Before I joined the Doristas, the pastry dough, Pâte à Choux, translated deliciously to éclairs, slender oblong pastries filled with tasty pastry cream and finished with delicious glaze. Then my neighbor, Michelle, an extraordinary chef, expanded my repertoire by helping me make gougères (FFWD, p. 4, 10-01-10), the classic French cheese puff made with the same dough.

 

Goat-cheese Mini Puffs – These puffs are good slightly warm, at room temperature or even slightly chilled. I served them with Sancerre, a food-friendly, delicate French wine.

 

 

This week I was delighted to make another savory cream puff, Goat-Cheese Mini Puffs, which would be a perfect addition for cocktail time. I often have supper with my friends, Cathy and Fred, who live just two blocks and three hungry bears from my Condo. (Yep, our resident bears, who appear after dark, are still trolling for food.) Since I would be leaving Aspen soon, Cathy invited me to break bread with them, giving me a perfect opportunity to share this week’s recipe choice.  (Disclaimer:  This week’s recipe was supposed to be Top-Secret Chocolate Mousse but I mistakenly made next week’s choice. Perhaps it was a Freudian slip since I will be out of the high-altitude by next week. Can’t imagine making a souffle at 8200′.)

 

Pâte à Choux dough, a cooked mixture of milk, butter and flour to which eggs are added. Then, once put into puffs, it’s baking time.

 

I arrived in Colorado five weeks ago not only to celebrate my husband’s life but also to bring closure to the past 26 years. Now, it’s all about the memories. What I didn’t realize was there would have to be decisions made, sooner rather than later, about the path ahead. To be truthful, no one is pushing or prodding me to do anything, it’s me.

 

The little puffs are oven-ready and will be baked at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. I needed the full 15 minutes to get them golden, firm, and puffy.

 

I always need to have A Plan. Organization is my middle name. Just love Lists. I thrive in a structured environment, with borders and roadmaps. For better or for worse, this is the skill set packed into my DNA toolbox. In fact, I once had a male friend who remarked, “I think I was put on this earth to make you spontaneous.”

 

Magic Puffs

 

Not too surprising, that friendship couldn’t last long!  There probably is not one spontaneous bone in my body. My recent huffing and puffing about my  “Make No Big Decisions for 12 Months” edict, is not going to happen. I knew I wanted to simplify my life. The first question was: What is that? And, the second question: How can I do it?  Then, along came Atticus, a five-pound miniature schnauzer.

 

The filling, a mixture of herbed goat cheese, cream cheese and heavy cream is absolutely scrumptious. (tasty on Triscuits, too)

 

When I first got to Aspen, my friend, Jane, stopped by with a book, “Following Atticus, 48 high peaks, one little dog, and an entraordinary friendship.”  “When you have time,” she said, “read this.”

 

 

Last week-end I finally did just that. “Following Atticus” is ultimately a story of transformation. It’s written by Tom Ryan, who, ironically, is a journalist also. By the time I finished it, my questions had been answered. I had a blueprint for the future. And, somehow, I would find the energy to bring it to fruition.

Next week I leave Aspen to return to Nevada for the winter………..with A Plan.

 

The good of going into the mountains is that Life is reconsidered.”  –  Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

To see how my colleagues who made the right recipe this week fared, go to our FFWD site.