I know I’ve made it before and posted, but thought it time to repost, as the first time I posted having made soufflé au fromage it was in the ‘old format’ of fruippe. This is such a happy memory for me- soufflé was always my sister’s favourite of my mother’s baked goods, and when she made soufflé…. my sister’s eyes would light up like none other and there was this amazing sense of anticipation throughout the house. It’s a wonderful memory I’ll always hold onto, and has created such positive associations in my mind for soufflé! So it’ll always be a smiling recipe :).

A few things to note here: For one, this has a STRONG taste of cheese. I brought in a few of the leftovers to work and several of my coworkers wrinkled their noses in distaste. This is not for everyone. Being part-French so as to induce a high cheese-tolerance is suggested. Second- this time around (as opposed to last time) I opted to more closely follow my mother’s method (from what I can remember) than Ms. Child’s.

Soufflé au Fromage

Adapted from Classic Cheese Soufflé by Julia Child

Ingredients:

• 2/3 can grated Parmesan cheese – don’t use Kraft. Kraft’s parmesan is NOT aged enough and won’t give you the intensity of flavour this requires. My mom always used HEB (or your local grocery store). The trick s to compare all the parmesans your store has and pick the one with the darkest-looking grains of cheese- this will be the most aged.
• 1 cup organic skim milk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
• 3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour (preferably King Arthur organic)
• 2/3 tsp ground nutmeg (my mother would always grate hers freshly!)
• 4 large egg yolks (cage-free, brown, organic)
• 5 large egg whites (cage-free, brown, organic)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and butter a dozen mini ramekins. Have another 4-6 on hand because you never know quite how much this will make- so butter the first dozen for now and see later how many more you’ll need. My mother always made 16-20 of these at a time.
2. Warm milk in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until steaming – be sure to keep a good eye on this as the milk will begin to form a thin coating on the top as it warms, and you want to constantly be breaking that apart, so stir often.
3. While the milk is heating, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat (you won’t be using a bowl until considerably later in the recipe, so note that most ingredients will be mixed into this pan). Wait until the butter begins to brown slightly and bubble, then  add the flour (all at once) and immediately begin whisking until the mixture begins to foam and loses raw taste, about 3 minutes (do not allow it to brown- this is called the roux). Remove the pan from heat and let stand 1 minute.
4. Pour in the warmed milk and whisk until smooth. Return to heat and cook, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the nutmeg.
5. Now add the egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition – do NOT cheat on this one and add many at once! Really do take this one at a time. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl (you’ll need room for folding in egg whites, so make sure it’s roomy) and let sit while you fluff up the eggies.
6. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the egg whites until you get stiff peaks (my mother would always throw in a pinch of salt to aid the beating process).
7. Fold a third of the whites into the the soufflé mixture at a time, each time folding over and under to incorporate as much air as possible. While you fold, gradually alternate with sprinkling in the cheese.
8. Transfer batter to greased ramekins and grease additional rammies as necessary – you want them to be about 2/3 full.
9. Place ramekins in oven (the easiest way is to place them all on a large baking sheet) and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. 
10. Bake until the soufflés are puffedup (they’ll rise. a lot. think of minions.) and golden brown on top. They shouldn’t really jiggle (so no jello here!) when shaken- so it’ll be about 25 minutes (do not open oven door during first the 20 minutes or they won’t rise properly and you’ll lament).
11. Serve them warm and as quickly as you can after leaving the oven’s comfy warmth so that they’ll still look impressive – they’ll have fallen considerably within the first 5 minutes and when you cool the leftovers in the fridge they’ll condense even further- but the taste will remain delicious, so worry not!

It’s soothing just to think about them :). These are nice as something you can make a bunch of and store the leftovers in the fridge to have throughout the week. You could cut one up into a modern crouton to sprinkle over a spinach salad… or other interesting uses. Naturally a million soufflés exist out there, but the parmesan soufflé is the one that will always remind me of home.

Frittatas are the Italian version of an omelette, and my idea of an omelette- not that I really eat them- is to put all sorts of things inside them. I had a number of egg whites left over from making tart doughs earlier on in the week and decided to pour them all together in this comprehensive frittata. It’s rich and chock-full of good things, but on the lighter side due to it being mostly egg whites- lower in cholesterol and fat! It’s very, very simple, despite having tons of ingredients… so try it! :)

Low-Fat Egg-White Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites (large, cage-free, brown, organic eggs)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2/3 cup organic skim milk
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh sweet yellow corn, organic
• 1/4 cup fresh green peas, organic
• 2 tablespoons freshly-grated Reggianito cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped peppered deli turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach, organic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped baby carrots, organic

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place all frittata ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together briefly until just combined. For a firmer consistency, add a tablespoon or two of organic AP flour.
3. Butter a large, shallow tart dish fairly generously and pour in batter.
4. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and mixture is set in well; wiggles when shaken lightly.
5. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes; then slice with a smooth knife and eat warm.

I told you it was simple! It’s very quick, very very very simple- did I mention how simple this is?- and hearty. You can make it as a weeklong leftover dish, or comfortably feed it to 5-6 people. Long live Italian practicality.

Yes, I realize they’re a bit overdone and not all that original, but that’s beside the point :). So we held a tropical, Hawaiian-themed Fourth of July picnic at work… and it was a potluck… and so of course I was expected to come bearing sweets. I decided upon the obvious but simple (I was seeing Eclipe with my sister and very close friend the night before and thus needed a do-ahead recipe) and settled on these pineapple cupcakes. They were rather good! There was some confusion, however, as to their assembly: to make transportation easier, I opted to bring the icing (which was, admittedly, fairly runny- more of a glaze than an icing, really) in a small bowl and allow everyone to dunk their cupcakes individually. Unfortunately, despite my having labeled ‘cupcakes!’ and ‘dunking station!’ few seemed to ice their cupcakes. But this is okay – those who understood it, enjoyed it (and ended up with some very sticky fingers aftward). Should you follow this recipe, I’d suggest removing the wrappers prior to dunking… or baking in silicone cups and not worrying about baking cups alltogether.

Tropical Pineapple-Coconut Cupcakes

Adapted from Pineapple Meringue Cupcakes at A Good Apetite

Ingredients:

• 3/4 heaping cup AP organic flour
• 1/2  heaping teaspoon baking powder (make sure it’s fresh!)
• 2 tablespoons soy butter, room temperature/ soft
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg (cage-free, brown)
• 1 teaspoon 2x extra strength vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• Just under 1/4 cup organic skim milk
• 1/8 cup apricot nectar
• 1 small can pineapple pieces (small) in juice (NOT syrup)
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Icing/Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 box jell-o vanilla instant pudding mix (weird, I know)
• 1/3 cup low-fat smart balance sour cream
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 tsp 2x extra strength vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apricot nectar
• 2 tablespoons organic skim milk
• 1/4 cup pineapple chunks in juice (not strained)

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 36 muffin cups with liners
2. Briskly cream together the soy butter, sugar, egg, & vanilla extract until light & fluffy. Then beat in the milk and apricot nectar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid mixture in 2-3 portions, being sure not to overmix.
5. Fold in the pineapple and coconut until just mixed. Do not overmix!
6. Fill the muffin tins until they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown.
7. For the icing, combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until combined. Chill glaze thoroughly before dipping cupcakes. Top with fresh pineapple chunks and toasted coconut for decoration.

They’re cute, and rather good, if you’re the tropical sort, so try them out! They’re certainly convenient for potlucks or transport if you ice them separately, and for those who catch the hint, dunking stations are quite a bit of fun… interactivity + food = stupendous :).

You may see this recipe and think it’s a clafoutis. I, too, would have thought this prior to my recent research. As it turns out, French becomes more loveable than ever when referencing food terms. I’ve often tried explaining to friends how wonderful it is that French is very specific- for example, the word ‘tartiner’ refers to the spreading of a fairly thick substance (oft used to describe butter, jam, preserves, pesto, tapenade, etc) onto a bread-like substance. English has no such word, sadly, but French wins yet again in the culinary specificity department with flaugnarde.

Clafoutis, apparently, refers ONLY to when this dessert is made with black cherries- and purists will argue that the cherries must have their pits in for it to be traditional. For any other fruit, it must be a flaugnarde. There’s always something to learn about food :)

I had some lovely large, ripe (yes, there is such a thing as a ripe apple, oddly enough) pink lady apples from my mother and some organic heavy cream I had gotten on sale. I decided on flaugnarde- well, clafoutis, before I knew that to be the incorrect term- and searched for a recipe. I found Ina’s, adapted it, and was very happy with the results. As I had leftover batter, I made a few different sizes and shapes, and each was different! My favourite, I think, was the large tart-shaped one, but each was interesting. The souffle dish ones suffered from overbeaten eggs in the batter, resulting in a souffle-like consistency on bottom and a more flan-like consistency on top. If nothing else, it was an interesting study in texture!

Apple Flaugnarde

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Pear Clafouti

Ingredients:

• 2 large Pink Lady apples
• 2 tsp 2x extra strength vailla extract
• 7 tablespoons organic AP flour
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (cage-free!)
• 1 1/2 cups organic heavy cream (I used Horizon)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F; butter dishes with room-temperature soy butter (I did two batches of batter- see below for ‘second attempt recipe’ and buttered 1 10-inch fluted tart pan, 2 souffle ramekins, and 1 4-inch rectangle ramekin); sprinkle 1 tablespoon (more or less) of the sugar around the sides of the dish(es)
2. Place the eggs and remaining sugar in a food processor (or, preferably, stand mixer) and beat together for 1-2 minutes until frothy and mouse-y on top and light in colour.
3. Add in the flour, cream, vanilla extract, and salt; mix together and set aside as you prepare the apples.
4. Peel, quarter, core, and slice the apples, having approximately 4-5 slices per apple fourth. Fan the slices lightly onto the dishes in whatever fashion you choose, so long as it’s aesthetically pleasing; then pour the batter on top and make sure the apples are well coated (it’s okay if they’re sticking out a bit- see the pictures below).
5. Bake your flaugnarde(s) until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm- this will take approximately 32-35 minutes for the large tart; 45-50 minutes for the deeper rectangular ramekin; 25-30 minutes for the souffle dishes. It all depends on the size!

For my second variant, I tried the following (the rectangular dish- which I really quite enjoyed- had this mix): 1/4 cup organic heavy cream; 2 large cage-free eggs; 4 heaping tablespoons organic AP flour; 2 large Pink Lady apples; 1.5 tablespoons 2x extra strength vanilla extract. The rest of the ingredients were the same. I also mixed this one far less- less overbeating and air meant a denser, thicker texture, which I prefered.

The texture reminded me a bit of the tarte au flan my father had at Sarafina’s on St. Maarten… gorgeous. Though, of course, theirs was larger and thicker. But this dessert is very simple, when made with the food processor, and very very very good. I’ll definitely be making this one again. I made the large tart and large ramekin to bring in to work for an intern event- bringing food makes for more attentive audiences, I’ve found- and they seemed to enjoy it… and the sister really liked it… so I’m counting it as a success! :)

I think the most amusing part of this one is that the recipe I started with is labeled “Eggplant Dumplings in Cherry Tomato Sauce” in my Antipasti recipebook. Sadly, this recipe didn’t quite completely work out- hence it being labeled in the accident category. But it was an educational experience, and one I was able to turn around… mostly… in the end.

My mistakes began with the eggplant filling. I made far too many changes here, wanting to be adventurous. Here’s what went into the filling:

• 3 zucchini squashes (I misread the recipe and didn’t realize it called for eggplant…)
• 1 stem of green onion
• 2/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon organic low-fat vanilla yogurt (not cooked- added right before blending into puree)
• salt and pepper

I took the lot, covered the pot, and let it simmer on medium heat for quite some time (perhaps about 20 minutes?) until the zucchini was fairly creamy. I then transferred the mixture to a bowl and put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes- then the fridge for another 15- then out on the counter for another 5 (it picked up a number of frequent flyer miles what with all this travelling). Meanwhile, I chopped about 1.5 cups of carrots, a handful of cherry tomatoes, added a little dark brown sugar, closed the pot again (after having scrubbed it thoroughly, o’course) and let it simmer. Unfortunately, I decided it was safe to sit with the boyfriend and sister to eat the strudels at this point… and thus the mixture had burned and caramelized to tar (I have issues with tar! Just like the failed tarte tatin…) and I had to throw the thing out. This meant no carrot-tomato sauce to put the bundles in- which, in the end, was for the best, as my crepes were too thick to bundle!

To make the crepes, I followed the suggestions in the book, but halved the recipe: Mix a cup of milk (I used skim), 3/4 of a cup of AP flour, and an egg. Whisk, then let sit for 15 minutes. Then lightly coat a sautee pan with olive oil, ladle a bit of the batter on, and cook each side for about 3 minutes or until browned until you’re happy. For a more tortilla-looking crepe, add more oil- for a more burnt crepe, keep the pan as dry as possible.

Unfortunately, the zucchini puree turned out not yummy at all. It’s not unpalatable, but the boyfriend and I agreed the taste was off. Why do you think this was? Does anyone know? Which ingredient do you think is the main culprit? Is zucchini just not meant to be pureed? 

Clearly there was only one thing to do here: take picture with the puree, then take it out and replace it with a far better alternative. Out came the jar of pralinutta (yes, I know, it’s not nutella- I was curious to try the domestic alternative, and it’s quite nice)- just spread it on, roll up your crepe, and yum! Much better- though no longer an appetizer and now a dessert, at least it was partially saved.

…By the way, if anyone wants the puree, it’s sitting in the fridge, waiting for someone to show it some love (and that shan’t be me!) And if someone has suggestions on how to better make that puree in the future, I’m all ears!

Part two of the souffle extravaganza was dessert: pear souffle! Fruit souffle is as popular as savoury souffle- really, so many things can be souffle’d- and pear’s a nice choice. As it’s incredibly thick when churned, it creates a coarse paste that lends itself well to souffle. It’s also amoung the starchier fruits, so you don’t need flour when making this one (as opposed to a lighter fruit, ie: berries, where some flour would probably be needed to add volume to the mixture).

We chose epicurious again as our recipe (ah, that was another great show to watch! why are all the good ones cancelled?) and followed it rather precisely. We didn’t make the chocolate sauce as making two souffles was a hefty enough task for one evening. We also had stations of sorts: A manned the pears while the cooked, Saloni and I pureed the pears and whisked in the yolks to the mixed puree. And we had the cheese souffle going simultaneously for extra fun.

There’s not much else to say on this one… it’s a fairly simple recipe if you follow it closely, but it is time-consuming. Oddly, this one yielded much more souffle than the cheese recipe, so there was enough left over to snack on the next day for dessert. And mmh, it was a yummy snack. My only regret is that we were out of vanilla ice cream at the time to accompany it…

So based on the last poll’s results, it looks like I have an excuse to go get a torch for that banana creme brulee. It shall be forthcoming! Moving onto today’s entry:

Gruyere + parmesan = mmh! Sunday night was another fun night of baking with Saloni, this time with the added bonus of her boyfriend (G) and the ever-knowledgeable friend A, along with the boyfriend. This had me learn a very important lesson: I don’t deal quite as well with a crowded kitchen, even if all hands are helping out :). I’ve also come to the conclusion that I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to kitchen maintenance/cleaning/upkeep and general culinary methodology. It’s interesting cooking with a variety of people and seeing how our styles mingle and fuse and shift to adjust and adapt.

We had discussed a number of souffles to try and settled on two: a classic cheese recipe adapted from Julia Child as well as a dessert one (pear). When I asked Saloni which cheeses she’d like for it, she picked an excellent combo: gruyere and parmesan (coincidentally the two listed on this recipe). The nuttiness, saltiness, and stickyness lent themselves fabulously to this souffle. This is the first time I’ve attempted one of my favourite childhood foods (my mother makes a killer cheese souffle!) and actually succeeded in achieving the same flavour and texture. Hence, this was a very special day for me :)

Some recipe adjustments and lessons learned:

• We used organic skim milk in lieu of the whole milk and this thing was a meaty souffle… I’m actually frightened to know what would have happened had we used the intended fatty milk
• In addition to the cup of gruyere, I added a 1/4 cup of grated parm
• Freshly-cracked black pepper in lieu of paprika, which I lacked
• A tells me that using a cold (frozen for a few minutes) metal bowl aids the egg white beating process
• Using a manual egg beater takes an incredible amount of time and force. Hire mafia goons or athletic types for this one, you’ll need quite a bit of strength
• If using a manual egg beater, throw in an extra egg white or two. Our lack of force resulted in less frothy mix to fold into the batter, resulting in a smaller load of souffles being made. We barely made 4 ramekins, despite buttering for 6. Sadness.

These things aside, they were a definite success. Take a look at the inside to see the gooey texture- airy yet dense, just as it should be. Having watched Julie & Julia the day before with my family, I found this recipe choice to be particularly appropriate.

I’m a bit at a loss on what to call this one, as it has a number of flavours going on, so “country” was the winning word. The boyfriend told me this morning, “I’m going to go take a quick shower- have breakfast ready when I get back?” and when I inquired as to what this breakfast should consist of, he replied “Eggs?”- his typical response. I thought of what ingredients I had handy, and went through the egg options. Frittatas- eh, wasn’t in the mood to have a bunch of leftovers, and I needed to wash the muffin pans thoroughly from the leftover strawberry residue prior to re-using so… no to that one. Scrambled eggs- too simple, too boring. I had yet to make an omelette- I don’t like eggs, so I tend to stay away from egg-y foods- but thought, eh, my sister does it all the time, I might as well try.

Into the skillet went the following:

• 2 large organic brown eggs
• 1/3ish+ cup fat-free organic milk
• 6 drops of concentrated tomato paste
• 1 slice shredded mesquite deli turkey
• Shredded mozarella
• Parmesan sticks
• Freshly-cracked pepper & sea salt

The result was a large, thick, meat-like substance that I suppose was am omelette :). The boyfriend was convinced I had magically created a large portion of chicken for him, so large and thick was this omelette. The texture seemed really nice on the inside, ever-so-slightly runny where the melting cheese met the liquid egg. The boyfriend reported that the tomato paste taste was subtle, and that there were a number of flavours melding nicely on the plate. There was some decent burning on the top- mostly due to my lack of omelttery experience- but the boyfriend assured me that the “burnt protein taste” was nicely enjoyable and sophisticated. I’ll probably try something a bit different for my next omelette, but am rather content with my first whack at it!

Backpost: Giada on food network is constantly raving about frittatas, and when I saw her make some bite-sized ones for a group breakfast, I knew I had to try it out. I loosely followed her recipe, making some unconscious alterations (wasn’t in the mood to measure (that’s often the case)) so it was “au pif” (inexact) as my mother would say! I’ve made these twice now and they’re an enjoyable, salty, convenient breakfast item. You really can put just about anything that an omelette would accept into them.

They’re incredible easy to make, they pop right out of the muffin pans without difficulty, and you can easily make a number of varieties. These are as good as a vegetarian item as they are meaty, and offer a number of possibilities. Giada’s recipe is simple and nothing really needs to be changed- you can cook them a bit more than suggested if you’d like the edges to be firmer (for transport) or a bit more thoroughly browned- but if not, follow it as-is! As for my try at them, I added the following:

• deli turkey shreds
• spinach
• roasted red bell pepper slivers
• chopped tomato
• carrot shavings
• dried oregano, basil, parsley
• dash of cardamum and cumin
• salt/pepper

If you use a nonstick pan, they pop right out very easily. I’m halfway tempted to make them in cupcake cups to carry around for potlucks or picnics- though they’re not too hard to hold ont heri own, particularly after they’ve been chilled for a few hours!