Blue Cheese Souffle

I am a total sucker for Hollywood award shows. I of course must first blame Jen Barone Pettis for exposing me to these indulgent shows in college and then next, my folks. Back in the day, on 'The Hill', January signaled the start of 'Sundays of decadence'. We would all gather on our Triple V couch to watch the red carpet, enjoy and bash style and argue over who should take home the award. Jen can't take all the blame, my folks have been known to get dressed in gowns and tuxedos, broil some lobster tails, pop open the bubbly only to bust out the TV trays and watch the academy awards...as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Yes, guilty pleasures :) Tonight kicks off the first of the award show string and decadence must follow. My girls and I will be rocking our fanciest nighties and keeping this festive, frivolous tradition alive.

As I've said, I don't bake. Well, I don't bake well. I don't really like precision. A recipe that must be followed precisely or it fails petrifies me. Because of this I typically stay away from Souffle's. They just sound scary and beg to fall flat. I learned of this a few weeks ago (yes, from Ina again) and it is pretty solid. You can serve the souffle in 4 ramekins or if you have larger souffle dish, go for it. Because of the fluffy egg whites, the souffle looks impressive and the taste is everything you'd expect from blue cheese. Because blue cheese is rich, I recommend serving this with peppery, bitter greens, figs and a light baguette. And if you're up for the award shows, this dish begs to be paired with a little bubbly ...pelligrino, apple cider or the real stuff!

From my table to yours...
mmm

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more, for greasing
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk, hot
• 4 egg yolks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 5 egg whites
• Pinch cream of tartar
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare 4 (8-ounce) ramekins or a 1 1/2 -quart souffle dish by greasing with butter and coating with Parmesan.
• Make a roux base by melting 3 tablespoons butter over low-medium heat. Just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps.
• Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to coat the flour, do not brown.
• Add the hot milk to the roux and continue to whisk until the mixture is smoothly thickened. Remove from heat.
• Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
• Season with salt, pepper, and mustard.
• Stir in the cheese.
• Chill while preparing the egg whites.
• In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar just until they hold soft peaks.
• Fold 1/3 of the beaten whites into the roux mixture to lighten it.
• Then gently fold in the rest.
• Pour into the prepared ramekins or souffle dish and place on a cookie sheet.
• Bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes.
• The souffle is done when it has puffed over the rim, the outside is golden and the center jiggles slightly.
• Serve with peppery bitter greens, figs and light baguette