BB: Blue Cheese Souffle

Today's recipe challenge came  from the Barefoot Bloggers . Now this one was leaving me a little worried as it involved egg whites and I have never for some reason quite grasped the concept of properly folding things into batter. I either underfold or way overfold. No happy mediums. Never mind the fact that I have never actually worked with egg whites that involved whipping in general. So I was downright giddy when I saw them actually start to pull together and form peaks...I couldn't have been happier had I scaled Mount Everest armed with nothing more the whisk from my kitchenaid mixer.

It was a little easier for me as I had prepped all the ingredients the night before, putting them into their own little bowls and arranging it all on a platter in the fridge so all I would have to do last night was pull it out and bring it to room temperature. Which did not actually happen quite that conveniently as I worked later and started making the recipe with everything chilled because I didn't want to be eating at at 10:00.

I'm still not entirely sure if I folded the whites in correctly as the top of my souffle didn't look like the pictures I saw from the book. But the very fact that it puffed at all leaves me all relieved that I must have done something right.

End result. I thought it was good but not great. But then, I'm not sure that I'm a savory souffle kind of girl. I had made a chocolate souffle some weeks back with a meetup baking group that I had really liked but this just didn't do it for me. I loved the taste of it but  I think the cheese flavors would taste better for me at least in a omlette or frittata maybe. For all the work it involved putting the souffle together, the result wasn't doing it for me.

But the most important thing is..I think i may be over my fear of egg whites, a good thing too as I have a challenge that involves cookies and whipped egg whites coming up soon.


Blue Cheese Souffle

Copyright, 2004, Barefoot in Paris, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 30 min Level:
2 to 3 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup scalded milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch salt
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped
5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar



Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.