A Serendipitous Discovery

Just found the perfect receptacle for my soft-boiled eggs. Perfect because it has the same name as my dog, Mr. Chin, who happens to love eggs. He has them everyday for breakfast, accompanied by cheese toast. Now we can both enjoy our eggs together:

Pour moi:
2 soft boiled eggs (in Mr. Chin egg cups)
a hint of sea salt
a dash of pepper
at least six steamed asparagus spears to dip, prickly head first into the warm and gelationous yoke
one super-spicy bloody mary

Pour mon chien:
Hard boiled egg
a sliver of salty breton butter
a half slice of whole wheat bread toasted with cheddar cheese on top
a bowl of fresh water (an maybe a slice of cucumber or two)

Mr. Chin, egg cup with salt castor and spoon - A di Alessi Tea and coffee accessories / Breakfast

Ma petite chouquette

The chouquette. My latest culinary obsession. Seems I can't go past a boulangerie without salivating over its display of little golden sugar-covered balls (alright, that just sounds obscene, but so is my passion for pastry...). I first tasted these little darlings while dog-sitting for gourmand of a Jack Russell, Schweppes. He has great taste and it shows. His rolly-polly little body often attracts derision from his long and lanky human compatriots. Of course, he is blissfully unaware of this and only to happy to continue indulging in large meals composed of steak, pasta, green beans and croissants, all slathered in salty butter from Brittany (only the best for monsieur, s'il vous plaît).

Anyway, I am only too content to feed into his addiction, as long as I can steal a bite or two. And so it was with this intention that I purchased my first paper sac filled to the brim with warm, fluffy chouquettes at the Alsatian bakery in Malakoff. In the end, Scwheppes had one and I had...well, I really can't remember, but it had to be more than six. I couldn't help it, they virtually melted on my tongue. I was immediately aware of the very real possibility of developing a full-blown addiction and so have since limited myself to an indulgence on Sundays.

I wanted to try to make chouquettes myself, but as my apartment has no oven, it's sadly impossible. All the same, I found what looks to be a promising recipe. Any testers out there?

Ingrédients :2 oeufs
50g de beurre
75g de farine
30g de sucre en grains
20cl d'eau
1 pincée de sel

Recette :1-Préchauffez le four à 150/180°C (th 5/6). 2-Versez le beurre et l'eau dans une petite casserole à fond épais. Faites chauffer quelques instants. Dès que les premiers bouillons apparaissent, ôtez la casserole du feu. 3-Versez la farine en une seule fois et mélangez avec une cuillère jusqu'à ce que la pâte forme une boule élastique qui se décolle facilement des parois de la casserole. 4-Ajoutez alors les oeufs un à un sans cesser de mélanger, puis ajoutez le sel. Votre pâte doit avoir une consistance lisse et ferme. 5-Formez des petites boules en vous aidant de deux cuillères et déposez-les sur la plaque. Attention! Laissez un espace suffisant entre les petits choux car il vont gonfler à la cuisson. 6-Mettez au four environ 15 minutes. 7- Sortez les chouquettes du four et saupoudrez-les de sucres en grains. Conseils :Tapissez votre plaque de four de papier sulfurisé.