French Fare
If you are looking for a dish to serve to guests that is a little different, we’ve got it. Here’s a recipe similar to a cream puff, but it’s an appetizer and not a dessert. Recipes follow story.
Chef Deb Lease tells Ivanhoe, "It’s a lot of French and American food. We work really closely with a lot of local farmers."
Lease says loves her job at this high-end restaurant, L’Etoile Restaurant. "People come here with high expectations, and it’s exciting to satisfy them and create beautiful food."
Today, she’s going to make Gougere. "Gougere is like a savory cream puff and the way we make it savory is we add cheese," she says.
First, take the chill off your eggs in warm water. At the same time, melt butter and add in flour. Next, put your mixture in a mixer and add the eggs -- one at a time.
"You want to make sure everything is really well incorporated," says Lease.
Next, mix in your cheese. Lease uses Stravecchio. It’s similar to parmesan. She says you will know the mixture is ready when it’s ready when it pulls away from the edges like ribbons. Using a pastry bag, squeeze out the puffs and pop them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
"It’s easy enough to do at home. It’s just a matter of doing it a couple of times and knowing a couple of tricks to get it to turn out right," says Lease.
Lease likes to finish it off with greens, vinaigrette, dried cherries and roasted walnuts, and lastly, cheese on top. A tasty French treat that serves as a fancy appetizer.
Recipes by Chef Deb Lease:
L’Etoile’s Gougere
Greens Vinaigrette and Roasted Walnuts
Walnut Cherry Sauce
Gougere Assembly
