Sunday, January 10, 2010

Roquefort Souffle




Souffle=Scary... Or so I thought. After hearing many stories of souffle failures, I became too nervous to even try such a feat. Keeping true to my New Year's resolution, "be fearless", I found it suiting to make a souffle as one of my first new food ventures. I recently purchased Barefoot in Paris, an Ina Garten cookbook (Christmas gift for my mother, that I tend to monopolize), and found a wonderful recipe for a Roquefort souffle. I decided that this would be my first attempt. I studied and calculated each step, so when it came time I would be prepared. I found a comparable recipe in Food and Wine, and made some edits to form a finalized outline of the recipe that I would try.

Before starting I made sure I had all of my equipment out and ingredients prepared and measured: Mise en place. All I had to do was make sure everything was combined properly. I was extremely nervous that my souffle was going to fall, and as anxious as I was, I made sure not to open the oven until the complete 20 minutes had passed (cardinal rule of making souffles: DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!).

It was light...it was fluffy...it was... SENSATIONAL! I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the oven and the perfectly golden and fluffy tops held strong. They were begging for someone with a fork to pierce them and devour the deliciousness inside. The nutmeg and cayenne pepper proved to be excellent accents for the full-flavored, earthy Roquefort blue cheese. I chose to serve it with a light mixed green salad and roasted pork tenderloin for a substantial dinner. (This would also be perfect with a fruit tart for brunch). My drink of choice was a 2007 Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling; a nice balance for the bold flavors in this dish.

My first attempt at a culinary success! I will maintain my fearlessness and try a souffle again, perhaps with a different cheese, spinach and/or ham!

GO FOR IT!

Nora

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