Blue Cheese Souffle

 Okay this one wasn't perfect. On one hand the flavor was fantastic and it puffed up sky high but......I forgot to butter the dish so it doesn't look quite right. But for my first try I'll call it a success anyway! So I know a lot of people hear blue cheese and they automatically say "Bleh!" and I was one of them, But being the adventurous eater that I am now I had to give this one a try. Not only because souffle's are notoriously hard to make (It wasn't) and I wanted to see if I could actually do it, but I wanted to see if blue cheese was as bad as I remember (it also wasn't). I have never actually eaten blue cheese on it's own. The only memory of it I have is from when I worked at Windermere Valley Golf Course and we had this blue cheese salad dressing in a big jug that smelled like something that shouldn't be fit for human consumption. Anyway after making this I believe that it's all about what you can do with it and the other flavors that you can combine with it that really make it shine. The cheese flavour is subtle enough that is doesn't overpower and the light and airy texture is like eating a cloud. And if your too scared to try the blue cheese feel free to substitute something boring like cheddar ;) So here we go:



What you need
2 Tbsp butter plus more for dish(s)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup blue cheese, mashed
salt and pepper
A few dashes of nutmeg
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees and butter either a 5 cup round casserole dish or 5 small ramekins.
MELT butter in a medium saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook, whisking for 2 minutes over low heat (don't let it brown). Remove from heat and add the milk gradually, whisking until smooth. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and stir for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat

STIR the blue cheese into the sauce until it melts and add the egg yolks one a time, whisking after each. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.Transfer to a large bowl.
WHISK your egg white in a very clean, dry bowl until they form soft peaks, they should not be dry and stiff but not watery either. Week old eggs are better then fresh. Spoon a quarter of the egg whites into the sauce and LIGHTLY fold in. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in very gently. It's okay if you see a little white still. Fill souffle dish(s) just below the top of the rim and place on a baking sheet.
BAKE for 30-35 minutes for one single dish. 20 minutes or so for small ones. It;s done when it slightly wobbles when done and a skewer through a crack in the side comes out clean or only slightly moist. Serve immediately because it will begin to fall after a few minutes.