Cast Iron Soufflé

Since I only drag out the cast iron a few times a year I like to practice a bit before I go off and try to feed a bunch of people. We are heading South to do just that in March so I've been doing a bit of outdoor cooking.

Here is a recipe I use quite often in my kitchen oven and had an idea I could fix for the potluck at the Teardrop Gathering.

The recipe was in a recent post by doodles, A trip down memory food lane.


Rinse chilies free of seeds and cut into inch pieces and assemble rest of ingredients.

Heat a 10 inch Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven heated with coals 14 top and 6 bottom.

Because I'll be cooking this on a camping trip I did not use an electric mixer and whisked the eggs in a large bowl. Beat the eggs until they are thick and light yellow. Next whisk in flour and when you have no more lumps mix in the milk and salt and pepper.


Add butter to preheated outdoor dutch oven and coat the inside. Layer green chilies and cheeses and gently pour in the milk mixture.

Replace lid and cook for approximately 40 minutes turning lid and pot 1/4 turn every 15 minutes.

At 30 minutes I added two more fresh coals to the top because I wanted the cheese to brown.

I took a peek at 40 min and it was done. I tested by sticking a knife in the center and it came out clean.

Removed it from the heat and let it rest about 10 minutes without the lid. It needs to cool off a little before serving.

We had friends over that have had this before and they said this was the best one I've ever made.

PBE makes breakfast egg soufflé

If you've ever eaten something in a restaurant and decided you could make that at home; read on.

When sister Doodles and I get together one of our favorite places for breakfast is Panera Bread. This tasty little breakfast-cafe-franchise seems to be popping up all over the country. I've only been interested in their bread and bagels but lately noticed a hot seller, baked egg soufflés, and thought what a great challenge for Doodles and myself.

The egg dish looks pretty simple. A soufflé/quiche like mixture baked in a puff pastry dough. Sounds easy enough but we did run into some difficulty. Here is our attempt.

Because there were only three of us for Easter brunch we used three two-cup oven proof bowls. I might adjust this to six 6 ounce custard cups next time.


Recipe
2 eggs
1/4 cup lite sour cream
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped ham or sausage
3/4 teaspoon chopped chive
3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme
salt and pepper
one sheet puff pastry dough

Pre-heat oven to 400 Cut pastry dough in five-inch square or to fit your baking cups. Divide cheese and ham between the three cups. Divide herbs and sprinkle on top of ham. Beat eggs and add half and half. Whisk in sour cream. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese and bake in middle rack for about 35 minutes until eggs are lightly set. Don't overcook.


What we had was a lovely eggy soufflé with underdone pastry. That afternoon our darling Chef Teri stopped by and we asked her. She's worked in the food industry for quite a while and is a wealth of knowledge. She knew where we went awry. To get the puff pastry to "puff" you need to blast the heat in the beginning, then turn it down and cook your soufflés until the eggs are done. Also, she suggested using some paper soufflé that are sold at Sur la table. This is why we revere her so.

What did we learn? It's fun to try something new even if the results are not exactly what you intended. Try something new!