food

GOUGèRES (FRENCH CHEESE PUFFS)

Steps:

• Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium and, using a wooden spoon, immediately start stirring energetically. The dough will form into a ball and there will be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another two minutes or so to dry the dough: Dry dough will make puffier puffs.
• Turn the dough out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and elbow grease). Let the dough sit for a minute to cool, then add the eggs one by one, followed by the white, beating on medium speed until each one is incorporated before adding the next. The dough may look as though it's separating or falling apart -- just keep going, and by the time the egg white goes in, the dough will be smooth. Beat in the mustard, followed by the cheese. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.
• Scoop or spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough (I use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop), and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds. (The scooped dough can be frozen on the baking sheets.)
• Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 17 minutes. Serve immediately -- these are best directly from the oven. Storing: Although the puffs are best served hot out of the oven, they are still nice (although flatter) at room temperature that same day. If you want to keep baked puffs longer, freeze them and then reheat in a 350°F-oven for a few minutes.
• Make-Ahead/Freezer Instructions: Scoop the dough and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then pack them in an airtight container. You can bake them straight from the freezer; just give them a few more minutes in the oven.
• Note/Variation: Dorie adds ⅔ cup walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted and chopped, to these gougères. My family prefers them without nuts but it's a nice variation to try. Add them along with the cheese.

GRUYèRE PUFF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, salt and pepper in bowl until smooth. Stir in cheese.
• In 9-inch ovenproof skillet, melt butter. Swirl to coat all sides. Pour in batter. Transfer to oven. Bake until puffed and dark golden, 30 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, serve hot.

MUSTARD AND GRUYERE BATONS

Steps:

• Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on a well-floured board, and roll it to an 11-by-13-inch rectangle with a floured rolling pin. (Diagonal strokes keep the pastry rectangular.) With a shorter end closest to you, brush the lower half of the pastry evenly with the mustard, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Brush the border of the pastry with the egg wash and fold the top half over the bottom half, lining up the edges. Place the pastry on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and chill for 15 minutes.
• Place the pastry on a board and trim the three irregular edges with a sharp knife. With the folded edge away from you, cut the pastry in 1-by-6-inch strips. You will have 10 to 12 batons. Spread the batons out on the sheet pan so they're not touching. Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash (don't allow the egg wash to drip down the sides) and sprinkle evenly with the Gruyere, Parmesan, and 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt. Chill for at least 15 minutes.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the batons for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes and serve warm.

CHEESE PUFFS (GOUGERES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water with the milk, butter, sugar and salt and stir over low heat until the sugar, butter and salt have melted. Raise the heat to medium and bring to a healthy simmer.
• Take from the heat and immediately add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens, is smooth and no flour lumps remain. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until a film forms on the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring, careful not to scrape up the film, for a minute or two more.
• Transfer the mixture (panade) to a food processor. Mix for a minute to dissipate the heat. Add the eggs one at a time with the processor running. Pay attention to the consistency of the paste. It should be smooth and shiny, so you may only need 3 of the eggs. Stir in the cheese.
• Using a small cookie scoop, scoop generous mounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them an inch apart. Place in the oven, immediately reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese puffs are golden brown.

POTATO GRUYERE PUFFS

Steps:

• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft; drain.
• Mash and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• Mix in the flour.
• Form into little dumplings using two soup spoons dipped into melted butter before forming each dumpling.
• Place the puffs into a baking dish.
• Pour the cream over and sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack of a preheated 450°F.

SPINACH GRUYERE PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Drain spinach well - press between paper towels.
• Melt 2 TB butter in skillet. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minute
• Stir together spinach, mushrooms and cheese. Set aside.
• Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13 X 11 rectangle. Melt other 2 TB butter. Brush 1/2 melted butter over pastry. Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over butter. Roll up jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side.
• Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, butter and spinach mixture.
• Wrap rolls in plastic and refrigerate up to 2 days. Cut rolls into 1/4'' thick slices.
• Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 F or until golden brown.

GRUYERE CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Adjust rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a large baking sheet. Cut the cheese into/4-inch cubes.
• Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and comes together in a ball. Transfer mixture to a bowl to cool slightly. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the bacon, parsley and cheese cubes.
• Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip and pipe out small mounds, 1-inch in diameter (about 2 teaspoons each), on the prepared baking sheet. Leave about 1-inch space between each mound to allow for expansion. (Or spoon small mounds onto prepared baking sheet.).
• Bake 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden. For crisper puffs, pierce sides with tip of paring knife, return to oven and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer.
• Serve hot. Or cool on wire rack, store in a sturdy plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze up to 2 weeks.
• To recrisp, place frozen cheese puffs on a baking sheet in a preheated 325-degree oven until hot, about 10 minutes.

SPINACH GRUYERE PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Drain spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add mushrooms and cook, for 5 minutes.
• Stir together spinach, mushrooms and cheese; set aside.
• Roll 1 pastry sheet into a 13 by 11-inch rectangle.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Brush 1/2 melted butter over pastry.
• Spread 1/2 spinach mixture over butter.
• Roll-up, jellyroll fashion, starting with the long side.
• Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheet, butter, and spinach mixture. (Wrap rolls in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days, if desired.)
• Cut rolls into 1/4-inch thick slices.
• Place on lightly greased baking sheets.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.