Mushroom souffle (p. 205)

I am afraid of making souffles. I am particularly scared of making souffles in Colorado with all the altitude issues. My father makes a terrific souffle and is located in Iowa making him the perfect person with which to make my integral souffle. We settled on Mushroom souffle (p. 205).

We beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. They got very fluffy:



Dad had the white sauce made and the mushrooms sauteed by the time I dragged myself out of bed (thanks, Dad!). That was a huge time saver. I added salt, ground red pepper, and white pepper to the white sauce when I got there:



I combined egg yolks and Gruyere in a bowl. Of course, this was only after I had grated the necessary Parmesan cheese for the spinach souffle recipe but that's what I get for not thoroughly reading the recipe. I was pleased that this recipe used both the yolk and the white. I hate when recipes only use one and I'm stuck with 12 egg yolks and no use for them.



I beat a half cup of the white sauce into the egg yolks, adding the rest of the white sauce when the small amount was fully incorporated:



The mushrooms were finally added:



It took forever to fold the egg whites in to the base mixture, which seems typical for folding in egg whites. The whole thing was poured in to a souffle dish that was dusted with dry bread crumbs:



The souffle was cooked for about forty minutes:



The inside:



It was a beautiful work of art. The souffle was light and fluffy, with a perfect cheesy mushroom flavor. I loved it. Souffles are very, very easy to like--if you like omelets, you probably like savory souffles. It was a big hit with everyone from my dad and stepmother to my 19 year old brother and his friends.

Random facts:

• The word "souffle" is based on the French word "Souffler" which means to blow up or puff up.