souffles

Last week, you may recall, I was waxing quite indignant over how "professionals" were freaking out about making souffles, on "Top Chef." I've considered that position over the last few days, to see if I might have been overreacting.

In one of those situations that is sort of like all of the planets lining up in a row, i.e., that happen once in a million years, maybe, in fact, I feel like I UNDER reacted.

HOW CAN A PROFESSIONAL CHEF GET FREAKED OUT BY A SOUFFLE? One guy, in fact, made his with a base of potatoes. Yup, potatoes. He seemed stunned by a question to him about "well, souffles are supposed to be light. Didn' t you think potatoes would defeat that?'

Oh, LORD, heaven help us. We are in fact in an age of...

Ok, we're gonna make souffles here. Today, we're going to make one of the most basic of souffles, and one of the best, a cheese souffle.

There IS so much mystique about these guys, and some of it is very funny. Rent "Sabrina," like I suggested (when I make a suggestion, consider it an order), and laugh at Audrey Hepburn's failed attempt. But remember, she was deeply in love, and no one should be cooking when they are deeply in love. You DID see "Like Water for Chocolate, " didn' t you?

One of the reasons for the mystique, I think, is in the carriage of the enormous, puffy souffle to the table, that you then cut open, to "oohs and ahs" as you serve it. Let me make a suggestion: if you need more drama in your life, start a relationship, or start an affair with someone, or do both. Who needs more drama? And you will get the same 'Oohs and ahs," and everyone will feel special, if you make individual souffles, in baby ramekins. They are much easier to deal with, they're a bit sturdier, and of course, there's the element of "MINE."

One of the things they don't tell you about souffle making is that you can do the hard parts ahead of time. So here we go. Cheese souffle today, fruit souffles soon.

I'm going to give diretions for doing this in two parts. But if you are doing it all at once, start preheating yoru oven when you make your souffle base, which is, essentially, a flavored bechamel.

The ONE thing that you MUST remember with souffles, is that your container cannot have any free fat on it. The eggs need to climb. If there is fat, i.e., oil, or grease, they will slide right down and never rise. So I would stay away from a step you see sometimes, which says to butter the inside of the ramekin or souffle dish and coat it with cheese, or sugar, or something else. To me, this is asking for trouble, because if your coating isn't complete, you'll be like Audrey in Sabrina. In fact, what I suggest that you do is wash your ramekins thoroughly, and let them dry completely, the day before.

Ok, let's make the base. This is, like I say, flavored bechamel. You'll melt half a stick of butter , unsalted, in a big pot. Then you stir in whisking all the time, about 4 tablespoons of flour. You don't have to be a microbiologist about measuring here, but try to be close. You're going to stir this in until the flour dissolves, and cooks a bit. They say that this takes away the raw taste, and it's true.

Now, you add milk. 1.5 cups of whole milk. You will hear disputes on this, as to whether or not the milk should be cold, or heated up. Cold milk CAN cause the flour to seize up and depress you tremendously. The seizing will end as you cook it, but again, who needs the drama? If you don't want to warm the milk, try to have it at room temperature, which is what I do when I remember (When I don't, I use it cold, watch the seizing, berate myself for not being better prepared, and move on. Please. I have better reasons for self flagellation than using cold milk, don't you?). What you will have done beforehand is to have separated six eggs. You're going to separate two more, soon, but for now, take those six egg yolks, and, off the heat, beat them into your flour and butter mixture. Then, add a half pound of grated cheese. Gruyere is traditional, I like peppered monterey jack, or some of the hard sheeps milk cheeses. Do what you like. If you stick with a milder one like gruyere, though, you're going to probably want to add something like cayenne pepper, or a good bit of salt, or something. TASTE the mixture. You're going to be diluting the taste very soon, so if you have a taste that is too light, then add more cheese, or more seasoning.

You can do the recipe up to here, cover the pot, and go away. So if , for example, you're having some people over for lunch and you want to impress them, do this while you're having your third cup of coffee. Then go and clean the house up, smile when they come in, and go on to the next step.

Remember those six egg whites? Ok, now separate two more eggs and add the two new whites to the six, so you have eight all together. If you have a superduper mixer, use that to beat the eggs to firm peaks. I have learned, from Joanne Weir, that putting a little vinegar (maybe a teaspoon of white vinegar), helps this immensely. When you can pull the beater out of the whites and get a firm spike, you're ready. Fold these whites into the mix you already made, and know what? You have your souffle batter.

Spoon the stuff into the ramekins, and then, to be really neat about them rising well, take a paper towel and run it around the edges. You're doing this so that they can rise properly, without sticking, and uniformly. Put them on a baking sheet, and put the whole thing in the oven. Bake this for about 40 minutes. Ovens all have lights these days, so you can turn on the oven and peek, without having to worry about opening the oven door. If you like your eggs runny, take out the souffles now. If, however, you like a firmer product, bake for another five minutes. Have your guests take their drinks to the table, and then present the souffles on little plates.

This, and a salad, is a fabulous festive lunch or brunch dish. And once you make this, you will never be afraid of the souffle police again. Now, you're enabled for any cheese souffle, any fish souffle (use a fine grind of the fish you want to use), as well as vegetables (use purees, try not to use wet ones). Asparagus, broccoli, mushroom, sun dried tomato, are all good vegetable souffles. Crabmeat ( talk about Cholesterol!), shrimp, smoked trout, all make good seafood based ones.

In my experience, meat based souffles don't work. there's too much fat, and it leaches into the souffle and makes it very hard to pull it off. But this should be about the fun of the rising souffle. If you MUST have meat in your eggs, make a fritatta or a tortilla.

Have some fun, get back to your roots.

We're going to make another risen egg thang tomorrow. Get set for cream puff shells, and their cousins, gougeres, eclairs, and profiteroles. When you learn how to make them, you will be so proud of yourself you will invite people to dinner immediately.