Mama’s cheese nips

I like to think I am a competent cook. It could also be that I am terrible at following recipes, which is certainly the case, and sometimes people think that those who don’t use recipes are competent. So I could just be believing the stories other people tell me. But I digress.

If I am a competent cook, it has not come naturally, it was never in my blood, and it’s only been true for a couple of years. I did not grow up in a household of foodies or gourmands or gastronomes. There were no Michelin-studded roadtrips through the countryside of France or lavish Sunday dinners of roast this or braised that. There were frozen lima beans, plain; whole wheat pasta, also plain; and green beans, raw. Wonderful and healthful things, all of them, but not, by themselves, the makings of a particularly gastronomical childhood.

It probably goes without saying that my mother does not like to cook. She doesn’t much think about eating, either. I suppose you could say we’ve grown apart in this regard, and I find it difficult to cook for her. But there are some thing she finds agreeable. She likes sharp, hard cheeses, quite cold; full bodied red wine; raw spinach; unseasoned chicken breasts, cooked to oblivion; sweet potatoes; and cheese crackers. I think that cheese which has not been sitting at room temperature for at least a few hours is too cold to taste properly and therefore an abomination. I do not like spinach raw or other rabbit food. I have nothing to say about chicken breasts in oblivion, and I do not understand most of what my mother likes to eat. But I do like sweet potatoes, and we get along anyway. Actually, my mom is pretty great.

I started cooking because I spent some time in Paris while in college. The great thing about French university is that there is very little homework. I needed a hobby. Taking cooking classes seemed like a bright idea, and as long as I could make a soufflé by the time I got home, my mother was all for it. Soufflé is not so chic these days, except in that 1980s-fabulous kind of way. My mother and I like these cheese crackers better anyway.

Mama’s cheese nips (galettes au Gruyère)

Adapted from Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Julia Child is not well-known in France, but these are very tasty anyway.

250 g* Gruyère, other Swiss cheese, or a combination of whatever is languishing in your refrigerator, grated  |  250 g butter, room temperature  |  75-100 g flour  | black pepper, to taste  |  nutmeg, preferably freshly grated, to taste (the original recipe recommends cayenne pepper, which is also very good)

Preheat oven. Mine likes 410. Mrs. Child recommends 425.

Knead all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Start with the smaller quantity of flour, adding only enough so that you can handle the dough comfortably. The mixture will be sticky, so keep some more flour around for your hands.

Pinch off a tablespoon of the dough, roll it in your hands, and then flatten it slightly. Bake for 10-15 minutes, watching that the edges do not become too dark, for they will be bitter. They will be done when very lightly browned and a little puffy. Taste your test: If the mixture has spread too much in baking and your cheese nip is entirely flat, then you need more flour. Adjust this or the seasoning, and test again, if necessary.

When you are happy with your testers, roll the rest of the dough into little balls, flatten, and either bake or freeze. They will keep for quite some time this way and are useful if your mother ever comes around on short notice. They can be baked directly from the freezer, with an extra minute of baking time.

Makes at least 30.

* I like to measure ingredients by weight when I bake, if only to cut down on the dirty dishes later. Just put a bowl directly on top of a digital scale, zero it out, and add the ingredients directly into that. If you do not have or wish to use a scale, measurements by volume are approximately: 2 cups of grated cheese, packed; 15 tablespoons of butter; and ½ to ¾ cup of flour.