Barefoot Bloggers- Blue Cheese Souffle

The second October's recipe for Barefoot Bloggers was chosen by Summer of Sexy Appartment. She choose the Blue Cheese Souffle. My first attempt in souffle making was a success. It was a great hit! I will definitely try it again.



* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
* 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup scalded milk
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch cayenne pepper
* Pinch nutmeg
* 4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
* 3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped
* 5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
* 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

Barefoot Bloggers- Cheddar Corn Chowder

This week's Barefoot Blogger selection is Cheddar Corn Chowder and was chosen by Jill Of My Next Life

Jill chose Ina's Corn Chowder recipe. I think it's a perfect Fall soup and I've made it often through the years. I love the combination of the corn, potatoes, sharp cheddar and bacon! It is one of my go to recipes on a cold fall or winter nights.


Here it is:

Cheddar Corn Chowder
Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved

Ingredients:

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated


Directions:

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Barefoot Bloggers- Sheet Cake

I am a day late with my first Barefoot Bloggers. What a crazy week I had...it seems that every time we have a holiday weekend we pay for it by having to jam 5 days worth of work into 4 days. Thank God, the weekend is here!!! Going back to Barefoot Bloggers again...The first September recipe was chosen by Susy of Everyday Gourmet. She chose Birthday Sheet Cake. For the record, I LOVE Ina and every single recipe I've ever made of hers (and I made LOTS) I was very happy with...with this being said, I was somewhat disappointed with this one... The cake flavor was good but the ganache frosting was kind of runny and didn't quite set the way it should... I also thought that is was a boring recipe. There was nothing special about it. Essentially, it was a yellow cake with very blahhh chocolate frosting. I can't believe that I just wrote Ina and blahh in the same post but this cake didn't do anything for me. To be fair, I am not a huge cake fan, so it was a hard sale to begin with. The bottom line is that if you like yellow cake with chocolate frosting you probably will like this cake. I mentioned earlier that it was a sheet cake, but I do not like sheet cakes, so I decided to stack my cakes and make 3 layer cake covered in frosting. Here is what I've ended up with:




For the cake:

* 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 3 cups sugar
* 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 lemon, zested
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup cornstarch
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

* 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.

For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.

Spread the frosting evenly on the cake. Have the children decorate the cake with chocolate candies.