Pate a choux class

I couldn't sleep last night because I was craving cream puffs.  Finally at 2:00 a.m., I wrote a curriculum for a class I could teach later that day that would result in cream puffs.

First was a lesson in spelling, pronunciation, and etymology.  

I just about lost them at "cabbages", but I assured them there was no cabbage involved.  Then we whipped up the dough.  We decided to divide in half and experiment with different flavors.  We added garlic salt and cheddar cheese to one half and baked them into cheese puffs.  

Included in that lesson was a cheapskate cooking tip:  save butter wrappers and use them as parchment paper for baking.  I also save the paper that Subway sandwiches come in, and gondolas from La Gondola.

We added some vanilla and sugar to the other half of the dough and baked it into sweet puffs.  That's where the disagreement arose.  Sarah wanted to be in charge of making the filling.  I said she could.  She wanted to make chocolate, but my craving that kept me up most of the night involved vanilla.  We didn't really have the time or resources to make both. Usually I accommodate her whims in the kitchen, but I stood up for my fantasy this time. 

I ate way, way too many of them. All in the name of education. :)