Choux Pastry

Ratio: 2 parts water, 1 part butter, 1 part flour, and 2 parts egg (plus salt for flavor)

Ratio by volume: 1 cup water : ½ cup butter : 1 cup flour : 1 cup egg

Basic Pâte à Choux 

From Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman

8 ounces water

4 ounces butter (1 stick)

½ teaspoon salt

4 ounces flour (a scant cup)

8 ounces eggs (4 large eggs)

Bring the water, butter, and salt to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour, and stir rapidly. The flour will absorb the water quickly and a dough will form and pull away from the sides. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another minute or two. Remove your pan from the heat and let it cool slightly, a few minutes, or cool off the pan itself by running cold water over its base. You don’t want the eggs to cook too quickly, but the choux paste needs to be warm to hot. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring rapidly until each is combined into the paste; it takes  a few seconds – at first it will seem as f the dough won’t accept them. The paste will go from shiny to flat, slippery to furry, when the eggs are fully in. Alternately, transfer the butter-flour paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle and mix in the eggs one at a time.

The pâte à choux can be cooked immediately or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.

Yield: About 20 ounces or 24 gougeres or profiteroles

Profiteroles, Cream Puffs, and Eclairs

Reduce the total salt to 1/8 teaspoon and add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the eater in the Basic Pâte à Choux ingredients.

On a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet, pipe or spoon out golf-ballsized portions or, for éclairs, pipe out 4- to 5-inch logs. Place in an oven preheated to 425F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F to complete their cooking, 10 to 20 minutes longer.

Garlic Roasted Potato Skins

Garlic Roasted Potato Skins Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

3 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (6 to 8 medium; preferably organic) 1 small head garlic (2 inches in diameter) 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Serving Suggestion: Onion and spinach dip, recipe follows Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prick each potato once or twice with a fork. Cut off and discard top fourth of garlic head; then wrap garlic tightly in foil. Bake garlic and potatoes on same rack in lower third of oven until potatoes are tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove potatoes from oven and cool on a metal rack 15 minutes. Continue to bake garlic until tender, about 15 minutes more, then cool in foil on rack. While garlic cools, halve potatoes lengthwise, then quarter each half (to form short wedges). Scoop out potato flesh (reserving it for another use), leaving 1/4-inch-thick potato skins. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Squeeze garlic into a small bowl, discarding garlic skins, and mash to a paste with butter, salt, and pepper using a fork. Divide garlic paste among potato skins (about 1/2 teaspoon each), spreading evenly, then roast skins in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) until golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Potato skins can be scooped out and spread with garlic paste (but not baked) 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered with foil. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Chicken Mushroom Pie

Dedicated to Jing!

For the pie filling (adapted from Pie by Angela Borggiano):

¾ oz. dried wild mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

3 chicken thighs, cut into pieces about ¾” square

2 large chicken breast halves, cut into pieces about ¾” square

8oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup wine

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for about 20 minutes. Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving ¾ cup of the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the gritty bits. Chop the mushrooms finely.

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and cook the onion until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chicken, and cremini mushrooms and cook on high heat for 6 minutes. Add wine and simmer for one minute.

Reduce temperature to medium and stir in the flour until evenly mixed in. Add the drained dried mushrooms and reserved soaking liquid. Simmer together for about 5 minutes, then add the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the parsley and season well with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

 For the crust (from Mollie Katzen’t Sunlight Café by Mollie Katzen):

1½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold butter, cubed

6 tablespoons cold water

Egg, for the egg wash

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and mash with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is uniform and resembles coarse meal. Add water and mix until the dough adheres to itself when pinched. Gather the dough into a ball and roll to desired size.

For the pies:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Assemble and fill the pies according to what size you are making.

To make small pies in ramekins (4” wide, 1 ½” deep), you will need about 4 batches of dough. Roll out the dough and place a ramekin upside-down on top of it to cut out a lid for each of the pies. With the remaining dough, line the ramekins. Place enough filling in the ramekins to fill them. Wet the edges of each lid with water and place a lid on top of each pie. You can also cut out shapes such as mushrooms, hearts, or stars out of the leftover pie dough for decoration. Wet the back of each piece before sticking it onto the lid of the pie. Brush the pies with egg wash and place the ramekins on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 40 minute, or until golden brown. Yields about 8.

To make appetizer-sized empanadas, you may need about 3 ½ -- 4 batches of dough. Use a mug or a cookie round cookie cutter with a 3” diameter to cut out circles. Place a small spoonful of pie filling in the center of the circle and spread water around the edge of the circle. Fold the dough in half and crimp the edges with a fork or pinch the edges together with your fingers to seal it. Brush empanadas with egg wash and bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Yields about 30.

To make larger “empanadas” for dinner, you will need 3 batches of dough. Use a bowl or round dish with a 6” diameter to cut circles out of the dough. Place a spoonful of pie filling in the center of the circle and spread water around the edge of the circle. Fold the dough in half and crimp the edges with a fork or pinch the edges together with your fingers to seal it. Brush empanadas with egg wash and bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Yields about 14.