Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew

I thought I was done blogging...but then I tried this recipe. It was just too darn good not to include in my collection. Adapted from a 2013 Bon Apetit issue it will knock your winter socks off your cold little feet. Double the recipe and freeze some! It can be made with Chorizo if you like a spicy sausage--but personally I prefer a really good Italian. Common Sense Tip: get a good chicken Italian sausage at your local specialty food store (like WholeFoods).  Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
1 lb. fresh chicken Italian or Chorizo sausage links
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t. dried thyme
2 15 oz. cans white kidney beans
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
Salt (kosher or sea-salt is best) and pepper to taste
5 oz. baby spinach (about 10 cups)
Smoked paprika (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook whole. Cook until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel on a plate to drain. Note: you can use blobs of sausage that is not in links. It's often less expensive.

Reduce heat to medium. Heat remaining 1 T oil in the same skillet. Add onion garlic and thyme. Cook until onion is softened 5-8 minutes. Add beans and broth and cook. Crush a few of the beans as you go to help thicken the sauce as you stir. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach by handfuls and cook just until wilted.  Slice sausage and fold it into stew. Add water to thin if needed. Divide stew among bowls and sprinkle with a bit of smoked paprika if desired.

Strategies for Saving Money on Groceries...

Hey there!  This is being written in 2011, most likely halfway through the greatest recession since the Great Depression. Some say it will never get better. Who knows? But, just in case, friends and I have been talking about ways to save money during hard times...we share ideas, so I thought I'd share them with you!

Plan, Plan Plan: Planning meals and shopping for meals for a whole week ahead of time not only helps you avoid spending so much money on gas, its efficient because nothing goes to waste. No oldie-moldy leftovers hanging around looking tired. No more impulse purchases either...er, at least not as many.

It's not that hard--just get out your recipes, your Safeway ads and your calendar and figure out 7 dinners and 7 lunches you want to eat that week. Get a pen and paper and do it in front of the the TV one night a week. I do mine on Friday after work  because unless I'm busy having fun, I shop on Saturday afternoons. In addition, I usually make two freezable entrees on Sunday afternoon if I have time. Then I only have to do lots of dishes two or three times a week.

Take into account what's on your calendar and plan accordingly. If someone has a soft-ball game or a ballet lesson until 5:30 on Wednesday, you may want to defrost a hardy soup or some homemade marinara in order to make something really quick that night. Vegetables are harder--they don't stay fresh! If they aren't fresh, nutrients are lost! Plan for salads and braised or roasted fresh vegies for the first three days of your planned week and save frozen vegies and fresh fruits for the last four days. Many of this blog's vegetable dishes are really easy. If you've gone to the trouble of cooking a main dish--who wants a complex side dish?

Speaking of freezing: you should also plan for making double the amount of almost every dish you make--if it's a casserole or soup put half in the freezer for another week. If it's a meat dish that's reheat-able, plan on eating it a couple of nights in a row the week you make it. This way you can get away with cooking entrees only two or three times a week. There have been times where I don't actually cook for 5 days--relying on my freezer. However, I don't let things go for more than 4 weeks in the freezer. I abhor things that taste like they've been frozen.

Shop Sales, Use Coupons: Since man (and woman) cannot live by Costco alone, every week I try to look at my local Safeway's coupon deals when planning meals. I'm not a fanatic. I don't have a big household to feed so I don't buy huge quantities and sock them away. Usually just two or three along with other essentials I need. I also won't drive across town for a bargain unless I have to go there anyway. Remember gas prices? It all adds up! But watching for sales is a great way to direct your meal-planning for the week. Sometimes Safeway beats Costco prices. It just depends. Every other week I skip Safeway and shop at Trader Joes. They have many gourmet items, their regular prices are terrific, and on sale, their low prices are rock-bottom. The computer-saavy among you can also go online to coupons.com for more good deals!

Substitute Less Expensive Products: Sometimes Martha Stewart and a host of other chefs have very expensive and hard-to-find ingredients in their recipes. And sometimes your 7 year old wakes you up in the morning to tell you you need to make 2 dozen cupcakes for her class before noon--and you don't have buttermilk! So try a substitute...

Substitutions:

1. Don't have enough sour cream? Substitute plain full fat Greek Yogurt. If it's non-fat mix in 1T veg. oil.
2. Don't have all-purpose flour? Substitute 1 C plus 2 T cake flour.
3. Don't have enough tomato paste? Substitute a thick catchup.
4. Don't have fresh tomatoes or frozen corn for soup or sauces? Substitute canned.
5. Don't have 1 C buttermilk? Substitute 1 C sweet milk mixed with 1T white or cider vinegar.
6. Don't have or don't want to pay for 1 T fresh herbs for soup or casseroles? Use 1 t dried.
7. Don't have 1 C milk? Substitute powdered milk or evaporated milk mixed with water to taste.
8. Don't have 1 C honey? Substitute 1 C sugar mixed with 1/4 C water
9. Don't have Panko? Smash saltines or oyster crackers or use bread crumbs instead.
10. Don't have 1 egg? Use two egg yolks or borrow one from your neighbor next door.
11. Don't have 1 T flour for thickening sauces? Use 1/2 T cornstarch.
12. Don't have 1 sq. chocolate? Substitute 3T cocoa plus 1T shortening.
13. Don't have 1 t baking powder? Mix 1/4 t baking soda plus 1/2 C buttermilk or 1 1/2 t cream of tartar
14. Don't have 1 C creme fraiche? Use very 1 C fresh sour cream instead.
15. Don't have Lyle's Golden Syrup? Use the same amount of light corn syrup.
16. Don't have or want to buy astoundingly expensive chocolate? Use 1/2 Scharffenberger or other expensive chocolate and 1/2 Bakers or Nestle. I never use Hershey's. Guittard is my favorite!
17. Don't have quite enough butter to fill 1 C? Substitute half with 1/2 C shortening plus 1/4 t. salt. In baking only.
18. Don't have unsalted butter? Substitute regular butter in the recipe but decrease salt added by 1/4 t per 1/2 C regular butter. In other words if the recipe asks for 1 C butter eliminate 1/2 t salt from the recipe.
19. Don't have the right kind of pasta? Substitute any bite-size pasta you have in a pinch.
20. Don't have Mexican or Italian seasoning? Substitute equal measurements scooped from those little packets of Taco or Spaghetti mix on your shelf. Or look up "How to make Mexican or Italian seasoning "online and make your own.
21. Don't have or want to pay for pine nuts? Eliminate them from the recipe or chop macadamia nuts. For some recipes (such as in salads) you can substitute sunflower seeds.
22. Don't have or want to pay for liqueurs? Most liquor stores stock airplane-sized bottles. You will not find them in Safeway.
23. Don't have vegetable oil? Never use olive oil for baking. Never. Yucky! For baking melt Crisco or coconut oil. Coconut oil is much better for you.
24. Need unsweetened coconut? So you don't have a fresh coconut on hand? I AM SHOCKED (just kidding). I actually prefer taking my sugared Angel Flake...plopping it in a colander...running water over it until the sugar is gone and drying it overnight on paper towels. It turns out a lot more moist than flaked unsweetened coconut that you find in health-food stores. 

Expense-saving note: I almost never buy fresh herbs to add to soups or casseroles, substituting the dried ones--about 1 t for each T. Do buy fresh herbs when making sauces/marinades composed primarily of herbs. Like Pesto or Mint/Ginger Marinade. Or anything with parsley or sage--they have a unique taste when fresh.

Buy in bulk-- Freeze a lot. Big box stores, like Costco, are fantastic for this. Get ye to a Costco for thy meat! Buy a huge flat of meat or poultry every week. Then do three things: grill some, make some into a stew, casserole or soup to extend the meat, and freeze some for another week. I alternate between buying Foster Farms chicken breasts or thighs, buying boneless pork chops, and tri-tip steaks.  If I cook some each week,  there's some leftover for other weeks. That way we have variety for less. Here are some things I put in my freezer:

1) Buy a rotisserie chicken. Costco's famous roasted chickens are still inexpensive and taste great! Simply use what you want to eat for dinner, then use the rest of the carcass for a soup base or make an all-purpose stock to use in sauces, rice pilaf and what not. Here's how you make homemade stock from a rotisserie chicken....

After you have eaten the Costco chicken, put the carcass in a large (at least 4 qt.) pot 3/4 full of water and let it boil for 30-40 minutes. Take the pot off of stove and cool. Put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, remove the fat from the top of the pot with a spatula or slotted spoon.  Next, remove chicken bones and take off any peices of chicken you want to use for soup. Refrigerate chicken meat pieces in a plastic bag to use later for soup or chicken salad sandwiches.

Return pot to stove at a high heat.  Add a couple of peeled garlic cloves, a stalk of celery, a peeled carrot, 1/2 t peppercorns and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Cool. Strain. Freeze homemade stock in containers or add what's left of the chicken bits plus your favorite soup ingredients to make chicken  soup. Note: most of the time you will need more chicken meat to make soup--so you may want to have a couple of boneless breasts on hand to add to the pot if soup is your goal.

2) Buy a whole Turkey and Roast It.

Everybody knows that this is possibly the cheapest way to make a whole lot of good food. First, buy an 18 lb. frozen turkey and defrost it for a few days in the fridge. If you have more than 8 people coming, always opt to buy two smaller turkeys than one 23 lb. hulk. (Is it just me, or  have you ever asked yourself how that big a turkey managed to stand up on two tiny little legs?)  Apparently the smaller ones will taste better, and cook faster.  I usually buy frozen turkeys at Raley's or Safeway. The only fresh turkeys I like are usually about $50. and available at boutique markets. I really can't say I like Trader Joes's fresh turkeys at all--you get what you pay for in fresh turkeys. So here is what to do with a frozen one...

Take the defrosted turkey, put it in your sink and  wash it off. Get to know your turkey. Pat it on the back and say "Hi there, fellah!" Remove it to a clean surface and, reaching in through the opening where the neck used to be, take out the giblet bag. Put it in a plastic container and refrigerate if you want to use this nasty little bag for giblet gravy later.  Now, starting above the bird's cavity--separate the skin from the meat with your hand and shove large pats of butter under the skin. Yes, separating the skin from the bird with your hand feels strange, but it works well for a moist turkey!!!

Poke the turkey 6 or 7 times in different places with a fork. Put it in a large roasting pan. Season the outside with salt and pepper, or Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Cut up an orange into quarters, peel a fresh garlic clove or two and put them into the empty turkey cavity. This subtly flavors the meat. It's very French to do this. Oui oui!

Set the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Push a meat thermometer into the middle of the thigh, being careful to not touch the bone. then roast the whole thing for about an hour, until it gets up to about 175 degrees on the thermometer. Create a tent for the turkey with two pieces of foil that form an"A-frame" and are secured at the sides of the pan. Roast the whole thing for about an hour, until it reaches 175 degrees on the thermometer.  At this point, remove the foil tent and let it roast until golden brown, basting occasionally, about 30 more minutes.  I used to let my turkeys go up to the poultry setting on the thermometer. Not a good idea. Take it out of the oven at least five degrees before it gets there. The reason for this is that turkeys keep cooking for a while even after you remove them oven. Then you get a DRY turkey... ewwww.  At this point take the whole thing out of the oven and let it "rest" for 20 minutes or so before carving. Carve ALL of the meat off, serve what you need, and put the remainder in plastic freezer bags the fridge or freezer within a couple of hours to use at a later date. Then you can:

a) Make soup (see Turkey Soup in Being Erma's November 2010 posts) with the carcass
b) Make turkey sandwiches with leftover stuffing from "Gaga's Turkey Dressing" (December 2011)
c) Make "Sour Cream Turkey with Tarragon"(December 2011)
d) Make a Turkey Stir Fry (using vegies and Trader Joe's bottled stir-fry sauce mixed with water)

3) Buy a 3 1/2-4 lb flat of Tri-Tip steak at Costco. Marinate a couple of strips in McCormick's (or your favorite) meat marinade. Save the rest and put it in the freezer to :
a) Chop into pieces and make into stir-fry
b) Cut into chunks and make into a stew in the crock pot or stew pot.
c) Cut into pieces after having been cooked, marinate in McCormick's Burrito marinade--or make your own, chop into 1/4 inch pieces and sautee in a skillet until browned. Use meat for Burritos or Tacos (which is pretty inexpensive).
d) Cut tri-tip into 3/4" chunks, saute and add a stroganoff sauce you make yourself (See "Easy Stroganoff" on BeingErma.blogspot.com).

4) Buy a Pork Loin the Size of Your Leg. Costco has 'em. Using your big Chef knife--cut half of the loin into 1" thick pork chops. You should get at least 6. Wrap what you are not using in the near future with plastic wrap then foil. Later you can use what you didn't cut into pork chops for: pork stew meat...pork fajitas or tacos...pork kabobs...stuffed pork loin...ground pork...etc. etc. etc.               

5) Buy ground beef or turkey in large quantities at Safeway. I do not like the ground beef that is currently at Costco. To me--it tastes funny! Make ground beef  into hamburgers, lasagna, meatloaf, a multitude of mexican foods and old-fashioned casseroles. Then-- freeze them in containers. I highly recommend NOT making too many pasta casseroles and dishes, because they are easy to get sick of. However, having home-made spaghetti sauce on hand in the freezer is aways a great idea.

6) Buying Marinara Sauce: If you are making large quantities of  homemade marinara, tomatoes and plain tomato sauce are extremely inexpensive at Costco. Those are what I use to make "Sebastiani Spaghetti Sauce" and "San Francisco Cioppino" on "BeingErma.blogspot.com". You can also get the best and least expensive ready-made marinara at Trader Joe's. I like all of them--especially the Vodka Sauce.

7) Buy Boneless Chicken Breasts. Costco's Foster Farms brand still gives you a lot for the price. Thighs are very reasonable. And I often buy the chicken tenders. Make Chicken Cacciatore with these, adding home-made marinara sauce. There are bunches of great, inexpensive recipes for chicken that has been cooked and de-boned on "Being Erma.blogspot.com".  One of them is "Judy's Citrus-Garlic Chicken" posted April, 2011.

8) Buy Canned Tuna--it's more expensive than it used to be. But it beats almost everything else for price, except tofu. Just make a bechamel (white) sauce, throw in the tuna, add some warmed up frozen peas and serve on a bed of rice. Not that great for cholesterol, but absolutely delish if you're broke!

9) Buy Bacon--it's frequently on sale, two packages for the price of one, at Safeway. I never fry just two pieces. I fry a whole package then freeze whatever I don't use. Less dishes that way. Another, more healthy way to buy bacon flavor is to get the Hormel Real Bacon Bits or a huge bag of the Kirkland Real Bacon Bits at Costco. They're less fat, freezable, and taste wonderful when mixed into scrambled eggs, salads, baked beans, etc.. On Turkey Bacon: yes it's better for you. But I don't like it.

Ga-Ga's Turkey Dressing

Dressing, or stuffing, is a touchy business. Everyone has their own version of perfection. This year, a lot of people are going for a sausage and cranberry stuffing, which sounds very good indeed. But not for the people in my family that don't eat anything but poultry and fish! Hence, I go for a stuffing that's all veg and bread. My grandmother (GaGa) used to make this. She got the recipe from an Italian gardener that worked alongside of her in her huge kitchen garden. If you want it to taste like a traditional dressing, use pre-seasoned dried breadcrumbs. If you want to experience something very subtle and different, use un-seasoned dried crumbs. Both ways taste wonderful. Basil...that's the difference and the key.

In a soup kettle, sauté in butter or turkey fat:

2 yellow or white onions, chopped to about 1/3-inch chunks
3 C celery with leaves

Add:

One bag or box dried bread cubes (I use "Mrs. Cubbison's" from Safeway) or a cubed loaf of stale bread
1 1/2 t. Accent or MSG (yah, but she used it--what can I do?)
1 1/2 t. Beau Monde (it's a spice)
2 heaping dried T Sweet Basil or 4 T fresh Basil
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t garlic powder or salt
salt and pepper to taste
a very large handful of chopped parsley
chopped giblets (optional-- personally, I prefer to not have them lurking in my dressing)

Toss the above with 1/2 C melted butter and 1 C turkey or chicken broth (I used Swansons if I don't have any home-made in the freezer). You will most likely need to use more broth than what GaGa specified. Make sure the combination is wet, but not soggy. Remember, it's better to have too little moisture than too much. You can always add more broth, but you can't take it away. Throw the stuffing into a buttered crock-pot or a large, buttered casserole with a top. Turn the crock pot on until it's done, but not burned! About, 4 hours? If you use a good old casserole, put it in the oven at about 250 degrees until done, then keep it warm on a low temperature or warming tray.

Cwickie Cocoa Brownies with Divine Fudge Frosting

Brownies are my favorite way to eat chocolate. Home-made brownies. Hot, fudge brownies with vanilla ice cream. I can taste preservatives in a brownie mix brownie a mile away. Blech! These are so much better ...The " My Favorite Brownies" that are also posted on my bog are gourmet and perfect, but if you want a quick no-fail brownie--these are the best! No muss, no fuss and you almost always have the ingredients. I Served them last night at church and there were none left!

Note: If you want these to taste ultra-good, use unsalted butter. If you don't have unsalted butter (I usually don't) use salted butter and decrease the salt to 1/4 t. Almost as good. If you use a 9X 13" pan, double the recipe. These brownies are much better thicker than thinner. Grease the pan with lots of shortening or oil or vegetarian "butter" as they have a tendency to stick. Don't use butter to grease your pan, it burns too easily.

Ingredients:

1 C walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 lb. unsalted butter
2 C sugar
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 C sifted flour
1/2 t salt
3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Nestle or Droste-- the others are too bitter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8X8" square pan. Brown walnuts on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes only. Or skip this step entirely. You can even opt to not use walnuts if you wish. Up to you. Beat first 3 ingredients with a mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla. Then mix in remaining ingredients. Bake 30-45 minutes depending on your oven and how fudgy you like them. Other Options: Add chocolate chips to the batter or frost to make them extra-delectable.

Smith Fudge Frosting: (from my husband's family)

 After brownies are cool. Bring 1 C salted butter,12 T milk and 2 C sugar to a gentle boil in a 2-qt. saucepan with a sturdy bottom over medium-low heat boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 C chocolate chips until melted. Then place saucepan contents into a 2-qt. bowl over a larger bowl of ice water and beat until thick and creamy. Immediately spread on brownies.

Praline Cheesecake with Bittersweet Ganache

This is a very intense, decadent cheesecake. If you like the richer cheesecakes at "The Cheesecake Factory" such as, "Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake", you will like this. Because it is cooked in a water-bath, the cheesecake filling itself is especially creamy. It was fun to make the praline, although I need to warn you about a few things. If you start to find little burned nuts floating in your praline filling, take it off the stove immediately and turn down the heat. Also, if you are daunted by the length of this recipe, simplify it by substituting a graham cracker crust. I did!

Important Note: I made a "baby" cheesecake for Mr. Smith without the praline filling I liked it even better than the richer version below! Just cheesecake and ganache...

Ingredients:

Crust:
Either one recipe Graham cracker crust for a 9-inch springform pan or--
1 1/2 C vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 finely chopped pretzels
1/2 C finely chopped toasted pecans
1/3 C unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg white

Pecan Praline Filling:
1 C sugar
3/4 C chopped pecans
1/4 C toasted chopped pecans (I was too lazy to toast mine)
2/3 C dark corn syrup
1/3 C unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 t vanilla extract
3/4 t salt

Cheesecake Filling:
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 C sour cream
1 1/4 C firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light--it's fine)
2 T flour
4 large eggs
1/3 C heavy whipping cream
1 C sour cream
1 1/4 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/3 C heavy whipping cream
1 t vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make a graham cracker crust mixture and follow the directions at the end of this paragraph. OR in a medium bowl, combine vanilla-wafer crumbs, pretzels, and pecans for crust. Add melted butter and egg white, stirring to combine. Make sure your springform pan's bottom is tightly secured to the ring of the pan before proceeding. Press crumb mixture evenly into bottom and up sides at least halfway of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes, let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Wrap bottom of pan with 2 pieces of foil, being sure to secure all sides completely to form a waterproof seal for the pan. (I even duck-taped the edges of the foil together.) Place prepared springform into a large (roasting?) pan or soup pot. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla, and salt for filling, stirring well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Add pecans and stir. Pour into cooled, prepared crust. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese for filling at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sour cream, beat until smooth. Add brown sugar and flour, beating until fluffy. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour cheesecake mixture over pecan-praline filling. Fill roasting pan or soup pot with enough water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.

Bake one hour and 15 minutes, or until middle no longer jiggles when you move the springform pan and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Carefully remove rotating pan from oven. Allow water in roasting pan to cool before removing cheesecake. Let cheesecake cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Refrigerate cheesecake overnight. Run a sharp knife around the edges of cheesecake to release sides. Remove from springform pan. Place chocolate for ganache in a small bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat cream, butter and corn syrup over medium height heat until mixture boils. Pour chocolate mixture over top of cheesecake. Use a spatula to spread evenly. Let chocolate set, approximately 30 minutes. Garnish with pecan halves, glazed or plain. Worth the 2 1/2 hours it takes to make for a special occasion.

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

I have made this fabulous cheesecake at least 20 times. You can tell, because the recipe card for this is heavily splotched with chocolate and butter stains. It is my all-time favorite, all-purpose, go-to dessert. An unusually light chocolate cheesecake in texture, the filling is more like a creamy chocolate mousse than a cheesecake. Perfect for after a big heavy meal, like Christmas dinner. FYI: it also travels well to potlucks. Just freeze it for an hour or so, then take it out of the spring-form pan when you get to your destination! If you're going an hour or more away, freeze it solid in the pan (with the whipped cream on top) before leaving. This is a recipe for a small cheesecake--use an 8-inch springform pan, or a 9-inch pie plate. If you're going to a party, double the recipe and use a 10- inch springform or two 9-inch pie plates. Make it the day before you serve it for best results. Oh, and eat all the leftover Oreos. It's mandatory.

Note: You can use a pre-made Oreo cookie crust if you like. It's cheating, but you can do it! You will need two of them--this makes a lot of filling.

Ingredients:

24 Oreo cookies
1/4 C butter, melted
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 pkg. (8 0z.) cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 C light brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
2 eggs, separated
1 C heavy cream, whupped

Directions:

For the Crust: Whirl Oreos in a food processor under they look like coffee grounds. Or crush them very fine in a heavy-duty plastic bag with a mallet or a rolling pin. Then add melted butter. Press mixture into springform pan, on the bottom and up the sides at least halfway. If using a pie pan, try to extend Oreo mix over the rim of the dish. Put in the oven about 8 minutes at 350 degrees, cool and refrigerate until using. This makes a very firm crust that will hold up to anything--refrigeration alone doesn't do it.

Cheesecake:
In a double boiler, melt chocolate over hot, not simmering, water. Set aside to cool, ten minutes. Combine thoroughly cream cheese, 1/2 C sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Add chocolate, mix thoroughly. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 C sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Fold chocolate mixture into crust and chill 12 hours or overnight. Serve with whupped cream mounded or piped in rosettes on top. Chocolate curls, or grated chocolate looks pretty too, when sprinkled on top of the whupped cream!

C'est Parfait! It's Cheese Souffle!

I found this recipe card in my mom's recipe box. I'm not sure who gave it to her, but cheese souffle is so good, I had to include it. Mom used to make it for us. It was gone in about 15 minutes, it had to be. You can't let souffle wait, otherwise it becomes a frittata! Souffle is basically a science experiment some French person did to blow up a good sauce into a tasty balloon, using beaten egg whites. If you let it stand more than 10 minutes, it starts to deflate. Mom always made cheese souffle without a pan of water under it. Then you get the brown, crusty sides that are so good. Makes a great inexpensive dinner for the fam or brunch for the ladies!

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour
1/2 t salt
1 C milk
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese (2 C--use mild Tillamook Cheddar if you can)
4 egg yolks
4 stiffly beaten egg whites

Note: Be sure and have your eggs at room temperature before beating the whites. Before you crack 'em, simply place whole eggs in a bowl of very warm (not hot) water for about 10 minutes to warm them up.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter in double boiler; add flour and salt; blend--remove from heat. Add milk slowly and stir constantly until sauce is thick and smooth. You have just made a bechamel sauce--which is the backbone of any cheese souffle.

Fold the sliced or diced cheese to the hot sauce, cover, and let stand over boiling water until cheese is soft. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks with beater; stir the blended cheese slowly into the egg whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry (they will form stiff peaks in the bowl when you take out the beaters). Turn them into the bowl with the cheese sauce mixture. Cut and fold with a blending fork or metal spoon (wood is too blunt) until the whites are thoroughly combines and the whole mixture is light and fluffy. Don't be overzealous with the mixing! It's ok if you leave a few small puffs of egg whites un-blended. It's better to under-mix rather than over-mix.

Pour mixture into and un-greased casserole, souffle dish, or ramekins, about 2/3 full. Cook 1 hour and 15 minutes. Do not cover! It will rise and billow over the top if you get it right! If you like a crisp brown crust on the bottom and sides, don't place the casserole in a pan of water. Eat right away!