Cheese Soufflé

I haven't made a souffle in ages.  I haven't made this one in 39 years.  I remember making it at my Mom's request after returning home from college.  It comes from her McCall's Cookbook.  It's a really neat recipe and it's fairly flawless in my opinion.  Follow the steps and you'll be just fine.

Separate 4 Eggs and let the whites warm to room temperature, no more than 1 hour.  I used my Kitchenaid mixer for the whites.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Set up a 1 1/2 Quart Souffle dish in a pan with 1" of water.  You don't have to prepare the souffle dish, the mixture goes straight into the dish then right into the oven.

Pre-measure into a bowl, 3 TBL Flour, 1/2 tsp Salt, Sprinkle of each Cayenne Pepper and  Paprika.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt 2 TBL Butter over medium heat.  Remove from heat.  Add dry ingredients and stir til smooth.  Add 3/4 Cup Milk and place back on heat and cook until just boiling point.  Add 2 Cups Cheddar Cheese (or hard cheese of your choice) and stir until melted.  Remove from heat to allow to cool.  Slightly beat the 4 Eggs Yolks and add to mixture.  

While you wait for the cheese mixture to cool, beat egg whites and once they are foamy, add 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar.  Beat to stiff peaks but no more.  

By hand, using a rubber spatula, fold in 1/4 of the cheese mixture to the egg whites.  Continue adding and folding until it is all combined.  

Pour the mixture into the souffle dish and using the spatula, draw a circle in the mixture about 1/2" from the edge of the dish.  (The recipe called for 1" but I think it should've been closer to the edge than that.  This will give it a top hat effect as it rises.  Place in oven.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  It will collapse some once you remove it from the oven.  Serve immediately by spooning souffle onto your plate.  Terrific with any grilled or roasted meats.

Smoothie Season

About 5 years ago we gave our son a Ninja.  What I love about it is how smooth the smoothies end up especially when using berries.  We've been on a kick of walking the dog then making a smoothies when we get back.  I had a ton of spinach so my son suggested we add some.  I have to admit, I like the texture (not to mention the healthy additive) and as he said, you can't taste it.  The Ninja is also nice because it comes with 3 cup sizes.  A single, a large single and a double which is perfect for 2 singles.  

These aren't ultra healthy type smoothies although you can certainly make them that way, these are just fun breakfast replacement smoothies with.  

I've grown to love them with Sherbet and buy Orange and Raspberry regularly.  Though it has sugar it makes the drink lactose free if that's a concern.  Another low sugar and lactose free option is to use nut milks.  

NOTE:  Do not overfill the cup because it will leak all over the base since you are adding air and the volumne will expand.   

I like to add ice the Ninja cup first because it's placed upside down on the base for mixing.  

Feel free to add what you like but right now Pineapples are $1.88 so that's certainly a good choice.  I always use Banana.  I have Strawberries and Fresh Spinach.  I also like Orange Juice.  I bought some Bacardi Pina Colada Mix, which I haven't used in ages, but one can made about 5 Double smoothies - each enough for (2) 12oz. smoothies.

Add the Ice, the Fruit, Spinach.  A scoop of Sherbet and a large dollop of Pina Colada Mix.  Add Juice or Milk or both.  Mix on the base until smooth.  Drink immediately.