Curried Pumpkin Gougéres

A little something different for that perennial fall favorite ingredient, pumpkin. The Thai red curry paste adds a nice kick of heat, and really brings out the natural sweetness and bright orange color of the pumpkin. While not a true gougére, as the dense dough needs a bit of help from baking powder to reach the airy, highly risen proportions that are a hallmark of the classic, these make a spicy, delicious pairing for any fall cocktail party.


Recipe:

1 stick butter
100 ml water
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 Tablespoon Thai red curry paste
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
6 ounces cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 eggs
red curry powder or toasted sesame seeds for dusting, if desired

baking sheets
parchment paper


Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in the top third of the oven.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat bring butter and water to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, add the pumpkin and curry paste and whisk until smooth.

2. Add flour, baking powder, and salt all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together in a smooth ball. Cook, stirring until the mixture is smooth and a bit dry. Remove from heat.

3. Add shredded cheddar and stir until cheese is melted and well combined.

4.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring briskly after each addition until well combined (since the dough is very warm, you must stir with speed to prevent the egg from cooking before it can be incorporated.) Depending on how much the mixture has cooked and even the humidity of the day, you may need fewer eggs (or even 1 more!) The final dough should be very soft, but still quite cohesive.

5. Using two teaspoons, scoop rounded mounds of dough onto parchment paper, spacing them about 1inch apart. You may make larger puffs, using two tablespoons, and spacing them slightly farther apart. Work fairly quickly, and try to get all the dough on the sheet pans and ready to go before it cools.

6. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, dip in warm water and smooth the top of each blob of dough. Dust with red curry powder, if desired. Toasted sesame seeds are also a delicious addition, and add a little seasonal touch as a Halloween hors d'oeuvre.

7. Bake in the top third of preheated oven (switching baking sheets half way through baking) for about 15-20 minutes, longer for larger puffs.

8. Gougéres are cooked when they are well risen and lightly browned. Let cool a bit on cooling racks.

Serve warm with a glass chilled dry cider or a dry petit chablis.

Sunday Biscuits

Everyone should have kitchen traditions, and most of us do. Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas cookies, Easter lamb. These are all wonderful and make for delicious and festive meals. But the things that I remember most from my childhood are not the foods that sanctified our holiday table, but the smell of coconut cake fresh from my grandmother's oven every Friday afternoon, the creamy saltiness of mozzarella on homemade pizza Saturday night, the sweet, vanilla-scented glaze on my Sunday morning donut-a cherished treat for good behavior in church.

Now that I am a grown-up with a family of my own, I have my own small traditions. Strawberry picking and jam making, pizza night, high tea. One of our favorites is our Sunday morning biscuit making. It is lovely to make these with my small children: measuring out the ingredients with small, careful hands, watching their thoughtful choice of cutter from our cookie cutter collection, sneaking nibbles of the dough, pressing our faces to the oven window to watch the biscuits magically rise. But eating them together is the best of all.

 Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/2 cup fresh, cold buttermilk

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 For a food processor:

 1. In the bowl of your processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blitz quickly to combine.
 2. Add chilled butter and blitz in little bursts (on-off, on-off, on-off) until mixture is evenly combined and resembles small peas.
 3. Turn the processor on and add buttermilk through the funnel JUST until the mixture begins to come together. Do Not Over Mix! The mixture should just be coming together, not completely combined in one mass. You will pat it into shape when you cut the dough.
 4. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and pat it gently into a disc about 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough with your favorite biscuit cutter (or a floured drinking glass) and place biscuits on a baking sheet or in a large, heavy cast-iron skillet.
 5. Bake about 12 minutes in the middle of hot oven. Biscuits are done when they are risen, crusty and gorgeously golden-brown. Remove to a wire rack and let cool slightly.
6. Split and spread with butter and honey, preserves, grainy mustard and ham, or eat them plain.

 By hand:

 Follow the above instructions, but use frozen butter. Use a grater and grate the butter through the medium holes into the dry ingredients. Mix lightly with a wooden spoon. Add buttermilk and mix lightly just until the mixture is combined. The butter will not be completely incorporated, don't worry, it will melt and make delicious little freckles on your biscuits.

Depending on the size of your cutter, this recipe makes about 12-15 biscuits.