The Healthy Vegan Kitchen

Welcome to the December Challenge for Recipes to Rival! The Challenge this month is: Appetizers

Think Tapas, little nibbles, noshing, YUM! I have to admit that I was a little bummed & discouraged when I saw the challenge for this month. I guess I was a little tired &stretched a bit thin, so I wasn’t really thinking about how easy this challenge was to veganize. Thanks to all those on the boards that helped me out. Much thanks to our host this month for a great challenge: Temperance of High on the Hog & Jen of Delightful Delicacies.

We were given 3 choices of appetizers with the challenge of making 2 of them. Our options were 1)Gruyere Cheese Gougeres, 2)Galatoire’s Oysters en Brochette, & 3) Blue Cheese, Pear & Walnut Crostini. I think I saw all that cheese & the oysters & freaked out. I had bought my dad some vegan blue cheese for his birthday last year & it was over $9.00, not including shipping, so I didn’t think I could afford that just for this challenge. The only vegan cheese I can get here is mozzarella, cheddar, sour and cream, so, mozzarella it is.

These app’s came together really quick, even hubby liked the crostini (would only eat one piece of the Gougeres though). He actually ate 3 of them.

Here is where you can get the recipes: http://recipestorival.blogspot.com/2008/12/appetizer-trio.html

Check out everyone’s efforts here: http://recipestorival.blogspot.com/

Here is what I changed:

Gruyère Cheese Gougères ©‘The French Laundry Cookbook’ By Thomas Keller, November, 1999
Makes about 4 dozen gougères (I only made ¼ of the recipe)
Gougères are a classical preparation often served at wine tastings in France. The puffs are made from a savory pâte á choux, or cream puff dough-flavored here with Gruyère. They are best served hot out of the oven, offering that creamy-dough gratification. Don’t add the cheese, & the puff is a base for a dessert.
1 cup water
7 tablespoons (3-1/2 ounces) unsalted butter Earth Balance
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
Pinch of sugar
1-1/4 cups (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs Ener-G Egg Replacer
1-1/4 cups grated Gruyère (5 ounces) Vegan Mozzarella
Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats (see Sources) or parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt, & sugar & bring to a boil. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium, & stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball & the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook & stir for a full 2 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle & beat for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly. Add 4 eggs & continue to mix until completely combined & the batter has a smooth, silky texture. Stop the machine & lift up the beater to check the consistency of the batter. The batter in the mixing bowl should form a peak with a tip that falls over. If it is too stiff, beat in the white of the remaining egg. Check again &, if necessary, add the yolk. Finally, mix in ¾ cup of the Gruyère & adjust the seasoning with salt & white pepper.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8” plain pastry tip with the gougère batter. Pipe the batter into 1-tablespoon mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2“ between the gougères as the mixture will spread during baking. Sprinkle the top of each gougère with about ½ teaspoon of the remaining grated cheese & bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they puff & hold their shape. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. And bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. When the gougères are done, they should be a light golden brown color. When you break one open, it should be hollow; the inside should be cooked but still slightly moist. Remove the pans from the oven & serve the gougères while hot.

Notes: These were good hot or cold. I did two diffrent sizes (Tablespoon & Teaspoon) & had a slight preference for the smaller ones. Feel free to try using a diffrent cheese, it makes a big difference in the taste. You can make them up in advance & stick them in the freezer, let them thaw for 10 minutes & then bake in oven as usual & you have warm fresh Gougères. I also thought that stuffing them would be a really good idea.
They turned out a little salty for me, I would cut back on the salt just a bit.

Blue Cheese, Pear & Walnut Crostini:
a baguette, thinly sliced about ½ inch each
olive oil omitted
mascarpone, for spreading (optional) soy cream cheese
any type of bleu cheese (gorgonzola, Roquefort, stilton), thinly sliced, or crumbled vegan mozzarella
freshly hulled walnuts
a few pears, peeled & sliced into small cubes

1. Brush your bread slices with olive oil, line on a baking sheet, then toast in a hot oven for a few minutes until browned & crispy. You can broil them as well, if you prefer.
2. Remove from heat & spread each toast with some mascarpone.
3. Lay bleu cheese slices, or spread some crumbles, on each toast & add walnut pieces on top. Return to a 375-400°F oven for a few minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
4. When the cheese is nicely melted, take the crostinis out of the oven & top with a few cubes of pear. Serve soon after.

I tried it with the soy cream cheese & without it. Personally, I liked it better with it. This would taste great with the blue cheese & brie would be amazing! (For all you omnivores out there)

I liked the Gougeres, but I probably wouldn’t make them again. I would totally make the Crostini again though, they were great.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 12:03 am and is filed under Appetizers, Recipes to Rival, snacks, fruit, Challenges. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.