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MAKE IT! Results: "The Queen of Hot Pastries"

"Queen of Hot Pastries" is right! What fun it was making soufflés! I'm happy to say that Jamie and Wendy are keeping this feature alive and I am so grateful for their participation. Both of them made the Cheese soufflé and sent pictures and stories of other soufflés they made. All efforts were successful. Wendy and I both worried about every aspect our first attempts. Before making the cheese soufflé, Wendy made chocolate dessert soufflés that she had been meaning to make for quite a while. She said,"All along I kept thinking I'd messed it up. The chocolate wasn't right (I let it cook too long, it was too thick) I didn't beat the egg whites long enough or maybe I beat them too much, I errored on the side of caution and didn't fold enough..." But success! Everything came out perfectly. Judge for yourself!

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In a completely fortuitous coincidence, the day I posted this MAKE IT! challenge Jamie's daughter had asked him to make soufflés for breakfast. He sent along this wonderful picture of what they made together: Potato Soufflé. 
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All three of use had the chance to make the recipe for Cheese Soufflé. We all loved it. Jamie, who wins the volume prize said it was "like eating a tasty cloud." Look at this puffy masterpiece:
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And Wendy said,"It was wonderful!!!! The kids loved it. We loved it. I should have made two because this one was not enough."
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I made it one evening when Yolanda & Frank and baby Sasha joined us for dinner and I worried and worried that I shouldn't have made it the first time for guests (I'll never learn!). But Yolanda reassured me and we were all delighted with the results. 
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I made the Grand Marnier Soufflé, which was a hit. I had much more confidence this time around and didn't worry too much about making it for the first time for guests also. 
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Finally, Jamie sent along this amazing lobster soufflé he undertook with a friend a couple of years back.

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I'm getting ready to post another MAKE IT! and hope to snag a couple of additional participants this time! Thanks again to Jamie and Wendy!!

Comments (5)

Feb 15, 2010
Erika said...
Here's the recipe Wendy used for her chocolate soufflés:

Palo Chocolate Soufflé (6 Servings)

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the soufflé cups
6 tablespoons sugar, plus more for dusting the soufflé cups
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa
2 ounces (2/3 cups) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted
4 eggs, separated

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. Set a full kettle of water on to boil.
Butter six 4-ounce soufflé cups and coat with sugar, set aside.
Bring milk to boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cocoa to the butter and beat with a whisk until it has a smooth, paste-like consistency. Reduce heat and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly add hot milk, whisking until smooth, then blend in melted chocolate. Let cool for 5 minutes, then stir egg yolks.
Beat egg whites in separate bowl until frothy. Slowly add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until glossy peaks form. Stir a heaping spoonful of egg whites into the chocolate, then fold in the remaining whites just until combined.
Pour the batter into prepared soufflé cups. Place cups in a large baking dish and add enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the soufflé cups.
Bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with warm vanilla sauce.

Palo Vanilla Sauce for Soufflé
Bring 1 1/4 cups heavy cream and 1/4 vanilla bean (split lengthwise) to a low boil in saucepan over medium heat.
Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 small egg yolks.
Add 2 spoonfuls of boiling cream to egg mixture and stir well, then pour back into the remaining cream and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes.

Feb 17, 2010
 said...
we are making the cheese souffle tonight. I'll try to remember to take pictures. I've never made a souffle!!
Feb 17, 2010
Erika said...
If you want watch the video of Jacques & Julia I posted a while back. It's tagged under souffle, but it gives you a good idea how to handle it! Good luck!!xxoo
Feb 20, 2010
Tim said...
Sara made the souffle a few nights ago. Was good, not great. A bit too eggy. Kids did not like at all, which was surprising. I mean, sheesh, it wasn't too far off from scrambled eggs! Actually was better the second day. Looked awesome coming out of the oven!

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Feb 20, 2010
Erika said...
Wow! Wow! Wow! You figured out how to post pics in the comments, could you tell us how? The soufflé looks beautiful, but Sara said it was practically liquid in the middle. Mine wasn't. hm. I didn't think mine tasted too eggy, but you know this is the beauty of these projects, everyone's comes out slightly different, everyone has different tastes. I love the sharing. I'm posting some more soufflé recipes because, personally, I'm addicted to them. Maybe you'll like one of the others better...

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