Bill is always a good sport when it comes to culinary adventures. When we were in Vancouver a couple summers ago, I made a reservation for the two of us to dine at Lumiere, a chic and elegant, now-defunct French restaurant. I have very little recollection of our menu except for the beet chocolate cake for dessert…which hubby thought was blasphemous…and the the blue cheese gougères…which were heavenly puffs of deliciousness.
Saturday night, Kate, from Kate’s Kitchen, her husband, and another couple joined us for a dinner on the town. We drove up to Bonge’s Tavern in Perkinsville, Indiana, where it is a tradition to tailgate while waiting for your table. We had coolers filled with wine, beer, shrimp (I’ll let Kate share her magnificent appetizer)…and….blue cheese gougères! We arrived to find it was sold out for the night. They don’t take reservations, at apparently you need to show up at 3 PM to guarantee a spot. So we returned to the car, and did what any self respecting foodies would do…we dove into our hors d’oeuvres.
These gougeres are a simple pâte à choux dough with blue cheese and a pinch of cayenne. Best piping hot out of the oven, we still managed to demolish the batch despite their lukewarm temperature.
Blue Cheese Gougères…adapted from Bon Appétit
1/2 cup finely crumbled blue cheese, I used Maytag
Preheat oven to 375º. Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Stir till butter is melted. Stir in flour, and reduce heat to medium low. Continue stirring until dough forms a large clump, about a minute. Remove from heat.
Whisk eggs together in mixing cup. Remove 1 tablespoon and set aside. Add eggs, about a third at a time to flour mixture, stirring constantly till incorporated…and to avoid scrambling the egg. Dough will be sticky. Stir in blue cheese.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet. Brush each with reserved egg yolk and with finger moistened with water, gently pat down any pointed tops.
Bake till puffed, golden and dry, about 30-35 minutes. Makes 12. Serve warm.
Can be frozen for up to a week and reheated in a 350º oven for about 5 minutes.
Linked to These Chicks Cooked~
Linked to Fresh Food Friday~
Linked to Game Day Link Party~
Linked to Happy Hour Friday~
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Never heard of tailgating in a restaurant’s parking lot before. What fun! These little blue cheese balls sound delightful, with Maytag to boot! Wonderful.
This is a recipe and appetizer I surely havent had, and is calling my name to make got to save this one .. bet its great with some Pinot, lovely flavors!
Sounds like a good time…with these lovely bites, how couldn’t it have been?
You are looking good with that wonderful smile Lizzy in the pic. The appetizer with blue cheese and white rice must have created great taste.
Looks delicious
Sounds like a fun concept for a restaurant! Might have to check it out next time I’m up north =)
And these gougeres sound absolutely delicious =)
Great group photo. These sound so delicious. I’d be the only enjoying these in my household since no one else eats blue cheese.
This is lovely read… God look at these gougeres, perfect crust. I am sure the cheese must have added richness to its texture along with flavor…
Yumm.. Thanks for sharing Liz.
Wow! The blogsphere seems abuzz with talks of Gougères. No prize for guessing what I’m trying next. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m loving these! And yours look just beautiful. I’ve never actually made them myself, but I’ve been known to eat more than my fair share…
Look beautiful and delicious, great family photo, hugs.
I can attest to the fact that these were wonderful! My hubby is still talking about them three days later. What a wonderful evening with delightful friends, conversation and food!! Hope we can do it again soon, xoxo Kate
Sounds like a great evening with great company and food! These gougeres look delicious and you make them sound SO good. I want to run out and try this recipe!
Ah, these remind me of the very first ffwD recipe! Your bleu cheese versions look delicious!
Blue cheese has such an exceptional flavor, no doubt these gougeres are delicious. Yum!
WOW – never heard of tail gaiting in a restaurant parking lot. Do they not take reservations? These looks fabulous. I did a recipe from Kate’s blog. It’s great.
Delicious! An extra + when you can freeze it!
You mentioned on my blog post that your oldest son’s school is a big rival of ND, is it Michigan or USC?? Enjoy your weekend!
any thing with blue cheese has to be sensational
Thank you for sharing..
My husband thinks I am crazy for the things I try when we eat out but hey isn’t that where most inspiration comes from?
Delishhh, they take reservations for parties of 10 and over…and apparently they’re booked through Thanksgiving!!!
Thanks, everyone for your sweet comments~
The Cafe Dietitian, no, his rival school is Purdue…they play each other every year. The irony is that both of my boys went to Cathedral High School, who are also the Fighting Irish
First…love the photo! Nothing like having fun with friends! I’d really like to dive into these
gougeres myself…I could probably make a meal of them, with just a little salad for balance! Thanks!
These blue cheese gougeres look amazing dear Lizzy,what nice know others bloggers lovely pic!!Sounds you had a lovely time, xgloria
Those look so incredible! Love it! I tagged you in my 7 Links Challenge!
http://www.the-farmers-wife.net/2011/08/farmers-wifes-7-links.html
I make these regularly – aren’t they foolproof? But yours are so much prettier…. sigh.
I would eat way too many of these! I have a recipe for Gruyere gougeres but have not tried it yet. They sound so good!
I keep meaning to make these! They always sound so yummy.
Sorry about not getting in the restaurant! It’s a good thing you had appetizers ready to go! Sounds like you had a good time, though.
I love this recipe. Sounds like you had fun. I don’t have any local foodie friends. Need to meet some soon before I drive my family batty. I went over to check out your friend’s site. Am now following her. So thanks for sharing. Love finding new blogs to read.
I’ve tailgated at a NASCAR race and football game, but never a restaurant. That’s pretty hilarious.
I love the ingredients in your gougeres and can understand why you loved them at the defunct restaurant. The photos are gorgeous.
Beet chocolate cake? It actually doesn’t sound that bad to me (is that weird?).
These sound so scrumptious with blue cheese! Great appetizers!
I have a newfound love for blue cheese, so these look wonderful!
Liz…I truly love blue cheese. On it’s own or in any recipe. These gougeres are just beautiful. I really do admire your skill as a baker! (And those plates are just so pretty!)
An elegant and flavorful dish! And how cool that you had a foodbuzz gathering!
What a delicious appetizer! This sort of thing is MY kind of appetizer! I love that you met with a fellow food blogger…
….I just had lunch with one – Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker! SO much fun!
mmmmm, these look awesome! Looks like a great appetizer for a party!
WOW! Those look amazing and oh so delicious!!
Perhaps the best thing to happen that evening was the fully booked restaurant. Sounds as if the tail-gate party with everyone was so much for fun. Your Blue Cheese Gougères look irresistible.
I love that picture of you guys at the end! <3 I have never made gougeres and I have been wanting to try them so badly… now I know what recipe to try first… I cannot resist blue cheese!
So glad that you are enjoying my paintings!
You have a real talent for baking! YUM!
I love gougeres! Yours look amazing. There are worse things then having to eat a whole bunch of them for dinner!
I have not had gourgeres before…yours looks scrumptious!
I’d like a plateful of those please.
show up at 3PM to guarantee a spot!! This sound really crazy and I think their food must be really yummy! Your Blue Cheese Gougères looks perfect as from restaurant too
Can’t wait to try these for a party next week.
I heart gougeres. I have only had them with gruyere, I bet they were fab with the blue cheese.
I’ve never made gougeres, but you Lizzy try everything without giving it a second thought and it always turns out great!
A perfect appetizer! ….that place sounds like a lot of fun, too bad it’s way too far from us!
Interesting! Tail gate party before you get a table!! That sounds like a fun idea. I’ve never had goureres (I think) and curious to try. The crust looks nice and crunchy yet inside must be soft? I’d probably enjoy this a lot!
I’ve come back to this post 4 times! I adored making these and now that I think of them with blue cheese I can’t help but want to make them again for that! I think I’ll make these this weekend and freeze a bunch up.
Oh, I have GOT to make these!