Oct12010

French Friday: Gougeres

The folks that started the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group have started up another fun project to coincide with Dorie’s release of her newest cookbook, Around My French Table. The new group is called French Fridays with Dorie and of course, I joined up!

This week’s project was Gougeres, delicious little puffs of eggy, cheesy yumminess, and it was chosen by Dorie herself!

French cooking has always fascinated me because it’s always seemed a bit difficult and time consuming. These little biscuits were anything but. Though they needed some careful babysitting, there was really nothing to it, and you could easily whip up a batch to serve with breakfast or dinner.

I couldn’t find Gruyere cheese, unfortunately, so I used Swiss instead. This gave the biscuits a tangy bite, but I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for the Gruyere.

(Please forgive the bad lighting on the pictures – we have no natural lighting today (dark and cloudy), and I even managed to break one of my lamps.)

Apr92010

Homemade Dog Biscuits

I’m breaking out of my standard human-food recipe post today for some animal munchies! It’s been a pretty eventful week as far as our household animals are concerned: we picked up a new litter of kittens last Saturday to foster until they’re big and old enough to go up for adoption. The five little kitties can be seen live for most of the day at their very own website, at http://thekittenroom.com!

So, in honor of all the four-legged family members in my home, both permanent and temporary, I’m going to share a recipe for dog biscuits that my dogs absolutely adore (I’ve tried treats for the cats but they don’t care for anything beyond catnip!).

I love to make my own homemade dog treats because I like knowing exactly what’s going into them — and what’s not. These biscuits are always a hit, and I swear our two little dogs know when I’m prepping for them, too.

These biscuits are easy and foolproof, but make sure you don’t store it in an airtight container (they’ll get moldy)

Fido’s Favorite Treats

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken or beef instant bullion
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups wheat flour (white flour will work, too)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. In large bowl combine rolled oats, margarine and water and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk,cheese and egg. Mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in remaining flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness; cut with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Store loosely covered or in the fridge. Makes 3 1/2 dozen large biscuits.