You CAN Make Soufflé...

No Kidding!

For those of us who love to spend time cooking, making a soufflé is a right of passage ~~~ it’s proof that we have kitchen chops. It’s also the most highly mystified dish in all of cooking. But, for all the mumbo jumbo and whispered voodoo, I’ll let you in on a little secret: a soufflé is just a sauce that you bake in the oven.

Here is how to make a soufflé with things you probably have in your kitchen right now. Like most kitchen magic, it’s simple and fun.

Follow the steps, and bon appetite!

INGREDIENTS:

For the baking mould:
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

For the base:
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons white flour
1 Cup of milk (almost boiling)
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (black will do)
Pinch of Cayenne pepper (can be omitted)
Pinch of nutmeg (creates a lovely aroma)


For the rest:
5 egg yolks (this is not a diet dish)
6 egg whites
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
4 ounces bacon, chopped VERY fine, cooked almost crisp, and drained of excess fat.

HINT 1: Before you begin cooking, prepare and measure out all your ingredients. In advance. All ingredients should be at room temperature before you begin cooking.

STEP 1: For your soufflé mould, use a 6” Pyrex baking dish that is four inches deep. You can also use an 8” mould. Using 1 teaspoon of butter, grease the inside of the dish, and then sprinkle in some grated Parmesan cheese (Kraft is fine). Shake the bowl until the cheese forms a thin and even coating and sticks to the butter. Set this aside.

HINT 2: Turn on your oven now. Preheat to 400 degrees F. We do this because ovens take a long time to become evenly heated, no matter what their thermometer says.

STEP 2. Separate the whites and yolks of six eggs. You will need only 5 egg yolks for this dish, but 6 egg whites. Be certain there is no egg yolk in your egg white. Whip the 6 egg whites to a stiff foam in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate immediately.

HINT 3: We do not use plastic because plastic retains oils and the albumen in egg white (a protein) attracts and binds to oils, and thus does not whip as stiffly in plastic. Room temperature egg white whips more stiffly.

STEP 3: Begin warming the 1 Cup of milk in a small saucepan. You want it to be nearly boiling.

STEP 4: Melt the 3 Tablespoons of butter in an eight or nine cup saucepan. Stir in the 3 Tablespoons of flour with a wooden spoon until it is completely incorporated, and simmer the butter and flour mixture over low to moderate heat until it foams. Keep stirring and do not let this mixture turn brown ~~ 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

STEP 5: Pour the 1 Cup of boiling milk into the flour and butter mixture all at once. And stir like mad with a wire whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Return to low to moderate heat and continue stirring with the whisk until it starts bubbling. The sauce will be very, very thick. Have no fear. This is perfect. Remove from heat.

STEP 6: Pour the 5 egg yolks, one at a time, into the sauce, continuing to stir with the wire whisk. Add the salt, pepper, Cayenne and nutmeg. Just about now, you will start to notice that the sauce is a lovely color and smells great.

STEP 7: At your kitchen counter, not at the stove, remove the 6 stiffly whipped egg whites from the refrigerator, and begin folding the egg white into the warm sauce (yes, right into the saucepan). Put in about ¼ of the whipped egg white at a time, and fold it in gently using a baking spatula. Do not over mix or the sauce will “collapse” (this is the touchy, delicate part). Sprinkle in the grated Swiss cheese and the crispy bacon bits, and fold them in. The cheese will melt a bit as you do this. Save some cheese and bacon to sprinkle on top.

HINT 4: Do not use the water that will have collected under your whipped egg whites in this dish (you’ll see what I mean).

STEP 8: Turn the soufflé mixture into your pre-greased 6” or 8” Pyrex baking dish (remember this from the beginning?) Tap the bottom of your baking dish on your counter, and tap its sides with your hands. This is to close any open air spaces. Sprinkle the reserved bacon bits and cheese onto the top. Hey, why not sprinkle on some more Parmesan while you’re at it?

STEP 9: Immediately put the soufflé into the preheated 400 F oven, on the center rack, close the door, and IMMEDIATELY turn the heat down to 375F for 35 minutes.

You are now in the hands of the culinary Gods. For the next 30 minutes you can’t open your oven door even a tiny crack. You can, however, turn on your oven light and peer expectantly through the glass. In about 20 minutes your soufflé will be peeking above the rim of the baking mould.

When 35 minutes have passed, remove your gorgeous soufflé from the oven and serve IMMEDIATELY with pride. Have fun. And, oh, by the way, if you’re thinking this is just a really fancy way of serving scrambled eggs…, you’re right!