Gentle touch makes souffle a snap

I love family recipes.

They make me feel connected to my loved ones and warm me inside and out.

So when my editor suggested I use local cheese, eggs, milk and butter to make a late-winter souffle for Week 14 of the Dark Days eat-local challenge, I immediately thought of my dear aunt-in-law, Starla.

Starla is a queen of home cooking and is always available to share in my kitchen heroics and mishaps. She's also experienced at souffles and often uses a recipe from her sister-in-law, Macon, who lives in New Orleans.

I had tried Starla's cheese souffle before, so I knew it would be good if I could pull it off.

But I had no idea how much fun it would be to make it!

Her recipe, unlike many I read online, is beautiful in its simplicity, just as it should be for Dark Days.

Still, I was a bit nervous.

Surely a souffle would be too advanced for me or — judging from things I had seen on TV when I was a kid — bring shame on my family if I failed.

It was nothing of the sort.

Starla's recipe starts with a basic cheese sauce. You then add the cheese sauce to egg yolks and then add beaten egg whites. Then, voila, it goes in the oven in a 1-inch water bath for about an hour.

There are some recommended tricks, of course.

You have to be gentle, Starla explained, when folding the components of the dish together to keep things light and airy.

You also have to be sure the cheese sauce isn't hot when you put it into the egg yolks. Otherwise, you might end up with scrambled eggs.

I followed Starla's instructions and my souffle's texture was perfect — silky smooth and delicate with robust undertones of award-winning Beecher's Flagship Reserve, a recent Costco splurge.

I also used perhaps the best eggs in the world from Sky Valley Family Farm of Sultan, which makes it dozens available at the Sno-Isle Food Co-op in Everett.

I had used Sky Valley eggs before, but I figured they would be important in this dish.

To tell the truth, I'm not sure they made a difference in my souffle because I have never made one before, but they looked absolutely beautiful, and I can't think of a better showcase for local dairy products.

Their shells came in a variety of colors and patterns. Their yolks stood taller and looked brighter than any factory-farmed eggs I've ever seen.



Their whites seemed thicker, too.

Having never whipped egg whites before, I was tickled when they turned from a slimy goo in the bowl into a meringue-like whip with help from the handy whisk attachment on my immersion blender.

I felt very chefy.

So now, like me, you know a little secret: Souffles aren't the stuff of gourmet superstars. They just make you look like one.

Find more Dark Days ideas at urbanhennery.com.

Cheese souffle

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1 cup milk

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 eggs

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Blend in flour, salt and pepper and cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Separate egg yolks and whites into two medium-sized bowls and set aside.

Remove it from heat and pour in milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. You should end up with about 1 cup of thick cream sauce.

Remove the sauce from heat and add grated cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted.

Beat egg yolks briskly with a fork.

Making sure the sauce is warm but not hot, gently fold the cheese sauce into the egg yolks, using a spatula. Don't be rough with the delicate mixture. You want it to stay airy so it will puff up in the oven.

Add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat until stiff. Gently fold the whites into the cheese mixture.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased ceramic baking dish. Place the dish in another oven-safe pan with about 1 inch of hot water. Bake for 50 minutes or until the souffle is puffy and golden brown. Serve immediately.

You should have enough for 4 large servings or 6 side-dish servings.