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french fridays with dorie: cheese soufflé
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was Cheese Soufflé. I’m not sure I even ate a cheese soufflé before. I know I never made one. However, eggs and cheese are two things I love, so in spite of the intimidation factor that goes along with souffle, I was excited about the challenge.
Whenever you read about soufflé, there are a multitude of warnings about avoiding big thumps in the kitchen while it’s baking and being sure the diners are seated before you take it out of the oven. Couple that with the fact that I always find beating egg whites downright scary. I’m never sure about the distinctions between the different descriptions of “doneness”. For this recipe, I wish there had been a video version.
I had a soufflé dish, but it was smaller than the one called for. That was OK because it was just the two of us for dinner and I knew leftovers weren’t going to keep for this one. So I made two-thirds of the recipe.
First, you make a béchamel sauce, which was something I’m comfortable with. Dorie has you strain the sauce which I did, but thought was an overly-fussy step that I will skip next time. Then you beat in the egg yolks and stir in the cheese. Now it’s time for the scary eggs. I used the stand mixer and beat them until I thought they were firm, but still glossy. Then it’s time to fold the egg whites into the mixture. I still had some white bits showing but Dorie said that’s better than overmixing.
Now, the soufflé goes into the oven. Here’s where I went a little off track. I was making a smaller soufflé, but I wasn’t sure how the adjust the baking time. Mine was smaller, though obviously bigger than the individually sized ones on the next page in the cookbook which cook for 25 minutes. I baked mine for about 25 minutes and then carefully opened the oven to check.
Bella Admires My Souffle
The top was a gorgeous golden brown, and it seemed firm but slightly jiggly. So, I thought it was done. I quickly spooned it onto waiting plates. Oops! Only the top two-thirds of the soufflé was perfectly cooked. The bottom third was still runny. How to recover? Pop the remaining mixture back into the oven to at least cook for another 10 minutes, and immediately sit down to eat the cooked part.
Despite my timing mishap, we deemed the soufflé a success. It wasn’t as difficult or time-consuming as I had assumed. It was also delicious. I might be going out on a limb, but I actually could see making this on a weeknight. With a simple arugula salad, this was an elegant supper.
This is one reason I participant in this group. What a pleasant surprise to discover something so frightening at the outset was highly doable! I’m thrilled. Click here to see what my fellow Doristas are up to with their cheese soufflés.
We don’t post the recipes, but consider getting your own copy of the book, Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
Next week we’re making Cocoa Sables, an amazing cookie that even a non-chocoholic like me adores.
Breakfast for Dinner, Always a Winner!
I often feel like my repertoire of fast and easy dinners is lacking. Some weeks, I’m better than others at planning ahead, but when I’m not, while my pantry and freezer are overflowing, it’s not always easy to pull an interesting dinner together from what’s on hand. I’d be happy stopping at the market every day, but with all my other time constraints, it’s just not happening.
Lately, the thing that always seems to be in plentiful supply is fresh eggs. Last summer and fall, Howard was getting a bi-weekly dozen from his co-worker’s flock. Those hens slowed down for the winter, but for the past few weeks, someone who lives on my road has been putting out cartons of eggs in a cabinet at the roadside with an honor cash box. These are the most beautiful eggs, a mix of gorgeous blue-green eggs that come from Araucana hens mixed with brown ones.
Fresh Local Eggs
Armed with eggs, frittatas make a good imaginative meal that can be made from whatever’s in the fridge. I made chili before we went to Florida, and I found some of the wilted vegetables languishing in the veggie drawer.
I chopped and sautéed some peppers, red and green, along with some puckering grape tomatoes and an onion to make a cheerful looking frittata. I cook the vegetables first. Then, in my trusty cast-iron skillet, I cook half a dozen eggs scrambled with some milk until they are almost set. The cooked eggs are topped with the sautéed vegetables. This gets topped with a healthy handful of grated cheese (again, whatever I find in the refrigerator). Pop it in the over for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese and it’s dinner! Leftovers are delicious too, for lunch or ever breakfast. The biscuits I made last week complemented the frittata nicely.
Here’s the recipe. Frittatas are completely flexible, so this is more of a formula. It’s good with blanched asparagus in spring and corn kernels and fresh tomatoes in the summer. There are infinite variations you can make.
What’s your go-to no-thought-required home-cooked dinner dish? I could use some inspiration.
Oven Frittata
Serves 4 to 6
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups cooked vegetables
Option #1
½ green pepper, diced
½ red pepper, diced
½ pint grape tomatoes, quartered
Option #2
2 cups asparagus, cut into 1” lengths, blanched
Option #3
Kernels from 2 ears corn, sauteed or steamed
1 tomato, chopped
6 eggs
1/3 cup cream, half & half, or milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, muenster, gruyere)
Saute the onion in butter in a 10” ovenproof skillet.
Whisk together eggs, cream, salt & pepper. Pour egg mixture into the skillet. Cook on the burner until the eggs begin to set (3-4 minutes). Arrange the vegetables over the eggs. Bake at 425F about 5 minutes, until almost done. Cover with cheese. Return to oven. Cook another 5-10 minutes until eggs are puffed and cheese is melted.
A Plateful of Happiness 