Big Events Need Big Dishes: Double Cheese Soufflé

Almost a month has passed since I last posted! My girlfriend and I have packed up the house and moved to a new town. It has been hectic as we got everything together and made the arrangements for the move and I’m sorry to say the kitchen has been quiet. That has all changed now that we are moved in. The new stove had never been cooked on and I racked my brain on what I should make first. It had to be something special. Something that set the tone for our new home. Something I’d never made before. Soufflé. Double cheese soufflé to be exact.

At one point I whipped up some chocolate soufflés. They rose and they fell, they were a little dense but they were still tasty. Cheese is a different story. They are supposed to fluffy, airy, creamy and rich. I turned to the professional. Julia Child. She has pages and pages dedicated to the soufflé arts in her amazing cookbooks.

In the end, soufflés are actually quite easy. The reputation that precedes them intimidates people and makes them seem more complicated than they are. The key is to:

a) Make sure that everything is prepared and laid out in advance

b) The soufflé mold has to be well buttered and its edges clean so it can rise smoothly

c) The flavored base has to be strong enough

The last point is an odd one I know but as soufflé is essentially a flavor mixed in with egg whites to create puff, if the base isn’t strong enough or isn’t properly seasoned all you taste is egg. No good. Make sure that if you are making soufflé, the soufflé is going to wow.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter

Just over 1 cup finely grated cheese (I used a Grana Padano Parm with a small amount of havarti but Swiss also works nice)

3 Tbsp flour

1 cup milk

A healthy pinch of paprika

A healthy pinch of nutmeg

5 eggs (separated into 4 yolks and 5 whites, 1 yolk does go to waste)

Method:

• Start off by using a little bit of butter to grease up a baking dish. The dish needs to have straight-ish sides and be able to hold about 6 cups. When it is all greased up sprinkle about a Tbsp of your finely grated cheese in there and shake it all around. The last set in preparing the dish is to take a cloth and wipe down the edges of the dish so that the soufflé doesn’t catch. Refrigerate the dish until you’re ready for it.
• Preheat your oven to 400 and put the milk into a sauce pan over medium high and bring it just to the simmer.
• Melt the remaining butter (about 3 Tbsp) in another saucepan until it is bubbling over medium to medium high.
• Add the flour to the butter and stir with a wooden spoon for about 2 min. It’ll foam up but don’t let it brown. It will probably toast a bit and smell nice and nutty.
• Take the butter mix off the heat and slowly add in the just simmering milk while whisking really well. Beat in some salt, pepper, the paprika and the nutmeg.
• Return the sauce to the heat and stir constantly while letting it boil for about a minute.
• Take the pan off the heat and while beating with a whisk, slowly, one at a time add in the yolks.
• In the bowl with the whites, add a pinch of salt and beat with either a hand mixer or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.  It may take a while, test if you’re done by lifting the beaters up and see if it is forming little mountain style peaks. Don’t do this by hand unless you are heavily muscled. I’m not. If you are, I applaud your dedication to fitness.
• When your peaks are peaked, stir a big spoonful into the yolk mixture with the cheese to loosen it all up. When it is all folded in add in the rest of the whites and gently fold it all together. DON’T MIX IT TO MUCH. DON’T MIX IT TO HARD. This is what will make it fluffy.
• Scoop it into the prepared mold and tap the mold on the counter a couple of times to settle it all. Sprinkle a little bit more cheese on top. Just for kicks.
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• Put it into the oven and immediately turn it down to 375. Bake it for about 30 mins before you open the door. It should be nice and brown and puffed up over the bowl.

Serve it immediately with a nice green salad.