Spinach Puffs

Is it terribly pathetic when a recipe idea comes from a movie? Well, one of my favorite cartoons is The Emperor's New Groove. I was thinking about Kronk's spinach puffs the other day, and said to myself..."Mmmm. Spinach puffs. That sounds good!" So off I went in search of a recipe. Most were essentially for spanikopita--more spinach pie than spinach puff. I did come across this recipe, though:

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a saucepan, bring the milk, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat.
   
2. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms.
   
3. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.
   
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and shiny.
   
5. Stir in spinach and cheese.
   
6. Line baking sheets with foil and grease the foil.
   
7. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls 1-1/2 in. apart onto prepared baking sheets.
   
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 23-28 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Serve warm. Refrigerate any leftovers.

These were tasty little treats! Best served hot, however. We found them to be much less impressive once they'd cooled down.

Garlic Soup

This was probably the best soup I've ever made. Amazingly, it was also one of the easiest and quickest! You know what that means--it's sure to become a staple in the Shull household. We do love our garlic around here!

After looking at several recipes, I decided to go with Julia Child's recipe. So simple!

16 cloves (about 1 head) of garlic
2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
3 egg yolks
3 tbs olive oil
grated parmesean cheese

1. Bring a cup of water to a boil (I did this step in the microwave in a little pyrex liquid measuring cup). Add unpeeled garlic cloves and boil for 1 minute. Drain, run under cold water, and peel.

2. In a 3-quart pot, add water, garlic, and seasonings (thyme, salt, sage, cloves, bay leaf, and pepper). Boil slowly for 30 minutes. Taste, correct seasonings.

3. In a bowl, beat 3 egg yolks. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

4. Very slowly, add a ladle of soup to the eggs, stirring constantly.

5. Strain out the garlic, pressing to release juices.

6. Add the egg/soup mixture back to the pot. Serve with grated cheese!

This was our appetizer before buffalo chicken sandwiches, but I didn't take a picture of those. They were tasty too, though!