Souffle ... Mon Cheri?

Ahh, the elegant soufflé! A feat that has been on my "to do" list for some time. I've always wanted to try making this classy and seemingly tricky dish celebrated by great chefs like Julia Child or James Beard.
Since we had a large amount of spring mix lettuce that needed to be consumed "asap" I decided that today was the day! I grabbed my trusty egg whisk, donned my chef's apron and began to create my first soufflé to accompany a lovely salad for dinner.

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (image credit, Paramount Pictures)

First to Find the Perfect Recipe!

While I have both The Joy of Cooking and The James Beard Cookbooks in my kitchen, I am somewhat ashamed to say that my research began on my phone. I found a recipe for a cheese soufflé with a great video called "Beth's easy cheese soufflé " on a site called Entertaining with Beth (link below).

In the course of my research I came across this delightful clip of Audrey Hepburn making a soufflé in the movie Sabrina. Her career as a chef was not working out … but no worries, if I remember correctly she married the handsome rich guy! Check out the 2 min. clip below!

a clip of Audrey Hepburn taking her souffle out of the oven in the movie Sabrina

The Chef Prepares!

Since I've always heard that making a soufflé was tricky business, I tried to be super organized.
I prepared the salad, set the table and measured out all my ingredients so that once my creation went in the oven I would have time to watch the miracle that was about to happen (hopefully).

"the only thing that makes a soufflé fall is if it knows you're afraid" 

On its heavenly journey upward
until the tick-tock, tick-tock of the timer has counted the minutes down
not a second late before the oven mitt must run to the rescue

The Impeccable Souffle  by Sanddhya 

Time is important, as the poem above states. My masterpiece was looking a little too brown and I took it out a bit early … it was beautiful and tasty but a bit soggy in the middle. Will leave it in the full length next time.

So here it is! My first soufflé. 

Not only was it a thing of beauty, but the aroma of warm cheese filled the kitchen. A cloud of cheesy flavor paired with a salad and a wee drop of red wine was a cheap  frugal, yet classy dinner for two. Perhaps next time I will try an artichoke and mushroom soufflé, or a salmon soufflé, …. or maybe a chocolate or lemon dessert soufflé! 

I hope to improve my "soufflé" skills and make more economical delights since, unlike Sabrina, I didn't marry the rich guy, just the handsome one!

I recommend the recipe below, just make sure you leave it in for the full 35 minutes.
Entertaining With Beth - Souffle Recipe with video