Ham and Cheese Gougeres for the Sweetshop of Dreams

I've just finished Jenny Colgan's Sweetshop of Dreams, a charming, way sweet, little confection, only edged out of the totally saccharine by her two protagonists and their blessedly sarcastic sense of humor; occasionally just rude.  I've enjoyed a few of Colgan's other novels but this was sort of an exception. The heroine (plot) was pretty clueless.  We all knew where things were headed, both with her boyfriend and the solution at the end.  She was the only one refusing to see things.

Rosie seems to wear "rose colored glasses" as far as her long term "fiance" is concerned, and to my mind at least, she had a narrow escape from that situation, out to the countryside.  She is supposed to be helping her great aunt who has just gone through hip replacement surgery.  An aunt who has a closed up "Sweetshop",  or what we would here in the U.S call a Candy Shop.  And we do have them still, at least in Hawaii, as there is an Eastern predilection for various peculiar candies, added in with some carry-over local favorites. I have added on a picture of our Hilo shop at the end.

From the Publisher: "Rosie Hopkins thinks leaving her busy London life, and her boyfriend Gerard, to sort out her elderly Aunt Lilian s sweetshop in a small country village is going to be dull. Boy, is she  wrong.

 Lilian Hopkins has spent her life running Lipton's sweetshop, through wartime and family feuds. When her great-niece Rosie arrives to help her with the shop, Lillian struggles with the idea that it might finally be time to settle up, and wrestles with the secret history hidden behind the jars of beautifully colored sweets.

But as Rosie gets Lilian back on her feet, breathes a new life into the candy shop, and gets to know the mysterious and solitary Stephen-whose family seems to own the entire town-she starts to think that settling for what's comfortable might not be so great after all."

To tell you the truth, I dislike most candy, with the exception of some good quality chocolates.  I don't really have a "sweet tooth" per se, preferring salty chips. So the endless enumeration of all extant varieties as well as their history left my mouth in a pucker.  Easily skipped over however, at the start of each chapter, unless you're interested in that sort of thing.

I don't even make desserts very often, unless expecting guests.   My solution to all this sweetness?  Something savory of course.   I saw these ham and cheese puffs in our supermarket flyer and couldn't resist.  And, they're perfect for guests. I used three instead of two types of cheese here: Gruyere, cheddar and Pecorino Romano.

This was the first batch, and they didn't stay puffed up as I'd like, but tasty.  The post is linked over at Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking scene, as well as with the April Foodies Read Challenge.  Be sure to join in with what you're cooking, or just to visit for some good food and books.

As a P.S. - here is a shot inside our local "Sweetshop", in Hilo Hawaii.

Green Pineapple Chutney with Cranberries

You see here a couple of green, unripe pineapples that no one in their right mind would pick.  However, at the beginning of the season, when the desire for a lovely, sweet, fresh pineapple overrides common sense,  we usually make this mistake at least once, thinking maybe it's ready.  Hope prevails.  Both Bob and I did it.  They sat around for a week or more, and I could see those guys were never going to ripen up.  Meanwhile really, truly ripe ones were happening.

Cooking them into a tangy chutney was the solution.  Lots of wonderful spices, red peppercorns, cranberries, you get the picture.  A double rescue.

Salad Burrito with Green Olive Tepenade and Feta

Continuing with the salad variations for summer theme, this is a salad  burrito, which was inspired by a salad pita I saw online recently.  Pita, burrito, sandwich, breadlike thingy you put stuff in.

I have a long history of rutlike things I do.  One of which was only buying corn tortillas.  Recently I broke the mold, went hog wild and bought some flour tortillas.  So, we had a few.

This is not a recipe.  You don't need one.  It's just a thought.  Something you might like to try and then say, wow, so glad I did!  Many variations are possible.  I used feta, but you could lay some Mexican cheese on the hot tortilla, let it get a bit melty and then add on a bit of salsa and the salad.  I used Green Olive Paste or Tepenade, and that was quite tasty.

Recipes to Rival: Olive Straws

Here is a recipe for which you do not need an aebleskiver pan. Guaranteed.  My "series" on uses for that pan will continue later.  Our challenge this month for Recipes to Rival was Olive Straws, one of three choices we had, actually, and they looked so cute and tasty I couldn't resist.   As an added bonus, you can watch Martha and Michel Roux make these little appetizers (Pupus if you're being Hawaiian).  They seemed to be having a good time with them, and Martha's demonstration can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/olive-straws.

Hosting RTR this time is Lori of Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness.  I enlisted my granddaughter, Kealani, as sous chef on this project, as it is always more fun cooking with her.

 Olive Straws

* All-purpose flour, for work surface
* 13 ounces Puff Pastry
* 15 large green pimento stuffed olives, about 1 1/4 inches long
* 1 medium egg yolk
* 1 tablespoon milk

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a large sharp knife, cut the rectangle into a 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle and a 7-by-6-inch rectangle. Place both rectangles on a baking sheet and transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.
2. Place the 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle on a baking sheet. Place 5 olives, end-to-end, in a straight line along the short side of the rectangle, leaving about a 5/8-inch border. Repeat process two more times to make three lines of olives.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and milk. Brush egg mixture on all exposed spaces between olives. Cover with the 7-by-6-inch rectangle of puff pastry, pressing the whole surface of the dough between the olives firmly with your fingertips. Transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.

  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a very sharp knife, trim edges of dough; cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide straws. Lay flat-side down on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until pastry is golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer straws to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm

Well, they don't look like Martha's.  The mistakes we made or things we would do differently, were as follows  (even after watching the video several times, we evidently didn't pay enough attention to directions):
 1. Drain the olives better
 2. Freeze and refrigerate longer - til very firm.
 3. Lie the straws flat on pan rather than upright.
 4. Have the oven hotter.

But, and this is the good news, they tasted delicious, crispy and olive tangy.  Perfect with a glass of white wine.  Since I have another sheet of that puff pastry, we will definitely be making these again soon.

Christmas and Corn Dodgers

Happy Christmas to one and all.  In Hawaii, a Norfolk Pine, topped or in a pot, serves nicely as a Christmas tree.  This one was interfering with the electric lines, and actually had two tops, so my daughter got one and we got the other.  The branches are widely spaced, which requires some filling in with ornaments and draping stuff  to look decent.

Did you ever watch True Grit and wonder what a Corn Dodger was?   Here is a bit of research, excerpted from America's Best Lost Recipes: 121 Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget from the Editors of Cook's Country magazine (America's Test Kitchen, 2007). Copyright 2007 by the Editors of Cook's Country:

Abraham Lincoln was raised on these little oval cornmeal cakes, George Washington Carver took them to school, and John Wayne (playing Rooster Cogburn) used them for target practice in the movie True Grit.
Dating back to the 1800s, the first corn dodgers were made from "hot water corn bread," a mixture of cornmeal, pork fat, salt, and boiling water that was formed into small oblong loaves and baked. Similar recipes were given different names depending on how the dough was shaped and cooked. Corn pone have the same oblong shape as dodgers, but are pan-fried in lots of oil. Johnnycakes are flattened into small pancakes, then griddle-fried. Ashcakes are rounds of dough wrapped in cabbage leaves, then placed in the ashes of the campfire to cook. Hoecakes are formed into small pancakes, then placed on the flat side of a garden hoe (really!) and cooked over the campfire.

The original Corn Dodgers were, similar to hard tack, dense, gritty, and hard as a brick.  Which is why they were good for carrying in a saddlebag for days on end, or for pitching at a target as well.  Mine bear no resemblance to their 19th century forbears.  I just like the name.  They are light, moist, tender and as wonderful as the sweet, fresh shucked corn inside.  I wouldn't bother making them with anything else.  And, unless you're having a really rotten Christmas, you won't want to throw them at anything.

For the recipe I used Irma Ronbauer's Corn Oysters, from my old edition of Joy of Cooking.  An extremely simple, easy batter which works marvelously in that new appliance of mine, yes, the aebleskiver pan.

Corn Dodgers

Make batter immediately before using it.
Prepare 1 cup freshly scraped corn
add:
2 well-beaten eggs
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper, dash cayenne, or as Irma suggests, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons butter

Heat skillet or aebleskiver pan on medium low heat.  When hot add a marble sized piece of butter in each well, or a tablespoon at a time if you are using a skillet and making little cakes.  Swirl the pan a bit to coat, and when hot, sizzling and fragrant fill each well with batter.  Turn when lightly golden brown on the bottom, and brown the other side, turning again if necessary.

I served them as a side with some beef tenderloin, but they would be perfect with barbequed chicken, served  as starters, more party pupus, or for breakfast with a nice slice of ham, YES.

Party Pupus

This quaint cast iron pan, heavier than a truck-load of lead bricks (useful as a defensive weapon), is the latest addition to my growing arsenal of cooking implements.  I was determined however, that it would not be a single use item.  Today we are not featuring the standard product of the Aebleskiver pan, which are naturally, Aebleskivers.  A sort of Danish cross between popovers and pancakes.   We did the Aebleskiver breakfast thing Sunday.  And, they were fun and very tasty, though my expertise in turning and filling left something to be desired.

I have found another excellent use for this cute pan.  Now we can make Cocktail Bondas, or my own version of them anyway.  In Hawaii, as you may have heard, we call them Pupus.  Yes indeed, we do.  Visitors are always amazed we would eat such a thing, or call them that anyway.  Since this is definitely the Season for it, you should try these spicy party nibbles, or before meal starters.

Chickpea Fritters

Pupus, Appetizers, Bondas, or what have you.  This amount makes about 8 of them, so you can increase the ingredients to suit.

3/4 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup water or less (just enough to make a thickish pancake consistency)
1 egg, separated
1 tablespoon curry leaves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash hot chili sauce, or a small minced chili pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons shallot or green onion, minced finely
ghee, olive oil or your own favorite lubricant (going with the Indian inspiration, I used ghee)

Yogurt dipping sauce
1/2 cup yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste

Heat the pan on medium low heat.

Finely mince the onion and curry leaves.  Mix the egg yolk with water and add chickpea flour.  Add remaining ingredients.  Whip egg white to soft peaks and fold in well.

Put a raisin sized piece of ghee into each well and heat til bubbling hot.  Fill almost to the top of each with the batter.  When they're getting a bit crispy on the edges and bubbling in the middle, carefully turn with a chopstick and cook till nicely golden brown on all sides. The tendancy will be to have them cook faster, but the heat really needs to be lower than you would think.  Be patient.   Serve with the dipping sauce, which can be mixed up very quickly while the fritters are cooking.

Much nicer with an aperitif than opening a bag of chips.  You could vary the herbs and seasonings endlessly, according to what is on hand.  If you make them early, they can be re-heated, wrapped in foil.