What these really make me want to create is some sort of double chocolate eclair.  Do those exist already?  What I’m dreaming of is an eclair with a dark chocolate dipped top, then filled with a dark chocolate pastry cream.  Because why would you bother with regular pastry cream when it could be chocolate?  I don’t even want to eat these alleged eclairs, I just want to photograph them because in my head, they are beautiful.  So it’s another give away Tuesday.  Do you want a double chocolate eclair?  If so, post a comment and you might be the lucky winner.  Unfortunately, it’s August and I live in Texas, so I don’t think I can mail chocolate without creating a giant mess.  You’ll have to be in the DFW area to win or willing to drive to me to pick them up.

As for beautiful gougerès, I went ahead and made some with just an egg wash and some with grated Gruyère over the egg wash.  I think the ones without the additional grated cheese turned out so much prettier since they are so glossy, but weigh in, and let me know your thoughts.  Or try out the recipe and let me know what your taste buds tell you.  Here’s a picture of the gougerès with the additional grated cheese topping. 

Gougères Recipe

adapted from Recipe in Barefoot in Paris

1 c. 1% milk

1 stick salted butter

1 tsp kosher salt

5 turns fresh ground pepper

2 shakes cayenne pepper

1 c. all purpose flour

5 large eggs

1/2 c. fresh grated Gruyère cheese

1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano

1 egg

1 tsp water

This goes very quickly – so make sure you have your cheese grated and your eggs out, then preheat oven to 425.  In a medium saucepan, add milk, butter, salt, and peppers over medium heat.  Stir continuously with a wooden spatula, until mixture just begins to bubble.  Add flour and stir continuously with wooden spatula until combined, then keep stirring, reduce heat to low and cook another 2 and 1/2 minutes.  Remove from heat and place in food processor with blade attachment.

Add all five eggs and cheeses, then use pulse button to incorporate.  Use spatula to stuff your dough in a ziplock bag, squeezing out as much air as you can, then sealing the bag.  I’m partial to the slider lock bags, myself.  Use your hands to work dough into one of the bottom corners, then clip the end to just open the corner.  Squish into spheres just slightly larger than a quarter spaced evenly on a cookie sheet.  Wet your index finger under the faucet, then push down any pointed peaks to make a smooth sphere.  In a small bowl, beat remaining egg with the teaspoon of water.  Use a brush to gently coat the tops of each sphere.

Cheers!

Hamburger Soup Recipe

2.5 lbs ground chuck

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cans stewed tomatoes (14.5oz)

4 cans Campbell’s Beef Consomme (10oz)

1 can water

12 turns fresh ground pepper

In a large stock pot, brown ground beef on medium high heat.  When you can see no more pink, use a spatula to push beef to one half of the pot, then add the diced onion to the other.  Spread out your onion and stir each half every thirty seconds.  Continue until onion is soft and beef is very brown.  Use spatula to push beef and onions to one side, then tip pot to drain fat to the other side.  Remove fat with a spoon and discard.  Add tomatoes, consomme, water, and pepper to pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer 25 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Any how, since I really did love the music, and many of my friends were involved, I chose to be a serving wench.  I graciously delivered bowls of beef with barley soup, plates of prime rib, and glasses of wassail to the crowd.  As a reward, I got free dinner and to see the show.  And a reason to be out socializing on a school night.  Which I was *always* looking for.  So perhaps I was caught up in the beauty of the costumes, or the sound of the music, or caught up flirting with my latest love interest, some how, I can not make this soup taste how I remember it, nor find a recipe that in anyway holds promise to do so.  And I didn’t go to a fancy high school so so I’m bound to be crushed one day when I learn I’ve been longing for Kroger brand Soup in economy size cans.

This soup isn’t bad, my husband loved it actually.  And the homemade beef stock from the leftover ribs from my standing rib roast turned out perfectly.  But if you love something you eat when out and about – beg, borrow, or steal the recipe quickly!  Don’t wait to attempt your own version nearly 15 years later. I realize many of you have no desire to make your own stock.  So for an express version, simply purchase boxed beef stock.  I recommend Kitchen Basics.  But if you cook a standing rib roast, save your bones in a ziploc in the freezer and make this stock some Sunday!  One thing I’ll probably alter next round will be to use a chuck roast instead of leftover prime rib, cause seriously, who usually has that lying around.  I’ll go ahead and brown it and braise it the way I do for my pot roast and chimichanga meat.  Then shred the meat and add it to the soup.  I’m a huge fan of shredded over cubed meats.

Beef and Barley Soup

6 c. beef stock – see recipe for homemade stock below

3 stalks celery, chopped

1.5 c. baby carrots

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. pearled barley, uncooked

3 c. leftover rare prime rib

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.  Add carrots, onions, and celery and saute until slightly browning, scented, and softening.  Add beef stock, leftover prime rib, and garlic, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer.

Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water in a sauce pan.  Add 1 tsp salt and barley, reduce to a simmer, cook for 45 minutes.  Then add to soup.  Remove leftover prime rib from stock, then shred if you can or cut into bite size pieces and add back to stock.  Skim any surface fat with a spoon to remove.  Season soup with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.  Let simmer 15 more minutes, then serve.

Homemade Beef Stock

leftover ribs (4) from a standing rib roast

water

2 tbsp salt

2.5 c. celery, chopped

2 c. yellow onion, chopped

2 c. baby carrots

fresh ground pepper

Place ribs in large stock pot, fill to the top with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 3 hours, then add celery, onions, and carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook another hour, then strain into a fresh pan.  Let sit 30 minutes to separate, then skim off all fat with a spoon.  Or refrigerate, then pull off the solid fat pieces.

Never miss a new recipe!