Friday Night Dates : Week 32

I'm inviting romance into my life

one Friday Night Date at a time
and documenting each one here on my little ol' blog.

I want to remember every detail
of these splendid home spun dates.

I have to make a confession...
normally Roger makes the food
for our Friday Night Dates
while I put Griffin to bed.

It's really nice to have my man
cook for me
but this weekend, I made our treat.
It was my first time baking anything French
and it went smashingly well.

The film was so much fun and romantic.
We felt very French as we sipped our martinis
and nibbled on the Chouquettes.

It was a great night!

Here are the recipes...

French Martini

• 2 ounces vodka
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• ¼ ounce Chambord raspberry liquor
• ice

Directions

1. Mix all ingreidents in shaker.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain and pour into a Martini glass.

Chocolate Chip Chouquettes

Bring 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 of whole milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 7 tablespoons of butter (cut into 7 pieces) to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Once the mixture starts bubbling, add all at once 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour to the milk mixture and stir briskly with a wooden spoon. You want to "cook" the flour mixture for 30-40 seconds. The mixture is ready when the flour is fully incorporated and forms thin crusty film on the bottom of the pot.

At this point, immediately take the pot off the heat and start adding eggs to the dough, one by one. (You should have 6 large eggs on hand, though you may only need 5 depending on the humidity in the air or the type of flour you use, etc.) Stir very briskly with a wooden spoon after each egg is added. The first 2 additions will require quite a bit of muscle work, but after that the dough will slowly become a batter, making it easier to stir. After the 5th egg has been fully incorporated, stop to check the status of your batter. Scoop up some batter with the wooden spoon and see if the batter in the bowl detaches itself from the batter on the spoon and slowly folds over itself. If it does, you don't need the 6th egg. If the batter forms a stiff peak instead of folding, you need to add one more egg.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

With two small spoons, drop the batter onto the prepared sheets by teaspoonfuls, leaving 1 1/2 inches of space between each round. You want to have about 18 rounds. At this point, don't worry about symmetry yet. We'll fix that later.

Bury 2-3 chocolate chips inside each round and top them with the remaining batter. You should end up with 36 one-inch rounds (which will almost double in size in the oven).

With wet fingertips, beautify your asymmetrical and spiky choux as well as your level of dexterity allows. After the touch-up, your choux should be round and smooth and the chocolate chips should be completely enclosed (enshrouded, encapsulated, buried, hidden, embedded, etc.).

Sprinkle the pearl sugar on top; lightly press it with your fingertips into the choux to keep the sugar crystals in place. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chouquettes are brown on the outside and feel light and hollow when touched. Transfer the chouquettes to a cooling rack.

Chouquettes are best served warm right out of the oven.

Did you do anything sweet with your sweetie over the weekend?