Kitchen Chick

IMBB 20 Round Up Part 2: Sweet joy befall thee!

We covered the savory side of breakfast, lunch and dinner in part 1, and now dessert...

Lemon Souffle ... Spiced Quince Souffle ... Fiery, Dark, Dangerous Chocolate Souffle ... Souffles de Maracuya (Passion Fruit)

Fallen Chocolate Souffle Torte ... Apricot Souffle ... Chocolate Souffle with Crème Anglaise ... Cloudberry Vanilla Souffle

Chocolate Orange Frozen Souffle ... A Sweet Cinnamon Souffle ... Hot Chocolate Souffle with Chocolate Sauce ... Lemon and Orange Souffle

Apple Souffle ... Frozen Chocolate Souffle with Warm Raspberry Sauce ... Butterscotch Souffle ... Alice Medrich's Low Fat Chocolate Souffle

Pomegranate Souffle ... Chocolate Chestnut ... Lemon Souffle Crepe ... Apricot Souffle

Chocolate Sous Vide Soufflé ... Gingered Oatmeal Apricot Souffle ... Soufflé au Chocolat et Fruit de Passion ... Raspberry Souffle with Crème Anglaise

Strawberry Souffle ... Chocolate-Filled Custard Souffle ... and Il Forno recommends Ernest Knam's Souffles

This is the second and final round up for IMMB 20 Souffles. If you were to make a souffle (or two) a week, you'll find that IMBB 20 participants have created over a year's worth of souffles to discover from classic recipes to new and startling fusion creations. There's a souffle here for every taste and style.

Some food bloggers went wild, doing multiple souffles — savory and sweet. I featured only one souffle per site (mostly in the interest of saving time and getting the round up out before Halloween), so take some time to poke around — there are more gems to be discovered.

Thank you all!

P.S. If I missed your souffle, drop me a note at kitchenchick @ gmail.com and I'll add it to the round up.

IMBB # 20 + Souffle

IMBB 20 Round Up Part 1: Something Savory Rises

The first of three round ups for IMBB 20: Has my blog fallen? focuses on the savory side of souffles. Over 50 bloggers from around the world joined IMBB 20, offering well over 70 different souffles. Kudos to the many of you fearlessly attacked the theme and made your first souffles, with special commendation to those of you who adapted souffles to other cuisines. Wow!

So take some time to click and explore. I guarantee you'll find a souffle to fall in love with among these marvelous offerings.

No Woman Spoon Bread with Bacon & Onions ... Souffle Provencal ... A Classic Souffle

Sweet Potato Souffle ... Parsnip and Cheddar Souffle ... Lemon Scented Broccoli Souffle

Lobster Mushroom & Manchego Cheese Hot Souffle ... Ham and Gruyere Souffle ... Cheese and Beet Souffle

Butternut Squash Souffle ... Breakfast Souffle ... Cheddar Cheese & Chive Souffle

Broccoli Souffle ... Goat Cheese Souffle ... Butternut Squash Pudding Souffle

Asiago & Chevre Souffle ... Sweet Potato & Corn Semi-Souffle ... Goat Cheese Souffle with Red Peppers and Chanterelles

Gluten-free Cheese Souffle ... Comté Cheese and Marjoram Soufflé ... Pork Crackle & Asparagus Souffle

Spinach and Parmesean Souffle ... Pecorino Cheese Souffle with Carmelized Vegetables ... Bread Bowl Souffle

Classic Gruyere Souffle ... Japanese Style Souffle

IMBB # 20 + Souffle

P.S. A special thanks to Becks & Posh -- I borrowed shamelessly from her September IMBB 19 round-up.

Lemon Grass!

Did I make a lemon grass souffle? No. (But what a neat idea!) But speaking of souffles... I just catalogued nearly 50 souffles (and wouldn't be surprised if a few more entries appeared in my mailbox), and I'll do what I can to publish the IMBB 20 write-up as quickly as possible. There are some amazing souffles out there, and I'm delighted with the enthusiasm that you attacked this theme. In fact, I'll tell you what. If you missed the IMBB 20 deadline and wished you didn't, if you get your entry to me (kitchenchick @ gmail.com) before I post the last write up, you're in.

Anyway, my lemon grass. We had a hot, dry summer, which meant my lemon grass grew like crazy. (Crazy for temperate Michigan climate, that is.) But with it getting frosty at night, I knew I had to make time to harvest my lemon grass before it was "too late". The history of my garden is filled with vegetables and herbs that languished for attention until it was "too late". Vegetable death by neglect, I call it. I was determined that wouldn't happen to my lemon grass. So late Saturday afternoon I dug it up, chopped off the leafy tops, and washed it. I now have a huge pile of frozen lemon grass. More than I can possibly use before next year's crop. I guess I better get working on that lemon grass souffle...

IMBB 20: Chocolate & Custard Duo-Soufflé

It was a month of soufflés.  I researched, I pondered, and in between working way too much (just watch -- come February I'll be complaining about the lack of contract work), I managed to bake an apple soufflé, a coconut soufflé, two custard soufflés, and a coconut-peanut butter with cayenne soufflé. This last one was a recipe of my own creation, and I fully intended it to be my IMBB #20 entry, but as of tonight, Sunday, I am still perfecting the recipe and with the clock ticking down I needed a winner.

Joe was advocating my chocolate soufflé (recipe courtesy of Jacques Torres), and he made a suggestion I couldn't resist: a chocolate soufflé-filled custard soufflé.  Two soufflés in one!

This required substantial coordination.  I had to make two different bases and two batches of whipped egg whites and have them ready to go at the same time.  When the soufflé fillings were ready, I layered the bottom of the soufflé dish with custard soufflé.  I held the largest cookie/biscuit cutter I had in the middle of the soufflé dish and filled it with chocolate soufflé.  Then I filled in custard soufflé in the gap between the dish and the cookie cutter.  I lifted out the cutter and piled more chocoate and custard soufflé mix.  I ended up using all of my custard soufflé and had a bit of chocolate soufflé mix left over.

I knew from experience that my chocolaté souffle would be a high riser -- more so than the custard soufflé -- and I wasn't disappointed.  The chocolate soufflé puffed up, pulling away from the custard and creating a two-toned soufflé with a high-rising center.

While the soufflé baked, I mixed up a batch of slightly sweet whipped cream to serve with it...

Soufflé recipes will be in the extended post.

Tagged with: IMBB # 20 + Souffle

Name that Kitchen Thing

While I'm spending my time working 12 hr days (project crunch time!) and thinking about what delectable souffle to make for IMBB #20, I thought I'd give you all something else to think about...

Joe's parents gave us this fascinating item, and we can't wait to use it. Name that kitchen thing!

IMBB 20: Has my blog fallen?

Shhh...!  Don't slam the door.  And don't let that cold draft in.  Quick, now, to your places at the table because the Is My Blog Burning #20 theme for October 2005 is soufflés, and a soufflé never waits for the guests.

These puffed up prima donnas have a life span as brief as a breath.  Okay, a long breath.  But their fall is inevitable.  Some cookbooks grant soufflés the lengthy lifespan of 20-30 minutes before they deflate, but others give them a scant few minutes at best.  Soufflés date back to 18th century France, and their reputation for being complex and easy to ruin is almost as old.  It's really an undeserved reputation.  Soufflés are actually quite easy.  The complexity, as one chef puts it, lies in the perfection of it.

Or, as James Beard put it, The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.

The word soufflé comes from the French verb "souffler" which means, among several things, "to blow air."  A soufflé gets its magnificent but unstable height from bubbles of hot air trapped in its delicate structure.  When the soufflé cools, the hot air contracts and the soufflé deflates.  Simple physics.  There are a number of tips for keeping your soufflé all puffed up and enjoying it at its peak, but the most important one is "serve immediately."

There is a soufflé out there for everyone.  Savory or sweet.  Vegetable or fruit.  Meat or vegetarian.  I've even seen vegan recipes.  (A soufflé without eggs!  Can it be true?)  So bring your high-hat masterpiece to the communal food blog table, and if it falls call it a "mousse" and serve it anyway.  We won't mind a bit, and it'll taste just as good.

The world of food blogging has grown tremendously since I booked my IMBB slot nearly a year ago, and I am looking forward to being "à bout de souffle" by the many wonderful soufflés you all will create.

How to join the fun
Step 1: Make a Soufflé.  Any kind of soufflé. Take some photos (quick! before it deflates!) and then write and publish a blog post about your breathless soufflé-baking experience on any day between Friday, October 21 and Sunday, October 23 2005.

Step 2: Email me at [email protected] by October 23 with a link to your blog (preferably the permalink to your IMBB #20 entry) and the word IMBB in your subject line, and I will do my best to complete a round-up before Halloween.

Step 3 (optional): I'm also going to follow Becks & Posh's example and attempt to do an auto-round up using a Technorati Tag.  Add this bit of code to your post and ping technorati:

Tagged with: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/IMBB20" rel="tag">IMBB # 20</a> + <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Souffle" rel="tag">Souffle</a>

If what I just said makes no sense, check out the Technorati Tag instructions at Food Blogs S'cool.

Questions about IMBB #20?  Email me or post them here, and I'll do my best to answer them in a timely fashion.

Thank you and Bon Appétit!

Is My Blog Burning was started by Alberto at Il Forno.  You can read more about this grande dame of food blogging events at www.ismyblogburning.com/imbb.

Tagged with IMBB # 20 + Souffle