The Independent-News, Volume 100, Number 6, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 6 September 1973 — Page 14

The Sorcery of Souffles by Betty Curren

’ Jr\ ‘ WL? /“• c JML cheese souffle with mushroom sauce % cup margarine Dash of cayenne 1 /4 cup flour 2 cups shredded 1 cup milk Cheddar cheese 1 /2 teaspoon salt 4 eggs, separated Make a white sauce with the margarine, flour, milk, salt and cayenne. When thickened add shredded cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add beaten yolks of 4 eggs: mix well. Slowly pour this mixture into stiffly beaten egg whites. Mix and blend carefully but thoroughly. Pour into a 2-quart casserole and bake 1 hour at 325 degrees. Serve at once with Mushroom Sauce. Makes 6 servings. MUSHROOM SAUCE Drain 1 (2 oz.) can mushrooms and save liquid Brown mushrooms in 1 tablespoon margarine. Add mushroom liquid to 1 (12 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup and Va cup milk and cook until mixture is smooth. Add browned mushrooms. Makes IV4 cups sauce. souffle sorcery 1 (12 oz.) pkg. rice % teaspoon pepper medley (frozen) Dash cayene 2 tablespoons margarine 1 cup shredded Cheddar 3 tablespoons flour cheese % cup milk 4 eggs, separated Vs teaspoon salt Cook rice according to package directions. Melt margarine in medium saucepan; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk; heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add seasonings and cheese; stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks in small bowl; stir in a small amount of cheese sauce. Slowly pour egg mixture back into sauce, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping. Stir in rice. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cheese-rice mixture into egg whites. Pour into a IVs quart souffle dish. With a spoon, make a circle 1 inch from side of dish to allow a “Hat” to form during baking. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Serves 4.

goldegger souffle 1 /2 cup sugar Va teaspoon mono6 egg yolks, slightly sodium glutumate beaten Va teaspoon salt V 2 teaspoon grated 1 teaspoon instant lemon peel orange drink powder 3 tablespoons lemon V 2 cup margarine juice 6 egg whites Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set a IV2 quart casserole in a shallow baking pan: place in oven. Pour boiling water around casserole to depth of at least one inch; let casserole heat until souffle is prepared. Combine all ingredients except egg whites in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water. Cook, stirring constantly, until margarine melts and sauce begins to thicken, about 4 to 5 minutes. Cool mixture for 15 minutes, beating well at intervals. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold whites gently into lemon mixture. Pour into hot casserole. Bake until puffy, delicately browned, and a knife blade inserted halfway between center and outside edge comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings. spinach souffle 6 tablespoons margarine 1 cup (firmly packed) 7 tablespoons flour raw spinach, chopped V/2 cups milk 4 egg yolks % cup egg whites, 1 tablespoon minced about 6 egg whites dried onion IV2 teaspoons salt Vt teaspoon black 1 tablespoon flour pepper Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set 1 quart, ungreased casserole in shallow baking pan Set in oven. Pour boiling water around casserole to depth of at least 1 inch. Prepare white sauce. Melt margarine, add flour, blend well, and cook over low heat until bubbly. Add milk all at once and cook, stirring constantly. until uniformly thickened. Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff and glossy, but not dry. Blend the 1 tablespoon flour into spinach and add to the beaten yolks, onion and pepper, then blend mixture into hot white sauce. Fold spinach-yolk mixture into beaten whites, pouring about Va of the mixture at a time. Pour into the hot casserole. To make attractive crown appearance on the baked souffle, cut into souffle mixture with a spoon, spatula or bowl scraper about 1 inch from side of casserole and about 1 inch deep, completely circling the mixture. Bake at 325 degrees until fluffy, delicately browned, and a knife blade inserted halfway between center and outside edge comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Serve from casserole. Makes 4 to 5 servings. chocolate souffle 3 squares (3 oz.) un- % cup sugar sweetened chocolate fa teaspoon salt 1 Va cups milk Va cup cold milk 2fa tablespoons Isa teaspoons vanilla cornstarch 6 eggs, separated Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a IV2 quart

There is a mystique about souffles. The piece de resistance of great cooks, they always make a dramatic impression whenever they are served. And, souffles are really quite easy to prepare. The single, most important step in souffle making is the beating of the egg whites. The egg whites should be at room temperature to obtain a greater volume. They should be beaten until stiff but not dry. This means that the egg whites should not be so stiff that they ‘‘flake” off or break into chunks. If this happens, the other ingredients will not adequately fold into the whites. It is also important to preheat the souffle dish or straight-sided casserole. This makes the souffle start cooking immediately from the bottom and sides. Like a spring breeze, the souffle waits for no one —you must enjoy it the moment it comes from the oven. One final kindness to all souffles: Do have the serving plates warm. Don't think of souffles just for special occasions . . . surprise your family with one soon. Discover that you, too, can be a souffle sorceress!

souffle dish and dust with sugar. Set souffle dish in shallow baking pan. Place in oven. Pour boiling water around casserole to depth of at least 1 inch. Melt chocolate with IVi cups milk in top of double boiler placed over simmering water. Blend together cornstarch and sugar in heavy saucepan. Stir in % cup cold milk to make a smooth mixture. Add hot chocolate mixture gradually, stirring constantly Cook and stir over low heat until sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff and glossy, but not dry. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Fold egg yolks into chocolate sauce. Fold mixture into beaten egg whites, adding about Va of mixture at a time. Fold gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into hot souffle dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to I’/4 hours. Makes 6 servings. y xwy? * \ spaghetti souffle with creole sauce 6 oz. long spaghetti 1 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons margarine V/2 cups milk 6 tablespoons flour 3 eggs, separated Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until tender (about 12 minutes). Drain and rinse in hot water. While spaghetti is cooking, melt margarine in top of double boiler. Stir in flour and salt. Gradually add milk, stirring continually until smooth and thickened. Beat egg yolks and add gradually, stirring constantly. Add sauce to spaghetti. Beat egg white stiff and gently fold in. Pour into greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cut in squares and serve with Creole Sauce. CREOLE SAUCE 2 cups cooked tomatoes 2 tablespoons vinegar Va cup chopped green fa teaspoon salt pepper Vb teaspoon pepper V 4 cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon sugar 1 bouillon cube 1 tablespoon flour V 4 cup sliced stuffed olives Combine all ingredients except flour and sugar. Mix together flour and sugar and stir into tomato mixture. Simmer 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Makes 6 servings (Vi cup each).