A HARTE APPETITE: SOUFFLE'S REPUTATION AS DIFFICULT DISH UNDESERVED

If ever chefs were concerned their cooking would not rise to the occasion, it is when making souffl82s. Ever since its creation by the great French chef Marie-Antoine Careme, the souffl82 has been both the king of desserts and something of a prima donna. As Jane Ellis writing in House Beautiful magazine said, "Souffl82s always dazzle the diner but often fill the cook with fear."

Stephanie Witt Sedgwick, a staff writer for the Washington Post, in an article entitled "Fear of Falling: Why Bad Souffl82s Happen to Good Cooks," suggests a reason for this. She says, "Cooking a souffl82 is like jumping off a cliff. Take the leap, and there's no going back."

Whatever the reason, even experienced chefs sometimes buy into the notion that souffl82s should be intimidating. For example, Jean-Pierre Lallement, the chef du cuisine and proprietor of the award-winning L'Assiette Champenoise restaurant in Reims, France, claims, "It is a notoriously hard dish to create well. Souffl82s are temperamental. You must show them love and respect." He even goes so far as to assert that you only have a one-in-three chance of making a good souffl82. Of course, this could all be hype for his souffl82 cooking school and the annual Souffl82 World Cup championships, which his restaurant sponsors.

The truth is the souffl82's reputation as a difficult dish is undeserved. Its image in this regard has been "puffed up," which, incidentally, is what the word literally means in French. In fact, as the Joy of Cooking points out, one of the reasons souffl82s are so popular with restaurant chefs is that they are so easy to prepare.

This reality was driven home to us many years ago while visiting Paris when we stumbled upon the restaurant Le Souffl82 on the rue du Mont-Thabor near the Place Vendome. Inside this chic establishment they serve souffles for every course, from appetizer to dessert. And they do so with aplomb. Delectable cloud-like concoctions come out of the kitchen like clockwork until at every table there is a souffl82 of one kind or another and, though we've made multiple visits, we've yet to see one disaster. The renown of French cooking notwithstanding, the restaurant's success clearly suggests souffl82s are not as forbidding as is commonly thought.

Marion Cunningham, author of the venerable Fannie Farmer Cookbook, agrees. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, she pinpoints two primary fears associated with making souffl82s and contends both are groundless. The No. 1 cause of fear of souffl82s, she says, is that they must be served as soon as they come from the oven. "But we serve many dishes directly from the oven and think nothing of it," she rightly observes. "Just have the table set and all the plates ready, time the baking correctly and have everyone at the table when the souffl82 is done," she advises.

The second cause of souffl82 anxiety, Cunningham notes, is fear that the souffl82 will rise a little and then fall flat as a pancake or, worse yet, that it won't rise in the first place. This fear, too, she maintains, is unwarranted. As long as the egg whites are properly beaten to stiff, glossy, but not dry, peaks, she counsels, the souffl82 should rise perfectly. This, of course, requires absolutely clean and grease-free beaters and bowl and whites that contain not even a speck of yolk.

Sedgwick offers a few additional tips. First, she advises using a straight-sided dish to insure even cooking and a sure rise. She also recommends filling the dish only about three-quarters full. Less than that and the finished product may not rise above the rim of the dish; more and it may spill over. In addition, she advocates a 375-degree oven, warning that too low a temperature will retard proper rising and too high a temperature will produce a souffl82 that resembles a popover with big air pockets inside. She also favors baking the souffl82 in the lower third of the oven to avoid premature browning. Finally, like many others, she warns that the souffl82 should be baked undisturbed for at least 80 percent of its projected cooking time. Only then is it safe to open the oven door and take a peek. Once the crown of the souffl82 is nicely browned, she says to shake the dish gently, and if it does not wobble too much, "pray and remove."

These guidelines should all but guarantee a perfect souffl82 every time. But if you want to play it even safer, there are a few additional strategies you can employ. You can follow the lead of the New York restaurant Etats-Unis and, believe it or not, make your souffl82 ahead of time. The owner, Tom Rapp, has developed a recipe that is technically a souffleed pudding. It is baked in a water bath, then refrigerated for up to two days, and baked again. Rapp says, "They always work, and are more forgiving than the classic souffl82." He promises that they won't collapse dramatically, even if they might settle gently.

Or, you could serve a cold or frozen souffl82 which, of course, is absolutely foolproof since it isn't baked at all but, rather, poured into a dish with a paper collar that allows the souffl82 mixture when it hardens to rise dramatically above the rim of the dish. Another approach is to rely on bread and whole eggs to create a puffy pudding that resembles a souffl82.

And finally, you can exercise discretion. Don't tell your guests you're serving a souffl82 until you present it to them at the table. That way, if something goes wrong you can call it a custard, a strata, or even a baked omelet and no one will be the wiser!

Though the souffl82 is unlikely to ever be adapted to fast food dining (don't expect to be able to order a McSouffle at the golden arches anytime soon), these techniques, as incorporated into the recipes which follow, go a long way toward making the souffl82 quick, easy and reliable.

Light Orange Souffl82

This is the easiest and most foolproof souffl82 recipe I know, and, because it does not use an egg-rich base, it is low in fat. The recipe is from the late Pierre Franey's last cookbook. You might want to try substituting other flavors of marmalade or preserves.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chunky orange marmalade

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

4 large egg whites

Directions:

Whisk together marmalade and Grand Marnier. Beat whites until they form soft peaks. Fold into marmalade mixture, blending well. Spoon into four 1-cup souffl82 molds which have been buttered and dusted with granulated sugar and level with a spatula. Make a channel around the edge of the molds using a thumb. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with chocolate sauce if desired.

Spinach Souffleed Puddings

This recipe for the type of souffl82 served at the American bistro Etats-Unis in Manhattan is from House Beautiful magazine. It can be made up to two days ahead.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups half-and-half

8 egg yolks

1 and 1/2 pounds spinach

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

10 egg whites

Pinch cream of tartar

1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Melt butter over low heat, add flour, stirring constantly until incorporated. Slowly add half-and-half and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and beat in egg yolks one at a time. Wash, dry, puree and wring out spinach and add to mixture with salt and pepper. Beat egg whites to soft peaks and carefully fold into spinach mixture. Divide among 8 buttered 4-by-2 and 1/2-inch ramekins, filling to 1/4 inch from top. Place ramekins in shallow roasting pan, pour hot water in pan to come 1/4 of an inch up sides of ramekins. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until tops are set and brown. Souffl82s can be kept at room temperature for several hours or covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to two days. To serve, run knife around edges of souffl82 and unmold into palm of hand. Place right side up on oven-proof dishes, drizzle 1 tablespoon cream over top of each, and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until cream is bubbly.

Brie Souffl82

This recipe, from the now classic Silver Palate cookbook, is actually more of a bread pudding souffl82 and makes an elegant item for brunch. It's so easy, you don't even have to beat egg whites.

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons butter

6 slices white bread, crusts removed

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of Tabasco

3 eggs

1 pound slightly underripe Brie, rind removed

Directions:

Butter one side of bread slices and cut each into thirds. Whisk together milk, salt, Tabasco, and eggs. Coarsely grate Brie. Arrange half of bread, buttered side up, on bottom of buttered 1 1/2-quart souffl82 dish. Sprinkle evenly with half of Brie. Repeat. Carefully pour egg mixture over bread. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serves 4 to 6.

Brandied Chocolate Bavarian

This recipe from Judith Olney's The Joy of Chocolate is for a cold souffl82. For a dramatic presentation you can make a chocolate souffl82 dish by coating a foil wrapped bowl or dish with melted chocolate, letting it harden, and then carefully removing the dish. Lightly oil the foil.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 cups milk

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon brandy

2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

Sprinkle gelatin over water and set aside to soften. Heat milk and chocolate until chocolate melts and milk is almost scalded. Combine sugar, yolks, and vanilla and beat until very thick and pale. Slowly pour in hot chocolate milk while beating to blend. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens enough to coat spoon. Off heat add softened gelatin and stir until dissolved. Cool and add brandy. Cool until bottom of pan is room temperature and custard is about to gel. Whip cream to a thickened sludge and fold into custard. Pour into souffl82 dish with paper or foil collar allowing mixture to rise above rim of dish. When set, remove collar. Serves 10.

Got a culinary question you'd like to ask or an idea you'd like to see treated in this column? Send your suggestions to A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.