I had my first kitchen casualty this week while making choux (pronounced “shoe”) pastry for the first time. Choux pastry is a cooked dough used to make cream puffs, éclairs and profiteroles. It is one of the most difficult tasks for a chef. The ingredients are simple enough: Eggs, butter, flour, water and a pinch of salt. However, it is the preparation that kills you. I got a blister from all the stirring. People are walking around here with the typical battle scars, burns from hot pans and cuts from sharp knives, but I have a blister from a wooden spoon. Corrine Bailey Rae has a song called, “Choux Pastry Heart” that will have a new significance when I listen to it. Choux pastry is worked, battered and beaten. I must say the salambos (cream puffs with caramel sauce on top) were so scrumptious that is was worth it! Unfortunately they were gobbled up before I could take a picture. So I’m posting a photo of my chocolate mousse soufflé (also very yummy).
