The Super Bowl is coming, right? It’s never too early to plan the snacks. In fact, for those people who don’t even like football, they still get all excited about the snacks, don’t they?
It’s never too early to start planning. Just like for the holidays! For this major sporting event, you have to have the right combination of finger foods so that no one has to lift their body out of a chair when the game is on except to throw a few delicious things on their plate. I have just the thing.
I mean, how many nachos and dips can be served at a Super Bowl Party? Isn’t it time we all stepped it up a bit and served a yummy, cheesy Gougere puff with a pear compote on the side? Could it get any warmer and more delicious than that?
While this recipe may look like it has a lot of steps, it is actually pretty easy if you just use the same saucepan to make the Gougeres, the blue cheese filling and then the pears. I just rinsed it out each time and wiped it with paper towels and started again. Simple. One pot.
And you can be pretty sure that no one else will serve such an interesting handful of deliciousness at their Super Bowl Party. Football is so competitive. All that testosterone, adrenaline and other intense stuff. You might as well compete on the food playing field and dazzle all your friends with these!
You can make the Gougeres a month ahead of time and freeze them. The blue cheese filling and pear compote also can be made ahead. You will want to bring the Gougeres to room temperature before baking and warm the pear compote in the microwave for a few minutes before serving.
Blue Cheese Filling
Pear Compote
And on a side note. I know that there are people who love the Winter. They go skiing and skating and make snowmen and they are just as happy as can be. I am not one of them. Sometimes I feel as gray as the day. The one bright light in the winter is the ability to create great food that appeals to people’s senses in such a way that it deludes them into feeling warm all over.
So I press on, despite my strong negative feelings about being cooped up in the winter (you have no idea how much I hate to bundle up and go outside, let alone do it for sport!), because the sheer joy of cooking and my newfound love of blogging definitely keeps me motivated and upbeat.
Just a word about Instagram. I am so happy to have found it and I have really enjoyed seeing all of the comments and “likes” from the wonderful social media community of food lovers and food photographers. It felt like a big step for me to start posting on Instagram but now that I have joined the millennials in their love for the instant photo gratification, I understand the attraction for sure.
So stop by Instagram (@metirementblog) and watch this MEtiree try yet another new thing. This evolution of a former hardworking, devoted, focused lawyer to a person who is just exploring every new thing that looks interesting has been such a wonderful journey so far and thanks to all my blog friends and Instagram followers for getting me so jazzed every day about coming to “work”.
Gougeres with Creamy Blue Cheese Filling and Pear Compote
A new and different snack for the Super Bowl. Not a dip, not chili, not pizza. Something entirely new in the world of finger food.
Ingredients
For the Gougeres
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup flour
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 ounces Jarlsberg, Gruyere or Tallegio cheese shredded
For the Creamy Blue Cheese Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk heated in microwave for 3 minutes
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons Maytag or Point Reyes Blue Cheese
- 1 egg yolk
For the Pear Compote
- 1/2 cup Riesling I used Chateau St. Michelle
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- zest of two lemons cut into large strips
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 1 pound Bosc pears (about 4-5) peeled, cored and chopped into 1" dice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Gougeres
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and add the flour all at once and stir it rapidly with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until it forms a ball and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.
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Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. With an electric mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, each for at least 30 seconds.
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Add the cheese and nutmeg and stir until the cheese is melted. With a small, oiled ice cream scoop (about 1 tablespoon), make small, even balls of dough and drop them onto the parchment paper 2 inches apart.
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After 15 minutes of baking, remove the pan from the oven, close the oven door and stick each of the puffs on the side with a sharp tipped knife to allow some of the steam to escape. This will keep the puffs from being soggy.
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Bake them for an additional 10 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and let them cool. At this point you can freeze them and fill them with the blue cheese mixture later or use them the same day.
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When you are ready to fill them, bring the Gougeres to room temperature. Split each one of them in half horizontally with a thin, serrated knife (I like a tomato knife) but do not cut them all the way through. They should open like a book.
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Drop 1 tablespoon of cold blue cheese filling on each one and close the top.
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Bake the Gougeres for 20 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving with the pear compote.
Creamy Blue Cheese Filling
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In a medium, heavy saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter.
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Lower the heat to medium and add the flour all at once, whisking rapidly. Let the mixture cook for a full minute.
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Add the salt and the nutmeg to the hot milk, add the milk all at once to the pan and whisk until the sauce is smooth.
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Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the blue cheese. Let cool for 5 minutes and whisk in the egg yolk, blending well.
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Pour the filling into a pie plate and refrigerate it, covered, for at least two hours or up to 3 days. Fill the Gougeres with the cheese mixture when it is cold.
Pear Compote
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In a heavy, medium saucepan over medium hight heat, combine all of the ingredients except for the chopped pears.
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Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 more minutes until the liquid is well infused with the lemon zest and allspice. The mixture should be reduced by half.
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Remove the zest and allspice and discard. Add the chopped pears, lower the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the pears are almost falling apart, about 15-20 minutes. You want them to be soft but still maintain their shape.
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Let cool to room temperature. The compote can be refrigerated for a week.
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Before serving, bring the compote to room temperature and then heat it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes just to warm it.
Recipe Notes
If you are freezing the Gougeres, allow them to cool completely. Freeze them first on a cookie sheet covered tightly with foil for at least a day. You can then put them into freezer bags and freeze them for no more than a month.