Bon Appetit!

 

Gougeres

If you’ve read the Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries, you know that Irene Foxglove may be difficult, imperious, unpredictable, and a faux graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, but she is a good cook who decries instant food and believes the French have perfected the culinary arts beyond any other culture. Last week, I offered recipes from the Texas kitchen of Henny James’ mother. After all, Henny’s TV show is “From My Mother’s Kitchen.” But Henny began her career as a gofer on Irene’s TV show which featured many French recipes. So today, I’m sharing a few of Irene’s recipes.

Irene’s Coquille St. Jacques (scallops in a cream sauce)

This company-style dish is traditionally served in a shell-shaped dish with mashed potatoes piped decoratively around the edge. Irene prefers to use individual gratin dishes with a bread crumb topping.

For the scallops:

12 large sea scallops (count 3 scallops per serving)

3 Tbsp. butter

1 shallot, minced

3 Tbsp. white wine

¾ cup crème fraiche

1 Tbsp. minced parsley

Salt and pepper

For the crumb topping:

1 ½ cups crustless white breadcrumbs or panko

¼ cup minced parsley

5 oz. Gruyere, grated

¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

Pat scallops dry with paper towel and refrigerate, uncovered, for one hour to dry them further. Meanwhile, mince the shallot. Melt butter in skillet and sauté shallot.

Add scallops to skillet and cook until they lose their translucence and are white. Do not overcook—it makes them rubbery. Remove from skillet and cover to keep them warm.

Deglaze the skillet with white wine, scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let wine boil gently until reduced by half. Add crème fraiche. Return scallops to pan just to mix; do not cook further. Spoon scallop mixture into four individual gratin dishes, top with breadcrumb mixture, and bake at 350^o until bubbly hot and crumb mixture is lightly browned.

From Saving Irene

Gougères

Gougères are small appetizers made of a rich dough called choux pastry and cheese, traditionally Comté, Emmentaler, or Gruyère. The ingredients are simple, but making the pastries involves a lot of beating by hand.

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¾ tsp. salt, preferably kosher

Pinch of nutmeg

1 c. water

1-1/4 c. flour

4 eggs

1-1/2 c. Comté, Emmentaler, or Gruyère cheese, grated

½ tsp. fine black pepper

One egg yolk

           Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, just below a boil, until butter is melted. Stir in the flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a ball in the middle of the pan. Dough should not be sticky. Let it cool slightly, because you will be adding eggs but don’t want the dough to cook them before you can stir them in.

Remove pan from the heat and beat the eggs in one at a time, beating vigorously after each egg until it is thoroughly incorporated into the dough. Do not try to hurry the process by adding all four eggs at once. After last egg, stir in cheese and pepper.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Irene shapes the dough into one-inch balls by hand, but Henny prefers to use a piping bag with the ½” round tip. You may also cut the corner off a plastic bag and use as a home-made piping bag. Place dough balls 2” apart on baking sheet as they will expand.

Make an egg wash with remaining egg yolk and 1 tsp. water. Brush onto gougères before baking.

Bake at 400^o for 20-25 minutes. When done, they will be golden brown. You can test for doneness by breaking one open: it should be dry on the inside.

Recipe makes about 50 gougères, but people will eat several at a time.

From Irene in Danger

Cold turkey with tonnato sauce

Irene serves this cold dish in her café. She roasts and seasons a turkey breast, slices it medium thin, and lays it out on a platter, smothered with tonnato sauce and decorated with microgreens or chopped parsley or watercress. Tonnato sauce can also be served on chicken, veal, fish, whatever you want. But you must like tuna to relish it, and it will not keep long in the refrigerator. You know—fish and guests grow old after three days.

Tonnato sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup olive oil

6 oz. can tuna in oil, with the oil

3 anchovy filets

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. capers, drained

Put it all in the processor and process until well blended. You might want to halve it; then you can use the rest of the tuna for a salad.

From Finding Florence