Gougere Soup Bowls!

I've been MIA for the last week. Thanks to technological issues, and traveling I haven't posted in what feels like forever. My over achiever tendencies are on red alert and I'm failing miserably. Last night I actually left ice cream sitting on my stairs. First of all, how does that even happen? There is no reason for ice cream to ever be on the stairs, and there is especially no reason, at all, whatsoever to abandon ice cream. You know when I realized this? Oh about the time I arrived at my friends' house for dinner....to which the ice cream should have been taken. Yep. The last week has left me drained, with a horrible case of heat exhaustion and a determination to not do anything for a few weeks. Just get back to normal: three posts a week, a few examiner posts, and free time to relax. It's all I've wanted for months, and now it is here. I'm starting my summer vacation early.

To kick of my cooking freedom: gougere swiss potato soup bowls! A lovely appetizer and party treat!

Gougere Swiss Potato Soup Bowl
for the soup:

10 potatoes
Butter
Kosher Salt
Cream or Half & Half
5 slices bacon
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Dash each of nutmeg
shredded swiss and gruyere cheeses

for the gougeres:1/2 cup water
1/2 cup skim milk
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
Large pinch of kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

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

Boil and mash potatoes, and mix in the butter, kosher, salt, and cream. Crisp the bacon and finely crumble it. Add to mashed potatoes along with nutmeg. Add enough cream or half & half to give the consistency of cream soup.

Make the gougeres.

In a small saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter and salt to a boil. Add the flour and stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan, and dries out a bit. Roughly two minutes.

Turn the dough out into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a half inch tip (or a disposable bag with the tip cut off) and pipe tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets at least two inches apart.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Cut tops off each gougere and fill with soup.

Sprinkle crumbled bacon and grated gruyere cheese over the top and brown lightly in the oven. Serve piping hot.