Good Lard! Holy Night Empanadas

My mom cracks me up. The Martha Stewart of the Dirty South, y’all. Ain’t no lie, this woman can do seasonal decorating like nobody’s business.

I caught her in the act of transforming her home this year; like repainting the entire room because this year’s colors have changed kind of deal... I just had an inkling of what was in store as she hustled from room to room telling me about the theme fixing to unfold.

I was so astonished as I caught glimpses of this creative combustion of a human being doing exactly what she loves. She was born for this, people.

Holy crap, Mom, can you please come do this to my house?? I mean, it was Southern Living meets Architectural Digest meets someone please call Oprah...Floored by her talent and vision. It was gorgeous! Oh please oh please, Mamaw Sug, please be looking down because she surely got this divine design gene from you. My sister has it. I have it, too, I tell myself. Honestly, I’m too lazy for all that...I think my lights are still up, perpetually. In Hawaii. Lol! I digress, as usual.

So when she proceeds to tell me about the next phase entitled, Dining Table, I knew we had to really bring it this year. Photographers were surely gonna descend. Our menu had to be perfect. 

Mom continues to regale me with place settings and siblings arrivals and last minute details. My head is spinning as I run through my absolute go-to’s that would be magnificent but also do her Wonderland theme justice. She’s calling out duties and I tell her about the prime rib I just bought and she agrees emphatically that would be the star. But she says casually that she also has a special request, if I wouldn’t mind too terribly. I’m instantly intrigued. Whatever could this be?

Huh? I blink at her, wheels turning, albeit a bit slowly... She continues to cajole me enthusiastically telling me that she loves them from so-and-so but that she knows I can make them better, would I please just try? (Omg omg omg freaking out inside at the completely audacious way my mother just played me, baited by the challenge; hooked actually, too easy.) Absolutely intrigued and complicit, up for the challenge. My mother knows all too well how to orchestrate this event. I throw myself, her humble Latino servant, headlong into the unusual request.

I’ve expounded on this before...my love of all things remotely associated with lard, pork fat of any kind. It’s a secret weapon, no doubt, in most things authentically Latino. I’m not really Latino, right, but if you were to judge that by the amount of lard I admittedly use and consume, you might be a little skeptical. But if you are making tamales, refried beans and yes, holy night empanadas, then this little secret will bring down the house. Slap yo’ mama and praise the Good Lard, for reals! Lol!

Ok, let’s get this show on the road.

Here goes nothing but goodness

• 2 c flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Calumet baking powder
• 1/2 c lard (shit I used 1/4 c so maybe not enough fat as I wrote that down wrong. But I was guessing too because I didn’t have a measuring device. Worked fine because I probably used too much anyway. lol! But for the sake of replicating, I used 4 heaping tablespoons of lard, which seemed close enough)
• 1/2 c water

Prep the dough

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl or in your food processor, if you have one. This is an easy dough to make by hand but in my food processor I can do double batches in no time flat.
2. Cut in lard with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or pulse to this consistency in your processor.
3. Gradually add water, stirring or pulsing until mixture forms ball. You just want it moist enough to start coming together so if you see the ball forming but it isn’t yet picking up the remaining dough then that is just about right. The water measurement is meant as a guide as you may need a little less or a little more depending on your environment. Better too dry than too wet, rule of thumb.
4. Place dough on lightly floured surface; knead 5 min. or until smooth and pliable. I avoid this part and dump the contents of my food processor directly into a gallon ziplock bag and knead it into a smooth ball right in the bag. Easy to store or freeze for later and less mess. 
5. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or remove the air from your gallon ziplock and seal. Refrigerate for at least an hour before using or freeze for future use, if you prefer.
6. Roll out your refrigerated dough onto a clean, floured surface. Not too thin, no transparency, but more like you would for tortillas. Not too thick to fold and seal with your ingredients, either. As I said before, your first batch will tell the story and you can course correct the next batch or just re-chill your dough and re-roll if you can’t stand your first attempt. Chilled dough rolls better due to the fat content. If your dough gets too soft or sticky, just rechill the whole thing and it will behave better.

Fill and Bake

Preheat your oven to 400 F, putting your oven racks towards the middle of your oven. I bake 2 trays at once, rotating them at the 20 minute mark. Grease the pans with, what else? Yep, Manteca, chicas .

1. Using a cutter of some kind, cut circles (or squares, who cares?) from your dough and place on your greased cookie sheets. This is easier for me to fill doing it that way but you can fill and move to your sheet if that’s easier for you. 
2. Fill with a teaspoon of your filling. A teaspoon of meat, a teaspoon of cheese is what I do and it was perfect.
3. I use my finger dipped in water to run around the edge of my empanada and then fold and seal. I find this creates a good seal that won’t come undone while baking. I also use a fork to crimp the edges as they look nice and reinforces the seal. 
4. Using a paring knife, I cut straight small vents in the top of the empanada so it doesn’t blow its top while it bakes. Steam gets trapped and rises so a vent in the top will also ensure your filling doesn’t try to leave the party from your sealed edges because the steam can get out. If you forget, you’ll see what I mean. It’s a bummer to loose your filling to the baking gods.

Venison Filling

• 2 lb of ground venison or beef or whatever-have-you
• 1 onion diced
• 1 jalapeño diced
• Manteca (pork lard)
• 1 pint fresh Taco or enchilada sauce

This can be done anytime. I like to prep my filling the day before. That means, grating the cheese and making the meat mixture. I keep everything sealed and back in the fridge in between trays to keep it cold as well.

One reason I do is that all ingredients are cold when filling the dough, which is super helpful because it stays put and makes the folding and sealing easier. If your cheese melts or your filling is warm, the dough immediately starts to soften and spread, getting worse as you fill the tray. Not fun. And we really want to keep this fun...

1. In a large, wide skillet sauté the onion and jalapeño on medium heat using the Manteca (1 tbsp at a time) to keep it from burning or sticking. If you have olive oil, butter or bacon grease, that will work too. The venison is extremely lean so the purpose is two-fold, a fat for cooking our aromatics and secondly as a fat for flavor and texture, much like we do in the US when making burgers or using ground meat that is too lean. 
2. Cook the onion mixture until translucent, adding more Manteca as needed to keep the party moving.
3. Add the ground venison and continue browning, adding the taco sauce a little at a time to the meat mixture and letting it cook down before adding more. The beef becomes flavored and thickens up with the sauce as it cooks. The texture we are looking for is a lot like chili. We don’t want too much liquid or the empanadas will be soggy.
4. Last but not least: brush the tops of your empanadas with an egg wash. It makes a difference so don’t skip this step. Crack and egg, scramble it well with a teaspoon of water and lightly, gently brush the tops with a pastry brush. My sister didn’t have one, I used clean fingers to fake this part, but I’m glad I did. Gives a gorgeous color and gloss to the finished empanadas.

Bake
400 F on middle racks for 20-30 minutes. I set my timer for 20 minutes, then rotate my trays at that mark and finish baking for another 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye in case they start to brown too much. Remember that the filling is cooked so at this point, you just need to make sure the dough has cooked and the browning tops (and smell!) will be your best indicator. Not sure? Try one. Yep, you have full permission to check it out.

**Note:
How to Make Sweet Empanada Dough
Prepare as directed, mixing 1/2 cup sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt.

Make Ahead
Dough can be prepared ahead of time. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or your ziplock bag and refrigerate up to 2 days. Remove from refrigerator about 5-10 min. before using but I find working with cold dough much easier to roll.

I’ve also frozen this dough and defrosted it in the fridge overnight with great success. It’s a very forgiving dough, you will find. If it gets too lazy or unwieldy, pop your dough back in the fridge so the fat can setup again. The lard is what makes it work but as the dough warms, the lard warms too and can make it feel sticky or wet when it’s not. It’s just gotten too warm in the kitchen, that’s all.

Filling suggestions
We use anything! Especially leftover meats and cheeses. I’ve used chopped steaks, chicken, vegetables, beans and rice, you name it. Great way to use leftovers.

Mom’s super cheat suggestion
Mom said she used to make these using store-bought biscuits in a can. When she said that, I felt a shockwave of memories flood me and I remembered them! I was like, damn, mom, wish you would have told me that 2 days ago. Lol! But she really did. She’d roll the biscuits out with a rolling pin, fill them and shallow fry them in bacon grease. My mouth just watered as I wrote that, remember it so well. After I made like 60 from scratch...lol!

Other tips
And a double batch of dough, using the recipe above, makes 18 empanadas. (I made 3 batches and not a single empanada survived the event.) I had dough left from those perfect rounds and with that, I just made one or two larger free form empanadas just to use it all up. Those larger empanadas were the first to go, turns out, so no one will care if they don’t look quite the same.

Also, I didn’t have a cookie cutter big enough or that didn’t look like a Christmas tree or a gingerbread man so I improvised. I used a plastic takeout quart container turned upside down as my cutter. I just floured the rim and went to town. Worked like a charm.

Can you tell I enjoyed this Christmas throw down challenge immensely? No one deserves that kind of effort more than my Mom. But I can’t wait to do it all again for my own crew once I get home.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a good night!

You Got Your Mojo on my Tostone

So it's been rumored that my banana trees are actually plantains, or "cooking" bananas. At least that is what Fruit Ninja, my super awesome and truly generous neighbor, Faye, told me when I first moved into my house here on Island of Hawai'i.

Faye is affectionately referred to as Fruit Ninja because she has an uncanny and super stealth ability to drop off fruit, even while I'm home, without anyone knowing she was ever there. lol! How she does it, I don't know, because this little old lady who is over 75, is as agile as a cat and can carry upwards of 30 lbs of fruit all by her lonesome. Yep, that is no exaggeration. One thing I do NOT have to buy here in Hawai'i... is fruit.

And... plantains. A fruit? I'm not entirely sure about that but my first harvest of plantains is underway. Interestingly enough, plantains, if allowed to ripen are also sweet so the first thing to decide when cooking with them is whether you want to go sweet or savory.

Sweet plantains are probably best well known as Maduras in Cuban cuisine. Sticky, sweet, creamy. They are the sweet potato of the banana world.

Sweet plantains aren't different, really, than the savory ones. They are just fully ripe. Mine actually look just like yellow bananas when they are ripe but one variety of plantains (I think I have several varieties) look like fat sausages and are distinct in their shape. I harvested some not long ago that I thought were surely plantains only to find them to be the sweetest bananas I've ever had and they were little skinny fingerlings. Suffice it to say, I'm learning the ropes of having near 50 banana trees on my property. Good lord. Thank you for this heavenly abundance!

So anyway, back to the tostone... Tostones, as you may know, are the flattened plantain slices that are deep fried and served with a garlicky chimichurri of sorts. One of my favorite fried foods, turns out, because it can easily be a meal in itself served with black beans and rice. Which is what we had for dinner last night.

Here is what we found out when making them for the first time with this new bushel of plantains: the green ones are the ones you use for a crispier, unsweet version of tostones. BUT! If you are like me, you will fall pretty hard for a slightly sweeter version that combines a crispy edge with a tender interior. And this, to me, pairs so very well with the garlicky mojo served as a dipping sauce.

Let's get started.

For the tostones:

• 2 ripe or unripe plantains, cut into 1 1/2 inch disks
• oil for frying (we use coco oil or peanut oil, ghee might be otherworldly)

For the mojo dipping sauce:

• head of fresh garlic, peeled (yep, all the cloves)
• handful of cilantro
• olive oil
• fresh lime or lemon or white wine vinegar
• salt, to taste

Make the mojo first.

1. Peel all garlic cloves from a whole head of garlic and toss into your food processor. A mini food processor will work fine as it makes about a cup or so of sauce.
2. Add handful of washed, fresh cilantro to the food processor, along with a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Pulse a few times just to get things moving. If it struggles a bit, add another little drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of citrus until it begins to blend well. The texture is totally a matter of preference but I like mine a bit like a pesto or chimichurri but you can make it as smooth or as chunky as you like.
4. Salt to taste and set it aside. The flavors will begin to meld.

Make the tostones:

1. If making tostones with green, unripe, plantains, slice down one side to peel the tough skin off. Cut plantains into 1 1/2-2 inch disks.
2. In a shallow pan or deep fryer, fry the plantains on each side for 2-3 minutes or until softened slightly. Don't overdo it here as tostones are twice fried. This is the first part. You will know if they are done enough to squash. Yep, that's the technical tell... can you squash it?
3. Oil the backside of a small plate or glass (or use a plastic baggie) to help flatten the disks into tostone rounds. Don't kill it, just flatten it. You'll get the hang of it. The glass, plate or baggie is just to help flatten it evenly and a bit of oil keeps it from sticking. I use a plastic baggie because it can just be peeled back and doesn't stick to the tostone. A bit easier, less mess.
4. Deep fry until they reach the crispy level you prefer. This is where you taste and figure out the texture you prefer. Salt and let drain on paper towels but serve immediately.

Note: If you are making tostones the way I like them, with ripened plantains, you don't need to double fry as they are already softer than the unripe plantains. You slice, smush and fry. No shallow first frying is necessary.

To serve, plate those suckers up solo and serve with mojo sauce on the side. If serving as a side, then you know what you are doing so serve it however you like!

For those of you that love the Cuban style Maduros, which are more like dessert bananas-Foster style... 

1. Warm up some butter, brown sugar in a pan on medium low heat until just melted and the sugar has dissolved.
2. Toss in some of your cooked, ripened plantains and let warm through in your caramel-ish sauce. 
3. Serve by itself or over.... um, anything.

Sous Vide French Onion Soup - Say What??

Total soup-aholics. Anything soup, we are down. So this week's request is another batch of broccoli cheese and a batch of french onion.

Soup is so easy. We do lots of salads, too. So when we are having a busy week, and we've had nothing but those kind lately, we do lots of soup and salad.

I got a huge head of broccoli at the grocery store for $1. Hawaiians take their produce pretty seriously so the local grocery stores go through things daily and if it isn't perfect, it gets discounted. I am flabbergasted by this practice but can't complain for a second because I will pick this up for soup almost every time. I mean, for a buck, why the heck not? I've posted that recipe before and it never fails me.

But since I have the sous vide going, why not make the most of it? I'm prepping the onions for french onion soup at the same time. We will eat the broccoli cheese soup tonight and do the french onion later this week. How quick and easy will it be when all I have to do is add a beautiful buttered french bread crouton, top it generously with gruyere and melted to perfection? Done and done! Freaking awesome.

Here's what you need for the make ahead caramelized onions, which is the base of my upcoming soup:
4-5 large onions (I used the big Maui sweet from Costco), sliced
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp Better than Bouillon Roast Beef, optional
pepper
~ 1 cup of white wine

1. Pile all of your onions in a large stock pot or Creuset, lid on and heat on medium. This will get your onions to start to sweat and release their moisture, which is what we want. Stir every once in a while.
2. When the onions have released some liquid, take the lid off and add a sprig of thyme, stirring. 
3. Once the onions start to dry a bit and turn translucent, add your white wine and better than bouillon and allow them to cook down a bit more. Do you need the btb? Um, yes. I mean it will probably be delicious even if you must forego it but trust me that it adds so much depth and a jar of this stuff can last a loooong time. It's worth every penny just to keep it around for when you need it.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding the onions and second fresh sprig of thyme to a ziplock bag. 
5. Remove as much air out of the bag as you can, then drop it like it's hot. Sous vide time.

Sous vide at 185 degrees F for however long it takes to get your onions dark enough for your tastes. I did mine overnight. This picture shows my starting point but it did darken up significantly overnight.

To make the French Onion soup:

1. Ladle out some of your caramelized onions into a soup crock.
2. Top with a toasted slice of your favorite bread, baguette or puff pastry if you're feeling fancy.
3. Sprinkle with grated gruyere or provolone. Gruyere is traditional and my favorite but Asiago, Jack, Swiss, any good melter will do.
4. Broil if you can give it attention, otherwise, bake at 450 F until brown and bubbly.

Nothing but shock and awe, baby. I will probably do this at least once or twice a month now. Tsunami was in love with it and said it was THE BEST french onion soup he'd ever had. A high compliment indeed. I was pretty impressed with it myself!

Escargot Three Ways - Escargots Bourguignons, Escargot Vol-au-Vent and Escargot au Gratin

Well, what a productive run to the dump we had today! lol!

We don't have trash pickup in Hawai'i so you have to actually take care of your own trash situation. That's actually fine with me as it helps you know exactly how much trash your household produces.

The State has recycling centers at our dump facility that actually tracks just how much product, by weight, it keeps out of the landfills which it resells to pay for the facility. Brilliant.

The bargains you can find here are quite something. If you could see the cool and awesome stuff that turns up here, you'd be just as impressed as we are. Who cares if we are totally garage-saling it, da kine style? It's definitely a local kinda vibe but with cool as shit vintage fare showing up daily. The Nordstrom's of dumpster diving. It's super fun and one of our favorite past times when running errands and doing household chores.

We've picked up crystal vases, local artwork, vintage electronics, gorgeous wood carvings and just about any kind of cool household item you might possibly need. For pennies.

Today our haul was two huge odd cut slabs of granite from a kitchen install. Beautiful. Stuff I probably wouldn't afford for our cabana if I had to pay retail. But today at $7 for the lot, that's just where it will end up. Thanks, dump.

I didn't see much else today except a gorgeous vintage Murano glass vase (yes, mine!) and oddest of oddities, 2 French escargot baking dishes!! Score! I showed them to Tsunami and all he said was, "So I guess we need to swing by the grocery store?" Um, hell yea.

$17 later, we were on our way. To the grocery store. :)

What I bought:
2 cans of snails
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 shallot
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or whatever herb you have, right?)
salt, pepper to taste
hot sauce and/or lemon, optional, of course but that's how we do it

Super easy prep:

1. Mince very finely parsley, garlic, shallots and thyme together to create a mirepoix of sorts.
2. Add 1/4 tbsp of butter to each indent of your escargot pan, if using an escargot or aebleskiver pan. Basically, a pat of butter quartered is what I start with in each spot.
3. Add a snail or two.
4. Top with a 1/2 tsp of your mirepoix mixture and add another dab of butter if you think it needs it.
5. Cut small circles to fit your indents, if doing the vol-au-vent version. Otherwise, just bake as is with your butter/herb concoction. An optional twist is to make them au gratin style, which is just sprinkled with cheese. 

Bake:
Preheat oven to 450 F.

These are cooked to order just before serving, so once ready, pop in the oven for 15-16 minutes or until butter is bubbly and/or the puff pastry is puffy and lightly browned.

You can serve with a crusty bread or French baguette, which yes, I often make as well. But tonight, because Tsunami is a pot-pie-aholic and because we had it this way at a pretty famous Chicago restaurant some years ago, we are having it with puff pastry; Escargot Vol-Au-Vent.

Honestly, though, we always serve it with extra French bread because there is always some delicious butter sauce left that needs to be addressed. lol! Almost the best part of this whole dish so don't leave this goodness behind!

Inspired by recycling. But with this awesome dish, no need for leftovers because there won't be any. Who cares? This dish is almost obscene in that it is nothing but fresh herbs, butter and canned snails. Fancy fast food. Who can complain about that?

Don't have an escargot pan? Maybe use a mini muffin pan? Or shot glasses! I've even seen this recipe done family style in a shallow au gratin pan. Whatever suits the bill for the amount of guests you will be serving. Even if it's just your little ol' self... Fancy can totally be done solo.

* Note about canned snails: drain and wash well with cold water and keep refrigerated, covered until ready to use. Use within 5 days. I use sooner than that, generally speaking. My cans typically yield 18 good sized snails so that goes pretty far! One pan for me, one pan for you, one pan for whoever makes it there first!

Nix the GMO - Non GMO Homemade Tamale Corn Masa

Ok, I can feel a rather long post coming on because this topic is one I can totally soapbox out on...

I'll save you.

The nitty gritty of this story is that I just made my very own homemade masa using non-GMO certified organic corn I bought from Amazon.

Hilariously, Tsunami tried to add this dried corn to his last batch of chili. He did try to rehydrate it for a few hours simmering, like a good sport. I also tried to tell him that I didn't think that was all there was to it... but not being sure myself, I let him truck along. It didn't work, of course. It never rehydrated properly and he was surely baffled. We ate it anyway. lol!

However, I decided that it was indeed time to figure it out properly because I wasn't going to keep store bought corn out of the house for very long, if I didn't.

My primary rationale for buying this in the first place was to make corn tortillas for chips for nachos. Yea, that's me, dudes. That's how I operate. It might take me days to make one dang thing I love to eat, but no one complains when I do. It's the kitchen curiosity in me, I guess. And also, I don't want to die eating the things I love to eat just because I can't figure out a healthier alternative.

My health, in my own hands, I endeavor.

Anywho, back to corn.

Nixtamalization. 
The process for making dried corn edible. There is probably a lot more to that, but you can Google that if you like. For this post, it's enough to say that the corn is a tough nut. It needs a process to rehydrate it enough to allow for the skins to be removed and in doing so, make it edible through the cooking process.

This is done by cooking the corn in an alkaline solution. And this is easily accomplished by adding pickling lime to your simmer and letting the whole thing sit overnight. Easy, right? Yup. So easy.

2 cups dried corn
2 tbsp pickling lime
water to cover well

1. Wash and pick through your dried corn just in case there are small stones or oddballs in the mix.
2. Simmer corn, lime and water on low for about 30-45 minutes, covered.
3. Turn off the heat and let this sit, covered, overnight.
4. Wash the corn the next day and store, covered, in the fridge with fresh water until ready to use. I didn't get to mine for 2 days and all was well. I changed the soaking water daily.
5. Wash corn in fresh water, gently rubbing kernels to remove skins. Try to remove what you can and don't worry if you don't get it all off. A lot will have slipped off themselves during the soaking and cleaning.

Corn Masa for Tamales

~4 c chicken stock

1/2 block of manteca (pork lard)

~ 4 cups fresh finished nixtamalized corn

salt, to taste

My 2 cups dried corn turned into about 4-5 cups of nix corn. Basically two batches in my food processor. The chicken stock is a starting point of what you may need. I had a half gallon of stock handy and used about half during the grinding process of the corn. It does depend on your environment as well because your corn may not need as much liquid, etc.

If you were using masa harina, or ground masa flour, then you would alternate adding a little flour to your whipped manteca with a little chicken stock to hydrate your dough/batter. For tamales, you want more of a batter than a dough, which is why the manteca and chicken stock are key. They also add a real depth of flavor to your tamales, of course.

I took half my corn or what would fit in the bowl of my food processor and pulsed the corn using the chicken stock to create a loose, but not wet, corn puree of sorts. Just enough stock or liquid (you can absolutely use water) to allow it to break down into a smooth corn batter. Hard to explain this part but you will use this to add to your whipped manteca.

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, if you have one, whip up the manteca until silky and smooth. 
2. Ladle in the corn mixture a little at a time and incorporate before adding more corn.
3. Add a little more chicken stock if it looks like your batter is too stiff. It should not fall off the spoon but still be spreadable like a good hummus. 

And that, is about all there is to that. 

There is magic in this whole nixing affair... and it is what produces THE quintessential essence of Mexican corn tortillas, cooking, in fact. It transforms the corn and produces that distinct nutty flavor found in all authentic tortillas.

To make tortillas, you don't need the pork fat. It's just the corn and water, instead of chicken stock. Press balls of this simple corn dough between two plastic baggies and fry that sucker up on a hot tomal or cast iron skillet. You may never eat another or look at another, corn tortilla the same way ever again.

A word about manteca...you could use shortening but why, dude? In Texas, at every grocery store, you can buy fresh, housemade rendered pork fat. Seriously easy to come by. I don't have that luxury in Hawai'i although the Paniolos definitely provide access to any and all real Mexican kitchen staples. I can get manteca at every grocery store. And when we get our wild boar, we'll probably be able to get more manteca than we can shake a stick at. 

Moral of this long-winded pseudo-story is to encourage you, even if you are little sketched out by the idea of pure pork fat... just allow me to gently encourage you to get over it and try it. You will not ever think of it the same way again. Your granny probably kept cans of bacon fat on the stove, right? This is no different. Why waste what most people now understand to be quite healthy for you. In moderation, big shocker.  Animal fats, our bodies know how to process. Just sayin'...

If you can't hack the idea, use shortening but just know that you will improve the flavor and overall kitchen experience immensely if you go the distance and use PORK FAT! YEA!

No Jive - Never Fail Cheese and Chive Souffle

Oh ma gah. It's been a little chilly here lately. Yup, the polar vortex touched Hawai'i for like a minute...but it was no big thang as it just meant snuggling up and having a few fires. But being that we are in the mountains, we typically get cooler weather than the rest of the island. And wetter.

But, this is an island, after all. Trade winds blow in fresh beautiful weather daily. There is a common understanding amongst the locals that if you just drive 10 minutes in any direction, you will get very different weather. And that's because this island, unique in all the world, boasts 8 of the world's 14 microclimates. Some say 13... this is hotly debated island convo... lol!

For some reason the weather prompted me to want something in the comfort-food kinda range. No idea why but the first thing that popped into my mind was French souffles. lol! I know... but I just decided to go with it and tried a new version I'd seen that used a Béchamel base instead of the more traditional folded whites process.

Lord, I will never it do it differently. My souffles ended up being two singles because out of all the freaking kitchen gadgets and contraptions and dishes I do have, I do not have a souffle dish. Oh well. I am unafraid to improvise so two ceramic, oven proof soup bowls became the vessels of choice. Worked like a cheesy frenchy charm.

And an added bonus was the complete shock and awe it produced in Tsunami. He had been busting his butt working on our new lanai and I knew he was not feeling up to making dinner. Seizing the opportunity to do something inspired, I ran with it. When he asked what I was making and I told him a French souffle, he just looked at me over his specs like he was trying desperately not to show on his face what he was actually thinking. lol! Tonight? Yup. What's in it? So I had to set it up a bit like we do for the kids, selling it sorta restaurant style as if I'm trying to sell out of our daily special.

Think of this like an adult version of a super decadent, super sophisticated cheese omelette for dinner, I told him. "Well alright. Can't wait to see this. I've never had a souffle, don't think." Trying so hard to hide his inner WTF? And so, the stage was set for my adult omelette showstopper of a dinner. lol!

What I can tell you is that if you want to impress yourself, make this. If you want to impress your spouse when he's super tired and totally prepared for a PB&J, if necessary, make this. If you want to impress your mother in law, make this. Not gonna lie, this will impress even the most supportive skeptic sitting on the couch who never had no souffle. lol!

Here's what ya need:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
salt, pepper to taste
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons fresh chives
2 1/4 c grated Swiss/Gruyere

Buttered or oiled ovenproof baking dish (at least 6 cups if serving family style) or dishes for single serves. I used 2 individual ceramic, ovenproof cereal bowls and turns out this was too much for both of us. lol! We each could only eat half although we fully intended to eat the whole thing. So, rule of thumb, for us, this could easily serve 4.

**This will make about 5 cups batter in total. I used a large glass measuring cup to assist in pouring or dividing into smaller, portioned baking dishes.

Here's what ya do:
If you've never made a Béchamel, you are in for a treat! This is one of the "mother sauces" of French cuisine and you'll totally understand why once you make it. Takes minutes.

It's essentially a roux of equal parts flour and butter that transforms into a sauce with the addition of milk and cheese. Super simple so don't be intimidated. Best of all... you can use this sauce again for the most decked out mac and cheese you can imagine and without the cheese, it is also the foundation of any good homemade milk gravy.

Time to get your Béchamel on...

1. Make the Béchamel by melting your butter in a non stick skillet on low heat. Let it melt, don't let it brown. As soon as it has melted, add your flour and gently whisk in to incorporate.
2. Add the milk a little at a time so you can incorporate it evenly into the roux. I use a measuring cup, makes pouring a little so much easier. It will be very thick at first but keep adding the milk until it's all incorporated. It will be smooth and silky.
3. Remove from the heat and season your bechamel sauce with salt, pepper to taste.
4. In a large measuring cup or bowl (reuse the one you just used for milk?), whisk your eggs and add a dolop of your Béchamel to your eggs to temper them a bit. You don't want to incorporate the eggs into a really hot bechamel all at once or it will cook the eggs. 
5. Add the rest of the Béchamel to your tempered eggs and mix well.
6. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped chives to your bechamel and then pour into your buttered or greased baking dish.

At this point, the best part of this recipe... is that you can make this ahead and keep in the fridge overnight to bake off the next day! But I didn't do that. lol! Just saying, how gloriously awesome it is that you can do that with this recipe. You can't do that with a folded egg white version, which is the more traditional way to make a souffle. But this is just too wonderful of an improvement to that method that I can't see myself ever doing it that way again.

Here's how ya bake it:

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees F on the center oven rack.

I checked mine at 30 minutes and was in love with how perfectly it had risen. It also looked nearly cooked but was still a bit light on top. I baked mine the full 40 minutes which allowed the cheese and top to brown up so nicely and the texture was absolutely perfect. Creamy, fluffy and just so delicious.

Tsunami just looked at me like I was Julia Child or something. Just kept saying in his long Southern drawl, "Adult omelette, my ass. This is so delicious. WTF? Insane." Inner WTF, you're mine. lol! 

Later on he admitted that he was totally skeptical of my dinner project but had high hopes. Fair enough. I love the learning process and the science behind my cooking so I am sometimes a bit too willing to fail. And he knows that. lol! However, I do get a cheeky satisfaction if I can impress my favorite skeptic, which, let's face it, is a lot more often than he will ever admit. 

My Special Forces Green Beret veteran eats French souffle and loves it. How about yours? :)