As I prepared to make this dish I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for it. After all, no souffle could take the place of Dorie Greenspan’s in my heart, right? Wrong. I am now torn between these two souffles and will probably spend my life alternating making each of them, to decide which I love best. Or just enjoying an excuse to eat lots of cheese souffle.
The souffle is from the Egg chapter and illustrates the power of the egg white to capture air and provide lift and structure to foods. You are going to whip the whites by hand here but don’t worry, it’s not that hard and it’s a good upper arm workout. I’m pretty sure this is Madonna’s secret and we all want arms like hers, right? Or maybe not so much.
I think it’s the shallots that take this over the top by, somehow, enhancing the cheesiness. And as if the deliciousness of this recipe weren’t enough, guess what? You can feeze it! Yep, after you dish out the batter into the ramekins just throw it in the freezer and bake (no thawing necessary) any old time you want a souffle. You’ll be throwing these things back like yogurts, I just know it. Imagine the looks you’ll get when it’s your turn to bring the soccer snacks and you show up with single-serve souffles for the whole team! Of course my daughter about died of embarrassment when I brought fruit kabobs to her game but souffles are much cooler.
I usually serve a simple salad with souffle to round out the meal and make myself feel better about eating a giant, classy French cheese puff for dinner.
Cheddar Cheese Souffle in on page 124 of Ruhlman’s Twenty. And here from Google books.
Great job! I realize that it should be served immediately but I wanted to make this for a friend who lives about 45 minutes away. How soon do you have to serve it? How long can I wait? Thanks for sharing. I enjoy reading your blog.
Lu
Well, yum! Freezable souffle — who knew? Thanks for the info.