I have always heard that it's difficult to make a souffle. I had never attempted it before today, though. My original idea was to make boeuf bourguignon but after reading the recipe a few times and pondering the many steps to making what is, essentially, beef stew, I said to heck with it. Let's go for something simpler.
A souffle. Ha!
Laugh all you want to, it's nothing compare to the beef stew from hell recipe.
I decided to over-prepare, to study and train for the souffle, and be scrupulous about everything, and hope for the best.
I decided not to monkey around, but to go right to the source: Julia herself. Thank God for YouTube.
I watched this twice. I made notes.
Except for one brief outing to run errands, I had a pretty quiet day today, so there was time to try and prep thoroughly.
Usually I just grab things out of the fridge and cupboard and messily throw things together. After watching the video, though, I wanted to be prepared.
Yes, I know the counter is messy. But the oatmeal belongs next to the dishwashing liquid. Everybody knows that.
This is the almost finished sauce. I've made a lot of white sauces but this one was scary. Just grabbing a whisk is such a grownup, chef-y thing to do. I usually just use a fork.
This is what I call the "science project" stage. When I was trying to mix the sauce, cheese, and eggs, it started looking like scrambled eggs and shaving cream. ACK!!
I put it in the oven and prayed.
This was the final result:
Was it tall? Nope.
Did I care? Not really.
My son was at a birthday party, so it was just Mother and me. I ate an apple with my souffle. Mother isn't a big eater at dinner, so she just had a small serving of souffle.
Mother said, "I didn't want to say anything before you made it, but you know that the ability to make a good souffle is what separates real cooks from amateurs."
Well allrighty then. If I didn't have such obvious female parts I'd say "I'm the MAN!"
It was tasty. It was also rather bland. Maybe we are just used to stronger tastes, not something as subtle and delicate as a souffle. Maybe it's because I used cheddar instead of swiss or gruyere. Who knows.
The beef I was going to use for the boeuf bourgy-thingy? I made a teriyaki beef in the crock pot, with beef tips, pineapple, soy sauce, and brown sugar. It will be very yummy tomorrow night over rice.
Tomorrow, we will have that plus I am going to make Julia's Chocolate Mousse. This is the only recipe so far that Michael has inquired about, as in "Haven't you made the chocolate mousse YET?!"
LOL
As much as I have enjoyed making these recipes, I have to say, why is it that all the ones with HEAVY CREAM and tons of sugar and eggs appeal to me?! I dunno, but I will be getting back on a sensible eating plan next week. After all the leftovers are gone.
Really.
