A Holiday Party

I'm way behind over here, but I thought I'd share a few pictures from a holiday party I went to this past weekend.


It just so happens we also had our first accumulation of snow, so it made for a pretty night and I couldn't help but snap a few pictures :)



I volunteered to make a few things, so I brought along some Apple, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Turnovers...




And some Gruyere Gougeres...



Luckily these turned out the second time (1st was a tasty failure). I ended up combining recipes from Jaden, David, and Alain (as if we're on a first-name basis ;)).

Gruyere Gougeres
Yield: alot (I didn't count and it depends on how large you make them)



1/2c water
1/2c milk (I used Smart Balance Lactose-Free, Fat-Free)
1 stick unsalted butter
140g flour (1c)
4 lg eggs
1/2t salt
few grinds of pepper
little bit of freshly grated nutmeg
1c finely grated gruyere, divided (3/4 for batter, 1/4 for topping)

For the method, check out David's recipe here.



Last, but not least, a tart! Inspired by Kitchenbelle, I followed her recipe for a crust using crumbs of Trader Joe's Almond Windmill Cookies (an almond shortbread). I used a vanilla bean pastry cream from Baking Bites. Pomegranate arils and mandarin oranges adorned the top of the tart. I thought about using persimmons instead of mandarin oranges, but I had already eaten the ripe ones in my apartment so that was a no-go :/ I realize now I completely forgot about the glaze, as I was worried about the gougeres! Oops, still delicious :)



There was quite the spread, even a drink competition (!!), and everyone left with smiles and full bellies :)

Twinkle toes!