Cheese Soufflé

French Fridays with Dorie

I owe a lot to the Cheese Soufflé.

I’m pretty sure it was the dramatic allure of a Cheese Soufflé  that  coaxed my mother from the relative comfort of her mother’s recipe box towards a more exciting world full of culinary challenges and French flavors.

These were the days before All Clad.  Home cooks were happy with Revere Ware and because Julia said so, my mom went out to find a big copper bowl to whip her egg whites in.   This was when she set her sights on mastering the art of the soufflé.

My eight-year-old self would have a front row seat to watch her while she deftly conquered this tasty “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” French classic.     Eggs, milk, cheese, butter.    Who could have first imagined what sublime wonder could be spun from such ordinary ingredients?

After testing it out on my father before debuting it ‘live’ for her lucky company, the souffle quickly became her “signature dish.”   It was always timed perfectly and presented as her guests took their seats at the table.   Her guests would “ooh” and “aah” and marvel at their good fortune at having scored an invitation to her table. for invitations were beginning to be coveted.   The soufflé says you are in the hands of an accomplished home cook, that is,  if dishes can actually say such things.

My mom figured out what I think all of us who have actually cooked one knows:  the soufflé is much easier than it looks.   Its joys are open for the taking if you decide you are worth receiving them.

How is that for a metaphor for life?

The cheese soufflé is a definite confidence builder making it the perfect ‘first dish’ for serious learning in the kitchen.  Mom knew this from experience swhen it was my time in my life to need a little confidence in the kitchen.  When  I  needed some ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of my own it was one of the first dishes she would set out to teach me.    Her experience told her that this dish could always get the job done.

Oooh and ahh your child and they are happy for a moment.   Teach them to get their own and they are happy for a lifetime.

It worked, of course, and my culinary journey was launched.

I owe a lot to the Cheese Soufflé.

The soufflé is this week’s French Fridays with Dorie assignment.  I didn’t want to miss this one as it has  been years since I actually made one.   A plain one that is although no soufflé deserves to be called “plain”.   Just recently, I’ve made spinach soufflés, leek soufflés, spinach and leek soufflés, chocolate soufflés, and even a Grand Marnier soufflé (another mom favorite); but I haven’t  made a Cheese Souffle — not since that year I set out to emulate mom’s cooking skills and score some little personal confidence.

In a rush to complete the dish while there was still daylight I had overlooked a few things.   My eggs were straight from the refrigerator and once I poured the mixture into the prepared dish I realized a bit late that the recipe was scaled for a 6 cup dish — the one size I don’t have.

It seems the soufflé still has some lessons for me:   read the recipe all the way through, always prep your ingredients before you start, and most of all, when nobody is looking, sneak in the new 6 cup soufflé dish you bought at Williams Sonoma.

Cheese Soufflé