French Friday with Dorie: Cheese Souffle

JUST OUT OF THE OVEN AND THIS SOUFFLE WILL BE MY TASTE

This was a fun late night baking project which gave me 30 mini souffles.  I knew that Hubby and I would not finish them all,  and they should be eaten immediately.  I made mini sizes using Solo 3.25 oz. paper souffle cups...I would guess that they are about regular cupcake size, maybe just a tad bit larger.  They came out of the oven at 10 pm, after baking about 25 minutes, Hubby and I ate a few (they are so light and yummy) and then I quickly packed up most of the rest and ran some to my Frolicking Night Owl's family (she's not baking this week; on Spring break) and to a son who has a badly sprained ankle and needs pampering, delivering them while they were still warm.  Nice to have kids that live within about 5 miles who are very willing to take baked goods off my hands.

SPRAYED WITH PAM AND COATED WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

 By coating the cups with Parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs, both the tops and bottoms, and all this sides browned nicely which added texture and a great flavor.

ALL INGREDIENTS GENTLY FOLDED TOGETHER

 I followed Dorie's recipe with a couple of exceptions.  As stated above, I did not use the bread crumb coating.  And in honor of St. Paddy's Day fun, I added green spinach.  I purchased fresh baby spinach which I steamed...about a pound, wrung out the extra moisture, and then chopped.  I loosened it with a fork before adding it along with the cheese to the egg mixture.

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN--DOING A DEFLATION THING

After whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks, I used 1/3 of the whites to lighten the yolk mixture.  Then I pushed the whites to the side of the mixer bowl and poured the yolk mixture in along the side of the whites bowl .  Then as I folded the whites and yolks together I sprinkled  the cheese and spinach on top as I folded so that all these ingredients were all folded at the same time...less folding.  And that way the cheese did not melt into the still warm yolk mixture, causing that mixture to become heavier.

Just before placing the souffles into the oven I sprinkled additional Parmesan on their tops...just a little.   This added more flavor and helped the souffle's to brown nicely.

AREN'T THEY LOVELY?

The cheese I grated for this recipe was a Kerrygold Irish Swiss cheese that I found at one of my favorite natural foods stores this morning.  Who would have thought I could find Irish Swiss cheese?   So with the Irish cheese and the green spinach I think my souffles are in line with this weekend's holiday.

Note:  This "Swiss" cheese was about $8 per pound and was a much stronger Swiss cheese than I am used to.  After grating, Hubby who was in another part of the house, came in to see what kind of cheese he was smelling...he thought I was using a strong bleu cheese.  No.  And then with the Parmesan cheese, which has a distinct aroma and flavor, the souffles had lots of great cheesy flavor.  I'm glad I added extra flavors with stronger cheeses and the spinach to zip up this classicly mild flavored dish.

PERFECT FOR A LUNCHEON OR AN ELEGANT BRUNCH

This souffle would go great with a garden salad or fresh fruit or a fruity drink.  A decadent dessert could complete this meal.

It's true that the best time to eat this dish is IMMEDIATELY out of the oven.  I will remember to prepare it earlier next time, have my family sitting at the table, and then take it out when it is all beautifully puffed up high, so they can all watch it deflate dramatically before digging in.

What did Hubby think about this dish?  Very tasty!  I thought so too.