Cheese Soufflé in Coffee Mugs

Kim at The Nourishing Cook made the cheese soufflé from Nourishing Traditions last month. It looked fun and different and exciting, so I thought I'd try it too.  She's right, it's not that hard.  You know I'm not that great with detailed directions- Kim is, and she outlined what she did perfectly so I'll just send you over there for that and leave you with a few tips and pictures.  

I had purchased heavy whipping cream, and was checking out thrift stores for soufflé dishes that weekend. I was sure I'd find one, but nope I didn't. So I read online and anything with smooth straight sides can be used for soufflés. Coffee mugs and one mason jar worked for me!  Sometimes I feel like a red neck real food blogger ~grin~

I too used a different cheese than Nourishing Traditions calls for, I used cheddar.  First you make a cream sauce with whipping cream, add in egg yolks, and then cheese.  

At the same time I had my egg whites and a pinch of salt whipping in the mixer.  They're supposed to be whipped until stiff but not dry- I'm not sure if I crossed over to dry or not, I read that in Joy of Cooking after my souffle was already in the oven.  I love Joy of Cooking for it's detailed foolproof directions for any basic food- Nourishing Traditions outlines recipes really well, but Joy of Cooking had a couple pages dedicated to the hows, whys, and history of soufflé that I found interesting.

Folding the whites into the cheese.  I was afraid I didn't do this enough, but it turned out fine. I didn't want to deflate the eggs!

Spooned the mixture into buttered mugs and a mason jar.  Afterwards I read (in Joy of Cooking again) that you're supposed to fill it to just under the top, and then if you want to be extra fancy you can run your finger around the lip of the container, and it'll create a 'finished' look.  I wasn't sure how full to fill, so I gave plenty of room for it to rise. I dislike cleaning the bottom of my oven and/or setting off the smoke detectors.

I checked for doneness after half an hour.  I guess it's important for the first half to leave the oven door closed, but as it approaches the end time it's okay to check.  It's ready to take out of the oven when it's firm and 'has a slight wobble' in the center.

The verdict: We thought they tasted like cheesy scrambled eggs. I don't know that I'll be making this again, but it was fun to see it puff up and know that I can successfully make a soufflé, should the need ever arise!  And since it has butter, cream, and cheese, it is pretty nutrient dense and filling! We ate it as our main dish.

What's your soufflé experience? Do you make them regularly? Something you'd want to try?

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