My First Soufflé!

It fell a little while I was trying to get a good picture...
 

Ive been wanting to attempt a soufflé for a long time now.  I hate to admit it, but I've been putting it off because, quite frankly,  it intimidated me.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the soufflé, it is an egg-based dish that can be savory or sweet, in which whipped egg whites are folded into a base to give it a delicate lift when baked. 

Finally, I mustered up the courage to try this thing.  I decided on a savory cheese soufflé because I'm less familiar with savory soufflés than sweet ones.  I adapted the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, and I halved it for 2 individual soufflé ramekins:

Cheese Soufflé

 (makes about 4 servings)

For Béchamel (or white sauce):

(makes 1 cup)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

pinch ground nutmeg 

herbs and seasonings to taste

*I used about 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and a dash of lemon juice* 

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk in flour until well-blended and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the milk. 

Return the pan to heat and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.  

Continue to cook, whisking until the sauce is smooth and hot and has thickenened, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.   Add herbs and seasonings.

 

For soufflé:

butter and grated Parmesan for ramekins

1 cup Béchamel

6-7 tablespoons grated cheese

*I used about 3 Tbs Parmesan, 2 Tbs Gouda, and 2 Tbs sharp Cheddar*

3 egg  yolks, beaten

4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter soufflé ramekins and dust the insides with Parmesan cheese.  Shake out the excess.

Bring the Béchamel to a boil in a large saucepan.  Remove from heat and let stand for 30 seconds.   Add the cheese, and stir well.  

Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

 

Beat the whites until they are stiff, but not dry.  Fold into the cheese mixture.

 

Pour into the prepared ramekin(s).

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until risen and set.

 

Not gorgeous, but they puffed!

We had these for breakfast, with some bacon and fruit.  These could be a lunch or dinner-type thing as well, just remember that the timing is tricky.   I wish the tops had risen a little more evenly, but I don't know what I could have done differently to fix that. 

Mmm, breakfast!

They tasted better than I hoped they would! Very delicate and light, and the flavor was really nice.  Subtle but definitely there.  I'll make these again- they really weren't that hard!  First, I'm going to tackle chocolate ones for dessert.  I'll let you know when it happens!

Fun Photos for a Rainy Day

Since today is rainy and nasty, I thought I'd write a not-all-food-related post about recent things in my life that might make you smile.

Here is the most bizarre:

double - yolked egg.

For some strange reason, the carton of eggs that is currently in my refrigerator has so far produced 3 out of 8 double-yolked eggs.  I cracked the first one the other day and was really surprised and kind of excited because I have never seen one before.  Then, when I cracked another one a few minutes later, I got kind of weirded out.  I mean, I spend more on the organic, cage-free eggs, but does this mean they're all genetically mutated and stuff?

So, I looked up a ton of stuff online about it, and apparently, these eggs happen on a fairly regular basis, especially with young layers.  Since they weigh a little more than single yolk eggs, they tend to get grouped together by the machines.  So, if you find one in a carton, you have a good chance of finding a few more.   I will keep you posted on how many more end up being double-yolkers.  Weird stuff.

*Update: 6 out of 12 eggs ended up being double-yolkers.  I was on the fence about it, but I've decided that this definitely weirds me out.  I'm going back to the local Celeste Albers eggs - don't know why I ever veered away from them to begin with! They're worth the extra small effort!  If you live in Charleston, you can find them at The Glass Onion when the Marion Square Farmers Market is closed for the winter season.

~

  "Party like it's 1989" employee party

This is a special one of Brandon and I at our employee party this past weekend.  The theme was 80's inspired, so we got all decked out.  What you can't see is that he sported 2 earrings all day and had his pants all rolled up. Yes, that is a white windbreaker that he wore around his waist all day long.   I'm definitely rockin' the side pony and leggings, although you can't really tell from the photo.

~

Dad and Chloe.

My mom sent me this one last week and I had to share it.  This is my dad with Chloe, one of two recent additions to their household.  Chloe and her two sisters Joey and Muffin (who my sister is now taking care of) showed up on my parents doorstep about 6 months ago, tiny, sick, and starving.  Seems like they've adjusted fairly well.

Culinary School Update: Knife Skills & a Delicious Breakfast

Today we went over basic knife skills in Food Production class.  Aren't you proud of me for bringing my camera, charged and ready to go?  The top row is potatoes; from left to right are Brunoise, Julienne, and Batonette (french fry cut).  Bottom row I have carrots, both Brunoise and Julienne, and fine minced garlic.  

I've been trying to work on my knife skills at home for a while now.  I've been small dicing everything I can get away with.  Overall, a pretty easy, fun day at school.

~

Yesterday, I made a rather indulgent breakfast for Brandon and myself: steak and eggs!  I had one lonely New York strip tucked away in the freezer, left over from some steak night dinner, which I tried to Pittsburgh because its Brandon's favorite way to eat steak.  I think I'm slowly mastering the art of Pittsburgh-ing steak, if I may say so myself :)

I made a cheesy potato hash with the Simply Potato pre-shredded stuff (hey, it was a workday people) and some frozen peas (getting down to the nitty-gritty, grocery-wise).  I would have felt guilty if I hadn't incorporated some sort of veggie!  An over-easy egg finishes if off!

A Rare Sunday Morning

The pampered and the pauper

Rare because I usually have to work the dreaded brunch shift.  Indeed, I was scheduled to work a double (as usual), cocktailing tonight.  When I came in though, we had too many servers on and I was asked if I wanted the morning off. Which, of course, I did.

So, what to do?

I visited my favorite coffee shop right down the road, Alchemy Coffee. Got their signature coffee, The Alchemist, which is a mocha sprinkled with a bit of cayenne pepper.  The cayenne adds a nice spicy complexity to the cocoa/coffee flavor.

Picked up a Sunday paper (which I never do) and read the entire thing, front to back. 

Spied on Bam Bam spying on the black kitty outside.

And.. made a big batch of breakfast hash.  I had a leftover baked potato from lunch the other day ( I always bake one extra with this very breakfast in mind) (Mom gets props for teaching me to do this) that I chopped up.  To start, I sauteed the onions and garlic until they softened.  In the meantime, I cooked a couple boneless chicken breasts (one for the hash, and one to have in the fridge for the next random meal) (are you seeing the trend?) and steamed a bunch of broccoli florets.  Add the potatoes to the onions, brown, and add the chicken.  In goes the broccoli, some frozen corn, salt, pepper, chili powder, dried thyme, and it looks like this:

This is one of my dad's favorite breakfasts

Then, cook an egg.

Still trying to perfect this art

 You know what to do next.

Breakfast!

Now that I'm fat and happy, I have to go back in for the night shift. Boo. At least I had a nice morning :)