Starting today, Foodie Fridays will be replaced by French Fridays with Dorie. I’ll be cooking through Around My French Table along with many others. Hope you enjoy this detour as I learn more about french cooking.

Today’s recipe was Gougères. This was such a simple, satisfying thing to make. My batch yielded 44 servings, not the 36 mentioned in the book. I baked a dozen, froze the rest. Did I mention I ate three before I even started writing this post? This will become a staple entertaining food for me since you can bake them from frozen. What a nice little treat for guests to have a warm, golden cheesy nugget like this!

This time I used gruyere, but I will try cheddar next. I’d also love to add a little spice to them and play with different flavors. Great recipe. Turned out perfectly. Can’t wait for next week’s recipe!

Enjoy your weekend! Eat something yummy.

Just wanted to share a quick and easy addition to your upcoming winter soups.

I always save leftover, unused puff pastry bits. Why not utilize those extra bits to make croutons?

These couldn’t be simpler, and they add a lovely, buttery addition to tomato soup. I imagine this would be quite nice on many other soups, too. Also, it’s a bit unexpected if serving to guests. It’s a little pillow of buttery, flaky goodness. Mmmm…

Cut your frozen pastry bits into whatever shapes you’d like. I chose small rectangles. Place on a baking sheet. Season with your favorite seasonings. I used an Italian seasoning grinder. Bake until puffed and golden in a preheated 400 degree oven. About 10 minutes. Just use your judgement since these are small. You don’t want to overcook them!

Every Saturday morning I walk to Little Italy Mercato here in downtown San Diego to buy most of my produce and cheeses for the week. We live about 1.5 miles from Little Italy so I also get a great three mile walk in! This is precisely why on this lovely September morning, I decided to eat breakfast at the market. Why not indulge a little?

I’ve been eyeing the pastries from Loic Patisserie’s booth for the past couple months. Tasting a little here and there. I want to try EVERYTHING. These are the kinds of pastries I want when I crave a pastry! Flaky, buttery, beautiful pastries!

First I ate half of my ham and cheese quiche from Loic Patisserie’s booth. It had been on dry ice, so it was chilled, but still quite tasty. The crust was so lovely, and although chilled, the inside was still creamy in texture. I love me some quiche! I saved the other half for later.

Then, I ate one of three Parisian Macaroons I purchased. I chose vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate. I ate the vanilla for dessert. It was quite lovely. I’m trying very hard not to finish off the other two!

I also had a free Key Lime Pie popsicle from Viva Pops, but I’ll share more on that later in the week as to why it was free. Very exciting!

Then, I ate the rest of my quiche when I got home! Three miles, people! I was hungry! Also, I much preferred it warmed to cold. Next week, I’m getting a chocolate croissant. It’s settled.

I had never made a pot pie before. As much as I love the comforting idea of a pot pie, it seems they have to be super fattening to be tasty. Not so! This healthier version is a nice comforting winter treat.

I’d come across a recipe in a recent Health magazine for a Chicken Pot Pie filled with leftover roasted root vegetables. Of course, I didn’t have what I needed. Not to mention, the chicken I prepared turned out to be bad (as in make-you-sick bad). At this point I was so frustrated and completely snowed in. We’d already walked to the grocery store a mile away… twice. I wasn’t about to trek out in two feet of snow…again!

Discouraged that my first pot pie would be less-than-perfect… I finished it anyway. I hate to waste food. To my complete surprise, this Yummy Veggie Pot Pie turned out to be absolute perfection! With every bite, I turned to my chef husband with such pride and satisfaction waiting for his stamp of approval. Even he loved it!

Yummy Veggie Pot Pie

WHAT I USED

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed, cut to fit dish(es) (I used about 1/3 of one sheet)
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% Lactaid milk
2 – 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup roasted zucchini, cut into small cubes
1 cup roasted parsnips, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 fresh sage leaves
1 large egg white, beaten

WHAT I DID

1. Place cubed zucchini and parsnips on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with kosher salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until tender. Depends on size of your cubes. Once veggies are done, raise over temp to 425 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, cook butter and oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add flour, cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Continue whisking while adding milk in a slow stream; bring mixture to a simmer. Add thyme Simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.

3. Remove thyme sprigs. Stir in next 5 ingredients (through pepper). Spoon mixture into ovenproof dish. Take thawed puff pastry from fridge and cut piece to fit your dish. Work quickly, minimizing handling of pastry. Press pastry to outer edge of dish to seal. Place 2 sage leaves on top. Brush with egg white.

4. Bake pot pie on a baking sheet in center of oven for 17-19 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot!

*Our puff pastry was a little underdone on the inside so you might bake a little longer, but keep an eye on it. You don’t want it to burn!

**I used a dish to yield 2 larger servings. I did not have individual dishes. This would make 3-4 1-cup servings if you have individual dishes.

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Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is! Can’t wait to make this again. Feel free to use any combination of veggies. This would be great with so many varieties. Winter squash might be nice. Mmm…

Happy Weekend everyone!