Cream Puffs

Jackie was my classmate in school from the time we were in kindergarten all the way through high school. We hit it off right away and became fast friends. On one of my visits to her house (I think we were only in the 5th grade then), her mom served us some cream puffs and I absolutely loved them. Even at that tender age, I was interested in cooking. I asked for the recipe which Jackie wrote out on an index card for me. To this day, I still use that same recipe carefully handwritten on that old, now yellowed index card.

Over the years, I’ve kept the ingredients true to the original recipe, but I’ve changed the procedure a bit for baking them. For instance, the original recipe called for baking the puffs for 20 minutes, then turning the oven off and letting them sit for 10 minutes in the turned off oven with the oven door slightly ajar. I just bake them for about 25 minutes straight and then I’m done.

Cream puffs are a wonderful French invention. Known as “pâte à choux” in France, they are amazing in their versatility and swing from sweet to savory with a simple switch of the filling. They can be filled with custard, pastry cream, whipped cream, or ice cream, or for a savory appetizer or brunch dish, fill them with chicken salad, curried shrimp, tuna or crab salad, creamed turkey, or whatever your heart desires.

CREAM PUFFS

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line two cookie sheets with silpat silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a rolling boil.
3. Add flour all at once, keeping pan on the heat, and stir rapidly with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball.
4. Remove pan from heat and still using wooden spoon, beat in eggs, one at a time, until all eggs are well blended. If you want, you can use a hand mixer for this step.
5. Spoon or pipe onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Depending on how small or large you make them, you should get between 16-24 puffs.
6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until medium golden brown.
7. Allow to cool completely; then fill with desired filling.

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Onion Cheese Puffs

New Year’s Eve for me means time for new appetizers. Every New Year’s Eve, I make a whole bunch of savory appetizers and bite-sized sweet treats. I don’t bother fixing dinner or creating a fancy sit-down meal. Instead, I start putting out different appetizers and canapés at around 7 p.m. for people to graze on all night long. Everyone just wanders up to the dining table and eats whatever they want to whenever they feel like eating.

I usually make some tried-and-true favorites, but this is also the time that I look for new appetizer and dip recipes to try. These Onion Cheese Puffs were one of my newbies. I found the recipe in an old issue of Saveur magazine and thought they sounded good. They were so easy to make and smelled amazing while they were baking! Of all the new appetizers I tried for our New Year’s Eve celebration this year, I liked these the best. Definitely a keeper!

ONION CHEESE PUFFS

• ½ small sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 slices of white bread

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix onion, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and parsley in a medium bowl.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Using a 1″ round cookie cutter, cut 4 rounds from each slice of bread.
5. Place bread rounds on a cookie sheet and bake, without turning, until lightly toasted, about 6-7 minutes.
6. Preheat broiler.
7. Spread about 1 tsp. onion mixture onto each round, then sprinkle with more parmesan.
8. Brown under broiler for 1–2 minutes.
9. Serve immediately.

[Adapted from Saveur]