Soufflé!

Today I made a souffle for lunch.  I found the recipe in a Kraft Food & Family magazine.  I decided to use this recipe because it looked relatively foolproof.  Even so, separating the eggs was one of the most stressful experiences in my cooking career--I was petrified that one of the yolks would break into the whites and the whole thing would be ruined.  In the end, I only ended up dropping one yolk into the whites, but it did not break, so I carefully scooped it up and placed it into the bowl of yolks.  I had found some tips online for making souffles, and they said that separating eggs is easier when they are cold, but that they whip up better when they are at room temperature.  I left the separated eggs on the counter along with the cream cheese so everything could come to room temperature.

Using a hand mixer, I beat the egg whites until they reached stiff peaks.  At least I think they were stiff peaks, but I've not really done much with beaten egg whites, so I'm not certain.  The egg white foam seemed to stand up when I pulled the beaters out, so I called them done.

Then I used the same beaters (I saw no reason to bother cleaning them off first) to beat the softened chive-and-onion cream cheese with the egg yolks.  Next I added the egg white foam to the bowl with the yolk/cream cheese mixture and, using a rubber spatula, carefully folded the two mixtures together.  I'm not certain if I mixed too much or not enough.  I was afraid to over-mix and deflate the egg white, but I was also afraid that I had not mixed it well enough, as there were still some small clumps of egg white visible in the mixture.  I'll have to experiment a bit more with egg whites until I become comfortable working with them.  Anyway, my mom found me a baking dish with relatively straight sides and she sprayed it with cooking spray for me (I certainly know how to do this myself, but when given the chance, I prefer not to; I tend to make a bit of a mess with cooking spray).  Gently, I poured the fluffy, eggy mixture into the prepared pan and popped it in the oven.

At this point, I began steaming some green beans to go with the souffle.  I thought a green vegetable would look pretty on the plate next to a golden brown serving of souffle, so my mom bought some fresh green beans while she was out this morning.  A side note entirely unrelated to souffle:  I have decided that I really enjoy my fresh vegetables when they are steamed.

The souffle did not appear to puff up very much in the oven, but when I pulled it out to check on it, the top was rounded and golden brown.  It still seemed slightly jiggly, so I put it back in the oven for about 2 minutes before calling it done.  As I waited for the green beans to finish steaming (they took longer than planned), the souffle sat on the counter.  The recipe said that this souffle held up well after being removed from the oven, and this note was confirmed by my souffle, which only sank slightly as it waited for its vegetable accompaniment.

My younger sister had a friend over for lunch today, but since my dad was at work and my older sister was out with a friend, there were only five of us at home for lunch.  The souffle served the five of us comfortably for lunch, but I think it would be a stretch for it to serve more than five hungry people for dinner.  I dished the souffle up from the edges first, and I'm glad I did, because the middle was just slightly underdone.  Next time, I will bake the souffle just a couple minutes longer to ensure that the center is cooked.  Having never really eaten a souffle before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as far as texture is concerned, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the souffle had a texture and flavor similar to an extremely fluffy omelette.

Now that I've tried it once, I would be happy to make another souffle.  I'd like to try my hand at making one completely from scratch, and I think I would like to make a dessert one.  But I have a feeling that it will be quite a while before I recover from my egg-separating experience enough to make another souffle. ;)

I was also thinking about the recipe I used and the fact that it uses cream cheese as the base.  My thought was that, in theory, any flavor of cream cheese would work in this souffle recipe.  I thought I'd like to try it with another flavor of cream cheese, possibly a sweet one, and see if it works.  Then I remembered the tubs of salmon-flavored cream cheese I've seen at the store and I had a light bulb moment.  Salmon and eggs go beautifully together, so why not make this souffle with the salmon-flavored cream cheese?  I really think my dad would enjoy it, too.  I may have to make a lot more souffles in the near future...

Easiest Soufflé Ever
found in the spring 2012 issue of Food & Family magazine

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated
1 tub (8 oz.) chive and onion cream cheese spread

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 375°F.

Beat egg whites in medium bowl with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Beat cream cheese spread in large bowl with the mixer until creamy.  Add egg yolks; beat until well blended.  Gently stir in egg whites until well blended.

Pour into 1 1/2-quart baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 24 to 26 minutes or until top is puffed and golden brown.

Note: In addition to a simple recipe preparation, this souffle holds beautifully on the table until ready to serve.

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Special thanks to Mommy for all the help and for taking pictures of the process for me! :)