A day in the life...

Whats on Dee's Plate

When I started cooking on my own many years ago I was free to cook all of the things that my Mother did not like. Don't get me wrong...there are those comfort foods that my Mom cooks and let me tell you, they are the best ;-)
It is just that our tastes were a little different....I would at least give things a try before deciding if I liked them...my Mom, not so much....nothing wrong with that, just her way. You should taste her pot roast and whipped potato's....really the best!

One of the first dishes that I prepared for myself all of those years ago was a simple Cheese Souffle...all those years of watching Julia Child...to me that was just soooo fancy ;-) The handful of chefs that were on Public Tv introduced me to the finer things in life ;-)
Today....Food TV....still, public TV has some of the best cooks and chefs. To not be able to cook...well all you need is a few afternoons to sit back and watch to get inspired.

Since then...when I make one, and it is a rare occasion that I do I usually get a little adventurous and add several ingredients. One of my favorites is Crab and cheese....oh my, delicious. The wonderful thing about a souffle is that you can put whatever you like into it....so many ways to prepare.

Today finds me not feeling up to par...slight cold coming on....a little tired so I wanted a cheddar cheese souffle. Just like the very first time I made it....I went through the steps.... preheat oven 425...buttered my dish, sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on top. Measured out all of my ingredients, separated the egg whites from yolks....melted my butter in a pan, added a small amount of flour....stirred, then let it rest a moment. I started whipping the egg whites into soft peaks, this was done by hand only because I was way too lazy to get the mixer out....and if you have a really good whisk it is really very easy to do by hand. I then added milk to my pan...salt, paprika, let it thicken...tempered the egg yolk then added to the pan, folded in a good spoonful of the egg white (after giving them another good whisk) along with half the cheese....mixed, then folded in the reminder egg whites and cheese. Poured into the buttered dish..placed the dish on a pan...place in the middle of the oven...turn oven temp down to 375 and set timer for 15 minutes (takes between 15-18 minutes). For this meal I made a green veggie and poured myself a glass of wine.

Just as I did all those years ago....turned on the oven light on and peaked once in a while through the door window for one should never open the oven door....you need the heat to make it rise. What a happy feeling the bigger it gets. I decided to take a picture after I removed it from the oven....while it did not fall....it relaxed a bit...and they do.
Delicious.

Dinner for one...