Fast & French

Have you been cooking more during the quarantine?

Have no fear. The boy is always very supervised.

I often find myself gravitating to recipes that Theo can help with. He loves to help in the kitchen and gets so excited when the opportunity presents itself. A lot of the time he’ll even drag his “cooking stool” over when he sees me making dinner because he wants to help. I always oblige. Especially when he goes and finds his cooking apron and hat and hands them to me. He’s ready. I like to have some easy recipes up my sleeve so that I’m ready too.

I love so many things French and cooking is no exception. In fact, I have a french cookbook that just came in and I’m so excited to dig into it. Anyway, The French get a bad rap for a couple things. Like being mean and I can assure you they are a lovely gracious people. Another one is that French cooking is hard and it can be, but not always.

Today, Theo and I are making what The French would call “Gougeres” but simply put they are light and airy french cheese puffs! I love to learn new things and one thing I took away from this recipe was that it starts with a Pate a Choux.

Pâte à Choux

(sounds like “pat a shoe”)

Simply put is a paste made of flour, water, butter, and eggs. It’s thicker than a batter but it’s not as thick as dough.

what you need:

what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 425, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a sauce pan bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil. Then add in flour and stir until a dough forms. Cook a couple of minutes to dry out the dough.

3. Put this in a bowl and let it cool a little bit. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined.

4. Add cheese and parsley and mix really well. Use two tablespoons and drop on to your prepared baking sheet. Set them two inches apart. Then, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.

5. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 and another 20-25 minutes at 380 or until golden brown.

   Best served warm.

   If there is one thing that you take away from this QUARANTINE, I hope you find yourself in the kitchen more...and love it.

   Thanks for stopping by today!

“Cooking is one of the great gifts you can give to those you love.”

— Ina Garten

An Unexpected Pairing

With a strong, strong coffee in hand I say hello there!

I’m all about an impromptu gathering!

Don’t get me wrong I love to sit down and create an entire party menu and come up with different things too. But for today’s “Perfectly Plated” I’m talking about a fast, unexpected pairing that is perfect to not only entertain quickly but also raise an eyebrow.

What’s one thing that (for the most part) is a universal crowd pleaser? Burgers. Sure, it might not be everyone’s thing but you’ll know your crowd. Sliders are great because they are something that can be easily walked around with, easily made, and all around no fuss.

Now on to the cocktail. I recently talked about adding St. Germain to my bar and if you haven’t yet, do it! Simply fill a champagne flute 1/3 of the way with St. Germain and fill the rest with Champagne. Stir it very gently and you’re all set!

Why this works:

The champagne and St. Germain and meat in the sliders compliment each other perfectly!

I hope you enjoy this unique pairing and maybe you’ll throw it together for a quick gathering. It’s sure to please!

Happy Thursdaying!

Sizzle In The Kitchen

I told you things were heating up this week on Fast Fash…

It was about 3am and I couldn’t sleep. And where does my head go? I so randomly think “My kitchen is missing a torch!!”. Talk about funny things that pop into your head on a sleepless night. So obviously I immediately order one on Amazon.

If you’ve seen my insta stories then you know I’ve dabbled in setting cheese on fire. I didn’t want to do a typical creme brûlée (even though I’m sure I still will). I opted for steak since that’s usually our tradition for what we make on Valentine’s Day.

flam·bé

/flämˈbā/

adjective

1. 1. 

   (of food) covered with liquor and set alight briefly.

   "crêpes flambé"

2. 2. 

   denoting or characterized by a red copper-based porcelain glaze with purple streaks.

verb

1. cover (food) with liquor and set it alight briefly.

Want to switch up your steak making? This simple flaming steak recipe is sure to impress.

flambé Bourbon Glaze

what you need

Steaks

2oz bourbon

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup beef broth

fresh Rosemary

what you do

Sear steaks the way you like them, for me its medium rare. After that remove pan from heat, add in butter and rosemary, and let the butter melt. Throw in the broth and bourbon, and return the pan to a medium heat and get the torch ready! If you don’t have one that’s ok a long lighter works too. Light it! Let the flames go for about 10 seconds. To get rid of the flames just shake the pan a little. If that doesn’t work then just put a lid on the pan.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!