Very Gneiss

Green Mountains

I learned more geology in a few hours on a beautiful summer afternoon than in an entire course at college.  Paul Meyers, a professional geologist now retired, led seven people on a tour of the greater Manchester area with stops at Hildene (to see the valley resulting from a thrust fault in (probably) the Triassic period); East Dorset (Cambrian Dolomite and Basalt Pike) and a stop on Rts. 11/30 to scramble across the mountain road to get up close and personal with some Precambrian Gneiss.

Gneiss

We made a stop at the East Dorset General Store for much-appreciated “conite”, i.e., soft ice cream (Dr. Meyers is a big ice cream fan having managed eighteen Dairy Queen stops in a geology trip out west that lasted something like two weeks.)

Geology was thrust on me at college to fulfill some arcane science requirement. I remember “completing “a map of an on-campus lake that was a joke and almost falling down a very steep hill into a creek below, only to be halted by the foot of one of my friends. Paul Meyers would make the phone book an informative read and I bet all his former students thought so as well.

The day before was the first annual Grafton Food Festival. Vendors gathered under a tent promoting their pickles, jams, cheeses and so on and we ate wonderful sandwiches at Mac’s Place, opposite the Grafton Inn. Food demonstrations were part of the festival –one featuring cheese gourgieres, those delightful puff pastry morsels that would wow cocktail visitors. (Or dessert lovers—if you omit the cheese and other savory ingredients, you have simple pate a choux (classic French puff pastry) which can be turned into profiterole by slicing off the top, filling the center with ice cream, putting the top back on and drenching the whole with the best chocolate sauce you can find or make.

Gougieres

Gougieres

1 cup water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

4 large eggs, chilled

1 cup (packed) coarsely grated Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces) (Since we were in Grafton, the chef used 5 year old Grafton cheddar but any good Cheddar will do.)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

(Note: the chef at the Grafton event added Parmesan and summer savory but I have no idea how much of each. Am thinking about ¼ cup Parmesan and 2 T. savory would work fine. You could also use any other herb you like or skip the whole thing.

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line two cookie sheets or do yourself a big favor and invest in one Silpat, a special baking sheet that makes removing baked items a cinch.  If you buy one Silpat, bake this in two batches.

Bring 1 cup water, butter, and salt to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until butter melts. Add flour; stir rapidly with wooden spoon until flour absorbs liquid and forms ball, pulling away from sides of pan. Stir vigorously until film forms on bottom of pan and dough is no longer sticky, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove pan from heat and beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in cheese(s), pepper and herbs, if using.  

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake gougères until golden brown somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes depending on how hot your oven is. Serve hot or warm.