Fresh Eggs

Apparently the number one tip for souffle success is to not use farm fresh eggs. You want the opposite. You want eggs so old they are ready to throw themselves into the garbage while berating your housekeeping skills. It seems the older your eggs are the better they hold air when beaten. And for a dramatic, light, puffy fluffy, mile high souffle you want those egg whites to hold a lot of air.

Unfortunately I did not know that top tip. So when my wonderful friend Katt (who is the brand spanking new owner of six egg producing chickens) brought over a dozen of the most beautiful big brown eggs I have ever laid eyes on I thought to myself "I must make something special with these!"

I always wanted to make a souffle but just never mustered the ambition to do it. I guess I never had eggs I felt were worthy because just the sight of them made me immediately think souffle. These eggs inspired me.

Which was kind of mean since the eggs probably knew they were the exact wrong kind to use for souffle.

Unfortunately my troubles did not stop with the eggs. It seems I have lost my souffle dishes. Pat swears he did not break them but he also remembers we had a nesting set when I showed him a photo of the missing item. Thus I had to settle for twice baked souffle. Still yummy but not as dramatic.

That's what I get for not making a casserole for almost a year. I blame the slow cooker. The poor dishes must have felt abandoned, unloved, useless and rather than sit around feeling like cupboard space stealing bums ran away. I hope they found a happy home with a french family.

Anyway back to plan B. Twice baked souffle.

I got everything out and waited for it to come to room temperature. I read my recipe twice to make sure I understood everything. I separated my eggs and started the butter melting. So far so good. Then Pat and Isy came home and everything went to hell.

No no actually if went well. It just felt like hell. I don't know why but I find cooking stressful. Especially when trying something new. Thus it is always better for me to do it in private. I tend to vent and rant and rage. Pat knows this and beat a hasty retreat to Isy's room while I laboured over a hot stove and oven.

Needless to say dinner was about an hour late. Pat had to take the souffle out of the oven because the second bake happened during story / snuggle time. Isabelle was looking forward to trying one but unfortunately they don't keep.

Especially when stored in an adult belly. Yum. Deflated but delicious!

I will attempt this again when I have a souffle dish. And old eggs. Gonna makes some poached or maybe coddled with the rest of my fresh.

Actually now that I think of it. When do they officially become not fresh? After all I have had them for two days now. I wonder when these eggs will become souffle ready.

Photos available!