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...
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove from the heat and season your bechamel sauce with salt, pepper to taste.
- 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.
- Add the rest of the Béchamel to your tempered eggs and mix well.
- 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? :)
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