Recipe - Gougeres (Goo-Zhair)

1 cup Water
One half cup Butter
One half teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Pepper
1 cup Sifted flour
4 Eggs
4 ounce Grated Gruyere cheese
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

The easiest and most consistent way to form the gougeres is to pipe out
small rounds using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2inch plain tip. Lacking
this, you could also use 2 teaspoons.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 425F. Place the water, butter, salt and pepper in a small
saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat (do not
allow it to boil for any length of time) and add the flour all at once.
Stir with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. Return to medium heat to dry
the paste. Flatten the paste on the bottom of the pan, bring it up to the
side of the pan nearest you, then flop it over to the opposite side of the
pan. Continue until butter starts oozing out in bubbles, about 5 minutes.
When pinched, the paste should not stick to your fingers. Remove from the
heat and wait 5 minutes until slightly cooled, then beat in the eggs one at
a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next. Add the
cheese and mustard. Butter a baking sheet, then rinse under cold water, or
place parchment paper on the baking sheet. Pipe out small dots, about
1/2inch in diameter, leaving enough room for them to triple in size. Brush
with beaten egg or milk, sprinkle with more cheese, and bake for 15
minutes. Lower the heat to 400F, open the oven door briefly to let the
steam escape and then bake for an additional 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Gougeres freeze well.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini