Souffles have fallen out of fashion, at least in regards to home cooks. I have hundreds of cookbooks spanning back over 120 years. In many of those books, dated from the 50′s through the 70′s and even 80′s, you’d find recipes for all sorts of souffles from sweet to savory. In the 80′s their popularity started to wane and now it is rare to find a new cookbook with a souffle recipe in it. That’s too bad as I think every decent home cook should know how to make a souffle.

There seems to be a mystique surrounding souffles and how difficult they are to make. Most of it is a load of crap. I can’t begin to count the number of souffles I have made, in both professional kitchens and at home, and I think I have had only 1 turn out a failure. They really aren’t that difficult to make, and they most certainly are not nearly as tempermental to bake as the myth has it.

I want to share 4 tips that will allow you to serve a perfect souffle almost every time. There’s nothing secret about these, nor are they all that enlightening, but follow these 4 tips and your success rate will be like mine.
1. Don’t over whip your egg whites. Leave them just shy of stiff peak to get maximum rise out of them.
2. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into your base to lighten the base then gently fold in the remaining whites. It’s okay to leave a few streaks of white unincorporated. This is better than over stirring and deflating your whites.
3. Once in the oven do not open the oven door for the 2/3 of the baking.
4. Serve the souffle as soon as possible after coming out of the oven. Even the best made souffle will start to collapse as it cools down. Time is of the essence.

This recipe makes a great breakfast souffle that will serve 4 people when accompanied by toast, bagels or pastries.

Cheese and Bacon Souffle

1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Butter + more for greasing the mold
1 cup Milk
Fresh nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp. Granulated Garlic
3-6 dashes Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, grated
6 oz. Cheddar cheese (sharp or medium)
3 sliced Bacon, thick cut
5 each eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Dice bacon and render until crisp. Pour off fat and reserve bacon. Grease a 2 qt. Souffle mold or high sided baking dish with butter and dust with parmesan cheese. Place in the fridge. Separate eggs with whites in 1 bowl and yolks in another. Meanwhile melt remain 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. Combine flour, a couple grates of fresh nutmeg, mustard, and garlic and add to the butter. Cook for 2 minutes then add the milk. When thickened add hot sauce and stir in cheddar cheese. Continue to heat until cheese has melted. Remove from heat. Whip egg whites to a point just short of stiff peak. Temper cheese mixture into yolks, stirring to combine. Add bacon. Gently fold in 1/3 of the white into the yolk mixture then fold in the remaining whites. Pour into mold and bake for 25 minutes. After 20 minutes quickly check for doneness. To test a souffle for doneness test just like a cake. Insert a toothpick or small knife into the souffle. If it comes out clean then it is done. Serve immediately.

I have always been a pet lover. I got my first cat when I was 2 years old and had her until I was 15. As a kid I also had gerbils (can’t count how many or how many the cat got) a few fish, a dog, a lizard and various toads we captured. That love of animals has extended into adulthood. When I was single and living in Chicago I had ferrets. Man, are those little creatures a blast! We used to go “ferret bowling,” sliding them down a long, hardwood floored hallway, trying to knock them into each other or various obstacles, usually socks. They loved it and would coming running back and wait to get slid down the hallway again. We often tired out long before the ferrets did. When I met my wife, she added her to cats to the household. Currently, our house is home to not only three humans, but 2 dogs, 2 cats and an aquarium full of fish. It makes for tight quarters, sometimes, in our small house, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We try hard, to treat our animals well, and that means keeping table scraps and feeding them “human” food to a minimum. Of course we don’t always succeed and our 2 dogs have become pizza hogs, willing to do almost anything to get their grubby little paws on a slice or 2, or whole pizza. They have also quickly learned the joy of having a 2 year old around. She often walks around with food dangling from her hand that just screams to be snatched or she will often walk away from a bowl of snacks, leaving it unguarded, and in the dogs minds, fair game. As treats we usually try to give them dog biscuits (aka Milkbones), usually store bought, but on occasions we have made treats for them. Luckily the web is full of recipes for healthy dog treats. Just make sure that the recipes don’t include a lot of added sugar or salt, which can be unhealthy for dogs. The recipe below is one my wife found a few years back. We haven’t made them in awhile, but when we have the dogs go nuts for them. In fact, when I came up with the idea for this post it reminded me that it was time to treat the dogs to these again, besides I think the 2 year old would enjoy cutting them out.

Cheddar Dog Biscuits

1 cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup milk
1 each egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 teaspoon chicken or beef bouillon granules
2 1/2 to 3 cups AP flour or whole wheat flour

Stir together water, oats, and butter and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add cheese, cornmeal, egg, sugar and bouillon to oat mixture. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until a stiff dough forms. Knead dough for 5 minutes, adding more flour if sticky. Roll out to 1/2″ thick. Cut into desired shapes (of course dog bone cutter cutters are cute, but your pooch won’t care what shape you cut them into) and place on a greased baking sheet, 1″ apart. Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool and dry on wire racks.

While somewhat bland by our tastes your dog will love them. Heck, you might even like them too. They’re not bad, and they are definitely a good source of fiber. So go ahead and try one yourself!