so

I can safely say that the silver spring district court is one of the most disorganized courts ever. Upon arrival, there was no docket, paper or electronic, and the bailiff told me the wrong courtroom number. I foiled him, however, and just went into courtrooms until I found other people waiting for traffic court.

My officer was the only one who showed up, *sigh*.

On the other hand, I was the second case called– and I was on my way back home, with probation before judgment and $35 in court costs, less than ten minutes after the judge entered the courtroom.

That meant I could spend the rest of my day waiting for comcast! yippee!

pâte á choux, one use

From Chocolate and Zucchini:

GOUGÈRES AU CUMIN

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup water

• 1 cup flour, sifted

• 4 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds or 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Comté

Measure all the ingredients before you start.

Combine the butter, salt, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium–low heat. Remove from heat, add the flour all at once, and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until well blended. Return the pan to medium–low heat and keep stirring until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Let cool for 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, stirring well between each addition, until incorporated. (What you have just made is a pâte à choux.) Sprinkle with cumin and pepper and fold in the cheese. The batter will be thick. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the batter from the fridge, place small balls of batter (about 1 inch in diameter) onto the baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between each. If you have to work in batches, cover the batter and return it to the fridge.

Bake for 20 minutes, until puffy and golden — however much you want to peek inside, do not open the oven door during the first 10 minutes of baking, or the gougères will not rise well. Turn off the oven, open the door just a crack, and leave the gougères in for another 5 minutes. (This helps prevent an abrupt temperature change, which would cause the gougères to deflate and nobody wants that.) Transfer to a cooling rack for 5 minutes and serve warm.

NOTE You can freeze the gougères for up to a month and reheat them (no thawing necessary) in a 350°F oven for 8 minutes.

Profiteroles would be another use. You have been warned.