Mothers and Grandmothers: The Cream Puff Wars...Or How I Was Beaten By An Egg

This recipe is brought to me by my grandma Carlton, the matriarch of the entire clan on my father’s side.

The best thing about this recipe: This is an impressive dessert. These are soft, crispy, light and dense all at the same time. If you can get the hang of them, you can make a very inexpensive dessert (or, if you are my dad, a snack).

Cream Filling:

2/3 Cup of sugar

5 Tablespoons of flour

¼ Teaspoon of salt

2 Cups of milk

2 eggs or 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 Teaspoon of vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in top of double boiler:

Add milk gradually:

Cook over boiling water stirring constantly, cover and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in a little of the hot mixture into beaten eggs and slowly add to hot mixture (to avoid curdling). Cook over hot mixture 2 minutes (not boiling) stirring constantly. Chill, add vanilla.

Cream Puffs:

Ok, so I had some major troubles with the original recipe. I don’t know, maybe ovens were different in the 1950s, or maybe the humidity in VA messes with butter too much, but every stage was wrong. I will do a side by side comparison with my first attempt and my second.

1 Cup Flour, sift, measure add salt

1 Teaspoon Salt

½ Cup Shortening (butter preferred)

1 Cup Water

4 eggs

1^st Attempt

Combine shortening and boiling water in page, over low till melted.

So far so good…I used room temperature butter.

Add flour all at one time—stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Remove from heat.

Still seams ok…

Add one egg at a time:

Looks good

Beat thoroughly after each addition:

Hmm, a little runny

Beat until thick dough it formed.

What the…? Every egg is making it runnier…this is like a roux!

Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet---about 2 inches apart.

 

This was about the time that I realized that something went terribly, terribly wrong…

Do not open oven while baking, at 450, for 50 minutes and no beads of moisture appear.

FAIL

So I cried into my yogurt parfait and drowned my sorrows with sweet, sweet, creamy goodness.

2^nd Attempt

Ok, so my oven will burn the bottoms of Bisquick biscuits at 425, so I really can’t cook anything that high. I went online and found a temperature that sounded more like what I needed. Preheat oven for 400 degrees.

This time, I combined shortening and boiling water in the pan, over low heat until melted. I find shortening really helps me maintain the correct consistency for chocolate chip cookies, where butter seems to flatten them. Next time, I may use butter flavored shortening, for fun.

I also bought all new self-rising flour and added it all at one time and stirred vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan. You can see that it looks much better already.

Remove from heat. Add one egg at a time.

Beat thoroughly after each addition until thick dough is formed

Drop by Tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet---about 2 inches apart. I also used my finger to swirl the tops and round them out.

Oohhh, much better…

Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 350 for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven. 

These are huge!

When cool cut slit inside and fill with cream filling or whipped cream. Chill in refrigerator.

I’m also not entirely sure that the pudding was the correct consistency, it was runnier than the whipped cream, and I actually preferred the whipped cream. Cutting the side was also difficult, and I wasn't sure how much pudding to put in each puff. I guess use your discretion?

As the French would say…Boff!

Vegetarian: 

This is vegetarian

Back Story:

This recipe comes to me via my father’s mother. She was the first one in her family to be born in America, and a very classy lady. Although she is easy going, she is very independent, strong, and knows her own mind. Much like the cream puff she has a sweetness and lightness about her. I am not at all surprised that she would choose such a classic French dessert for her dish.  I am not the only one in our family who found the simple cream puff difficult and messy, and that has always surprised her. She would talk about how easy it was to make them, while watching her 4 young children on any given afternoon. I think it is really interesting that something that is so hard for the rest of us can be done with the mere flick of her wrist. I hope that I can also face all of the troubles of life with the same alacrity.

Note: I will be finishing my series on the Chicago Saga next week. In the meantime, I am creating a new series: Mothers and Grandmothers. This will include Carltons, Bassingthwaites, Ryans and Harneys.

Chicago Saga II: Herb Parmesan Bread

This recipe is brought to me by the Matriarch of the Chicago Carltons, and the most notable cook of the three.

The best thing about this recipe: This bread is so hearty. It makes your house smell like fresh pizza, but it is dense enough to satisfy your hunger. I think this would be great for house-warmings, with a fruit and cheese platter/party, or as a side to a big family dinner. I made it as an after dinner/midnight snack before going to bed.

Ingridents
2 Cups warm water
2 Packages dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
4 ½ Cups flour
½ a Cup grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ Tablespoon oregano and other seasonings (I used ½ TB fennel seed, ½ TB Basil and ½ TB oregano)
Dash of garlic

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375.

Sprinkle yeast over water in a large bowl. If the water is too hot, it will kill it, and too cold, it won’t activate. If you see it bubbling up, you are doing it right.


Let stand a few minutes and then stir to dissolve the yeast.







Add sugar, salt, butter and cheese herbs and only 3 cups of flour. Beat at low speed until smooth, for 2 minutes.


Add the rest of the flour (I took a wooden spoon to it to try and incorporate some of the flour, but was careful to keep from over-doing it).






Let rise in a warm place covered with a clean towel, about 45 minutes or until light and bubbly and more than double in size. If you have used your stove top and/or oven, you can use that as a warm space.










The original recipe calls for a 1 ½ quart casserole or bread pan. I don’t own those, so I used a 2 quart, 8X8 pan. With a wooden spoon, beat down the batter (about 25 strokes). Turn into a casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese over the bread. Bake 45-55 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn onto a wire rack, cooled.

Enjoy!!!

 

Vegetarian
This is a vegetarian option, already.

Back Story
This recipe belongs to my Aunt, who willing entered into our crazy tribe. She is not the loudest, or often the center of attention, but she is often witty with a cool essence about her. She has got this twinkle in her eye, and a presence that lets you know that you aren't going to get anything by her. I remember after a family re-union, when I was still very young, hugging everyone goodbye and telling her that I was going to miss her most of all. I just felt a great connection. I think it’s really telling that she didn't pick a main dish, but something that would be a side, and could still be a show-stopper in its own right.

Chicago Carlton Saga: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I decided to start with a branch of Carltons who dwell in the great city of Chicago. They will be known as part of the Chicago Carlton Saga.

The best thing about this recipe : This is a ton of food, and it’s not really that expensive, either. It’s highly recommended if you wanted to bring something over for a friend after surgery, or a new mom, or a party/potluck. I actually like this casserole more than actual chicken enchiladas.

Ingredients
Recipe here:
2-3 Chicken breasts
16 oz refried beans
16 oz enchilada sauce
12 flour tortillas
16 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 Onion finely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 clove garlic
½ tsp salt
(sour cream, guacamole and Spanish rice for garnish/sides)

Preparation
Preheat over at 325.

Cut chicken breasts into strips and heat frying pan at medium high with salt, oregano, garlic and onions with a little olive oil. Place finished product in a bowl. Pour enchilada sauce in the sauce pan and heat. In the meantime, heat the beans in another (preferably smaller) sauce pan.

You will be using a 13x9 dish (probably the biggest one you have). Cut tortillas to fit into the pan. Ladle enchilada sauce into the pan, and dip the strips into sauce and place on top of the thin layer of sauce.



Then pour all of the beans into pan.



Dip the next layer of dipped tortilla strips into the pan.



Add the meat mixture, and spread evenly, followed by the last layer of dipped tortillas.



Pour remaining sauce (it will be a lot) and top generously with cheese.






Use aluminum foil when baking, so the cheese doesn’t burn. Bake for 40 minutes. Turn off the oven; remove the layer of foil and let sit in there for 5 minutes so the cheese sets a little.



Enjoy!

Vegetarian Option
I think this may even be better without the meat. I really like the refried beans a lot, and they are very hearty and full of fiber and protein. I would maybe cook the onion and dice 3 bell peppers in place of the chicken to create more texture in the dish.

Back Story:
This recipe belongs to the eldest cousin of the Carlton clan. She has the best stories! She is adventurous, beautiful and incredibly smart. My favorite memory of her actually took place at a funeral. As time went on, one friend, after another, after another filtered into the room, showing how extroverted and loved she was. My cousin would drive to various Big Ten schools, just to meet up with MORE people in college. She is the person you want to invite to any event, anytime, anywhere, any party. It’s kind of fitting that she would send me a recipe that is practical, hearty and could feed thousands. Pair with margaritas, if you dare.

Culinary Cassie: The Eager Skillet

I always think of food as the best way to share culture, beliefs and love. Most of the time we show this by cooking Grandma Carlton's spaghetti from the old country, or Grandma Mowery's chicken noodle soup. It's a way to nurture, and be nurtured. It creates a feeling of being at home, being a part of a family and reflecting on who we are and from where we came.

Where and how did I get these recipes? Well, my wonderful, thoughtful, creative best friend Leslie hosted my bridal shower a while ago. She knew that I love to cook, and asked each invitee to fill out a recipe card with their favorite recipe on it. So here I am, with a stack of recipe cards and an eager skillet.

I have recipes from my Italian Grandma (they use pork chops, not meatballs in their marinara), my Midwestern mom (meat and potatoes please), Nick’s Czech grandmother (mmmm… kolaches) and even my vegetarian best friend (a salmon recipe, really?).

My goal is to re-create a recipe every week, good, bad or ugly, and give an honest account of what happened in my kitchen. I will try to come up with vegetarian alternatives, if possible.  I will try to highlight something practical about the recipe I am making, and include an antidote about the person who shared it. I will try to avoid any and all meltdowns. There will be pictures.

I have an eager non-stick skillet from pampered chef, and a box full of recipes. The best thing is I will be cooking with all of the utensils that I registered for when I was getting married. See? It all comes back to sharing. Full circle. Boom.