This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie recipe was a fun one.
I love cream puffs. Always have. Eclairs too, of course. Lucky for me, I visited an old friend over the weekend to explore her beautiful gardens in town and to dig up some of her mint. I came home with close to a square foot of mint, roots and all, which I promptly put in one of my whiskey barrel planters. There will be no flowers in that planter this year, if the mint decides to live! Fresh mint is one of my favorite herbs to have on hand. I live in Montana, and our growing season is short; those adorable window herb gardens that many of you have just don't make it through the winters here. I also came home with a bag of salad greens, a square foot of oregano (filling another whiskey barrel)and some radishes. What a wonderful gift on a Sunday morning.
So, the cream puff ring, although beautiful, wasn't practical for me to make this week. I converted them to puffs and packed them up to share today. One container will go to my coworkers and the other container will go to a board meeting I have to attend. I sit on the board for our region's Head Start school- what an important organization Head Start is! Our board meetings tend to be long and occur during prime lunch time. These should help us all get through the meeting as there's nothing like a sugar high to keep you going.
I followed this recipe really closely. The only changes I made were:
1. I left one yolk out
2. I beat the eggs together beforehand in a measuring cup
3. I allowed the paste to cool for a bit before adding the eggs
4. I slowly streamed the egg mixture in while the mixer was running
5. I used Agave Nectar to sweeten the chocolate glaze
They came out crisp and wonderful. Some prettier than others, of course, but that's the beauty of the puff!
I've been too busy frolicking in the sunshine to post lately. Finally, summer has arrived here in Montana. Just last week, we had a FREAK snow storm. Yes, that's right, snow. While you guys on the east coast were burning up in the heat, and the poor midwesterners were/are dealing with the terrible floods, we were dealing with snow. In June. What a winter it has been.
My husband and I picked up our permit to go Morel mushroom picking this week. I can't wait. Morel's are so delicious and they are going off like crazy right now. These tend to show up in areas that burned the year before and last year we dealt with a big forest fire nearby. So, it's off to the woods we go to forage. Hopefully, I'll take some photos of the pasta I plan on making before we devour it.
Thanks Dorie Greenspan, for another wonderful, homey, inspiring dessert. I have a feeling I'll be buying some extra love today with them! Thanks also to Caroline of A Consuming Passion- you can view the entire recipe on her site.
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