Sunday, October 25, 2009

Brunch Club - A Simple Souffle?

Hello! You should call me Substitution Sally, because I clearly just used this recipe to change practically everything! Here's what I started with: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cheese-souffle-recipe/index.html

And here's what I did to change it:

1. I didn't have any parm cheese, so I used some Gouda.
2. I didn't have a souffle dish, so I used a spring form pan.
3. I didn't have any garlic powder, so I used the same amount of garlic paste.
4. I didn't have any cream of tartar, so I used the same amount of lemon juice.
5. I added about 1/4 cup of roasted tomatoes.
6. I added about 1/4 cup of roasted red pepper.
7. I added about 6 oz of Gouda on the top of the souffle.

And, you know, for all these substitutions, it turned out delicious. My only mistake, and this was a relatively substantial mistake (as far as presentation was concerned) was adding the cheese on the top. I put it on with 5 minutes left to cook. I added it for two reasons. One is that I thought the top was getting a little too brown. But I could have fixed that by using foil. The second is that I really really love cheese. There is no fixing that. And I had all this delicious cheese in my fridge to use!

Why is putting all that delicious cheese on the top a mistake, you ask? Oh, because the souffle was so light and delicate that the 6 oz of cheese proved too heavy and caused my souffle to squish a little. And then the car ride over to brunch club caused it to squish more. And then cutting through that crusty layer of delicious cheese? Souffle explosion.

But it tasted delicious! I think if you make this recipe (with or without all my substitutions) I'd recommend adding somewhere between 1/4 and 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. A word of warning: this recipe has the potential to go terribly terribly wrong. You're doing a lot of things at once. And there is the dreaded requirement that you temper the egg mixture. Always a dangerous proposition, especially as far into the recipe as this was. But if you temper with tiny amounts at a time, you'll be fine. I honestly started with about a tablespoon at a time, and gradually increased to about a cup at a time. Better to be safe and slow than sorry, right?

Otherwise, this morning was another delicious and successful brunch club! Excellent work everyone!

2 comments:

  1. Here was my pepper and asparagus frittata recipe.

    www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rocco-dispirito/peppers-and-asparagus-frittata-recipe/index.html

    I followed the recipe by blanching the asparagus, but was short on time and concerned about stuff cooking according to his times...so I sauted the asparagus on medium heat with the green peppers at the same time. I also added a tiny bit of garlic powder to the eggs in addition to the salt and pepper. Other than that, I followed the recipe.

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  2. Here is my super easy recipe from Brunch Club debut:

    -8 ounces brie
    -1 peach, sliced and diced, and mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 table spoons brown sugar
    -10 almonds, beaten until my neighbors get annoyed by the noise

    Here's how I made it:
    1. Preheat the oven to 350.
    2. Put brie on baking pan. I would suggest brie with a rind so it holds shape a bit better than mine did.
    3. Place peach mixture on brie. Put crushed almonds on that.
    4. Put in oven for 8 minutes or until cheese is soft throughout.
    5. Remember that you ate the last crackers while being annoyed by noisy neighbors last night and run out to 7-11 for more while dish is cooling.

    Can't wait for the next brunch!
    Dipti

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