Cilantro and Curry Gougères with/without Sourdough Starter

My dad is obsessed with enjoys to make un plan de table when there are a lot of us sharing a meal, even a casual lunch in the country. There is a whole étiquette about how to sit people : how do the host and hostess sit, who sits next to the hostess, etc. etc. I don't know all of it but have been used to be assigned to a specific seat often enough to master the basics. In our family, with the plan de table always comes the chair vs. stool assignement as well. The basics are here even more straightforward:  my mother will always get a chair and my brothers will most likely get the stools! Who get the remaining stools is always left at my dad's discretion!
When we got married, my husband made a short speech as we were all sitting for dinner. While I can't remember all of it (désolée, that was more than 9 years ago!), I do remember a comment he made about sharing meals with my family. It had caught his attention that the more meals he was sharing with us, the more comfortable my parents were with him (and wanted him to feel comfortable), the more likely he was to be assigned a stool (as opposed to a chair!) I found that comment hilarious and still laugh about it today! I thought about it because last night, we had friends over for dinner and because we were late feeding the children (our children plus my daughter's best friend C. who had come for a sleepover), we decided to have them sit at the coffee-table for dinner while we, adults, were having a drink. It was a great moment to share with the children (who were even happier to be able to share the apéritif with us to be honnest ( for once I did not make gougères but I have made this recipe for l'apéro in the past.)
One thing leading to another, the kids successfully asleep in bed, we, adults, ended up having dinner sitting around the coffee table as well. We did offer small IKEA chairs or my husband's grand-father's homemade stools... but eventually, we all sat down. Very casual! Very cozy... and very enjoyable! I'd love to do it again... but please, don't feel that we are not enjoying your company if you are not asked to eat at the coffee table!! Bon Appétit! 

Ingredients
- 40 gr (1.41 oz) butter
- 70 gr (2.47 oz) fresh sourdough starter (100% hydration) (if no starter, see note)
- 90 ml (3.04 Fl Oz) water
- 35 gr  (1.23 oz) flour
- 80 gr (2.82 oz) cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 ts salt
- 1/4 ts curry powder
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

• Pre-heat oven to 400F (200C)
• Bring water to a boil and melt butter in water.
• Add sourdough starter and stirr
• Add flour and stir; remove from heat.
• Let cool for 2 minutes
• Stir in eggs, one at a time
• Add cheese, cilantro and curry powder and salt.
• Scoop the dough (about one teaspoon at a time) and place the dollops on parchment paper
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown
• Let cool and eat.

My Personal Comments

• If you don't have a fresh sourdough starter, you can just add an extra 35ml of water and 35 gr of Flour instead.