Wednesday, January 28, 2009

souffle

i attempted my first souffle today. i'm not optimistic, but its in the oven baking right now and in 30 minutes we will know for sure. i believe my problem area is going to be that i didn't beat the egg whites enough therefore it won't rise properly. i guess its good that i'm able to identify my problem.............my mom used to make cheese souffle on cold winter days (like today) so i called her for the recipe. it was translated over the phone with quite a few substitutions and corrections for the recipes. i'll try and make it readable (and usable later).

i'm a little embarrassed to show this. i was right it didn't rise....although it did taste just like i remembered just more dense.





cheese souffle

melt 2 tbsp of better over low heat until melted, then add 2 tbsp of flour, a little pepper for tasting, 1/4 teaspoon dried mustard and 2/3 cup of milk. remove it from the heat to add the milk. then put it back on the heat to bring to a boil. after it reaches a boil add 2/3 cups of cheese and 2 egg yolks (save the white you'll need them in a minute). fold those into the boiling mixture. now my mom takes it off the heat and lets it sit while mixing 2 egg whites and 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar in a separate bowl. they need to be very stiff so she recommends a mixer (hand or stand) and not a whisk (this was my fatal error b/c i was thinking of cleaning up later and wasn't able to beat them enough).

after those mixtures are completed fold the white mixture into the cheese mixture into the ungreased (she stressed this several times) bowl/dish that you are using.

although she said she never does this it is recommends sticking the souffle dish inside a larger dish with water in it the bottom of the pan.

bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown on top.

good luck. when this does turn out right it is VERY good.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If I might make a suggestion, get yourself an older printing of the Ethan Becker/Irma Rombauer/Marion Rombauer Becker classic, Joy Of Cooking. The instructions and tips are so very helpful and insightful. After all of these years, all of the advanced French cookbooks I have read, it's still my go-to book. i have my Mother's old, worn copy from the early 70's, and Ethan gave me a copy from the early 80's also.

Regrettably, the newer editions of this venerable cookbook have omitted many of the classic dishes, which is ironic since many of these dishes are back in vogue.

Try Ebay for an older edition, from the late '70's-late '80's edition of Joy.