As you may know by now Private Chefs live with a constant sense of impending doom. Imagine a dinner party for 30 very wealthy people with a cheese souffle on the menu. You didn’t want to put a souffle on the menu but your boss thinks it would be a nice touch, so after negotiations at the highest levels you finally accept not without telling big bossman you have a 3 minutes window to serve the souffles. Take it or leave it! The party has been carefully planned in its smallest details and all is clear and understood or as Stevie Wonders puts it in a song everything is “Signed, sealed and (almost) delivered”.

It’s showtime and the souffles go into the oven at the right moment, the Concierto ends within the time frame and the guests are seated shortly after, the ballet of waiters pouring wine and serving bread runs smoothly. The souffles come out of the oven perfectly puffed with a golden brown crust and are ready to meet their fate. At this exact moment in the middle of a lavish display of jewelry and designer dresses, one of the few billionaires sitting at the table decides to get up and make a little speech followed by a toast. The maitre d’ runs into the kitchen shouting: HOLD IT! (the following exchange between the chef and the maitre d’ has been censored to preserve the innocence of small childrens, kittens and white rabbits who might come across this blog). You watch as your beautiful souffles deflates, your sense of impending doom was once again, correct.

You think that would be the end of the battle?…Think not!

Private Chefs are equipped with an armory of fool-proof recipes and the following one is no exception. A goat cheese souffle that ,when baked twice, regains it’s original puffiness, and let me tell you my friends, puffiness is Godliness. You can serve it as a first course unmolded over a Mache salad with pine nuts tossed with your favorite vinaigrette or as part of a cheese course (see picture above). Be your own boss!

• 10 ounces soft Goat cheese (Coach Farm), crumbled
• 2 ounces firm goat cheese, crumbled
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more for ramequins)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• Salt and black pepper to taste

____________

1. Preheat the oven to 375’F
2. Butter 6 3/4 cup ramequins and set aside
3. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat and add flour (roux)
4. Cook roux for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon
5. Whisk in the milk and keep whisking until the mixture boils and thickens
6. Remove from the heat and add yolks, mustard, thyme, soft goat cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until smooth.
7. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks
8. Add the firm goat cheese to the cheese mixture and thoroughly fold in the egg whites
9. Divide the mixture among the ramequins and place in a bain marie
10. Add hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramequins
11. Bake 25 minutes until puffed and golden brown
12. Serve immediately or let them cool unmolded and reheat as needed, they will puff up again nicely

I hope you’ll enjoy it. Cheers!

Tags: Appetizer