Mardi Gras

Laissez les bons temps rouler!! 


For anyone not from the South, it means "Let the good times roll!" and it is instrumental to this time of year...Mardi Gras!  And since I am not in N'awlins (New Orleans) celebrating this year...I decided to make some of my favorite bites that remind me of the Big Easy...beignets and gougeres!

No Gluten, No Problem is a great blog that I follow, and they have an AMAZING Pate Choux recipe. It's super easy and the results are always perfect! Using their recipe, I made a batch of pate choux and then split it. Half I used for beignets, and to the other half I added a half cup of Parmesan and Romano cheeses combined (yes, I know it should be Gruyere...but I was out!). 

 For the Beignets, heat a pot of oil to 350 degrees, and add scoops of the pate choux (I used a teaspoon scoop). They will about double in size while they fry, and are done when they are a nice dark golden brown all over! Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Now, the good part...while they are still warm, coat with powdered sugar! Bite size bits of heaven.

For the Gougeres, heat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix the choux and cheeses. Once mixed, put dough in a pastry bag (or gallon sized ziploc) and pipe into little mounds about an inch apart on a parchment (or silpat) lined baking sheet. Keep a little bowl of water near, you will need to dip your fingers in it and smooth the tops of your mounds. Once it is all piped and smoothed, brush the gougeres with a little beaten egg and put in the preheated oven. Bake for about 25 min, until dark golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack for a few minutes. **this is important** Do NOT open your oven while baking! Use your oven light to check how they are doing. Because they bake by steaming from the inside, opening the oven door will effect the outcome. Once they have cooled a few minutes, Enjoy!!!

xoxo