Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (20 page)

Hard-Boiled Eggs

When you are stuffing hard-boiled eggs for the family, it is just too bad if they refuse to peel neatly, but when you are doing them for a party, it’s a disaster. The following rather cumbersome system, developed by the State of Georgia Egg Board, pretty well solves the problem.

For 12 eggs (I don’t recommend more at one time). Pierce a pinhole ¼ inch deep into the large end of each egg—allowing the air bubble to escape. Place the eggs in a deep saucepan and cover with 3½ quarts of cold water. Bring just to the rolling boil, remove from heat, cover the pan, and let sit for exactly 17 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice and water and let chill for 2 minutes—to shrink the egg body from the shell. Meanwhile, reheat cooking water to the boil. Lower 6 chilled eggs at a time into the boiling water and let boil exactly 10 seconds—to expand the shell from the egg body.

Let chill for 20 minutes or more—well-chilled eggs are easier to peel. To peel, crack each egg gently all over on your work surface, then peel under a small stream of cold water, starting at the large end. The eggs will keep perfectly for several days when submerged in cold water and left uncovered in the refrigerator.

VARIATIONS

• A SIMPLE BASE FOR COLD STUFFED EGGS.
  For 2 dozen egg halves. Slice 12 peeled chilled eggs in half lengthwise, and sieve the yolks into a bowl. Blend in 2 tablespoons each of mayonnaise and softened unsalted butter, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Pipe the stuffing into the egg-white halves using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Decorate, if you wish, with parsley sprigs and bits of red pimiento. Or finely mince and add to the base stuffing any of the following:
  

  1- Fresh green herbs such as dill, basil, tarragon, parsley, chives, chervil
  

  2- Cooked asparagus tips
  

  3- Minced onions sautéed in butter with a pinch of curry powder
  

  4-
  Sautéed mushroom duxelles
  

  5-
  Lobster, crab, or shrimp
  sautéed in butter and seasonings
  

  6- Smoked salmon
  

  7- Pickles—sweet relish or dills
  

  8- Black-olive
  tapénade
  (see box below)
  

  TAPÉNADE.
  1 cup pitted Mediterranean-style black olives, 3 tablespoons capers, 6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, and 1 large clove of puréed garlic all ground to a paste in a food processor.
  

• BAKED STUFFED EGGS.
  A very French luncheon or supper dish. Sieve the yolks and blend in heavy cream and a stuffing, such as minced mushrooms.
  

  Stuffed Eggs au Gratin, Chimay.
  For 4 people. Sieve the yolks of a dozen hard-boiled eggs and blend in ¼ cup or so each of heavy cream and
  mushroom duxelles
  . Bake them, 6 halves at a time, in individual dishes, in a well-seasoned cheese sauce, exactly as for the
  cauliflower au gratin
  .
  

SOUFFLÉS

The soufflé is the egg at its most magnificent. How glorious it is when borne to the table, its head rising dramatically out of its dish, and swaying voluptuously as it is set down. Invite special guests to lunch and you couldn’t serve them a more appropriate and attractive light meal than cheese soufflé and a green salad, or plan on a chocolate soufflé as a loving treat for your most favorite dinner guests. Fortunately, a reasonably well-assembled soufflé is an automatic happening. It is simply a flavored sauce base into which you fold stiffly beaten egg whites, and depends almost entirely on how you beat your egg whites and how you fold them in—and these two specifics are fully explained in the
cake section
.

MASTER RECIPE

Savory Cheese Soufflé
For a 4-to-6-cup soufflé mold or straight-sided baking dish 8 inches across, serving 4

You can bake this in a 4-cup mold with a paper collar, into which the soufflé will puff 2 to 3 inches over the rim and hold its puff when the collar is removed. Or bake it in a 6-cup mold, which will give you a more stable soufflé but less puff.

1 to 1½ Tbs soft butter for the soufflé dish and collar

2 Tbs finely grated Parmesan cheese for the soufflé dish

2½ Tbs butter for the soufflé

3 Tbs flour

1 cup hot milk

¼ tsp paprika

A speck of grated nutmeg

½ tsp salt

2 or 3 grinds of white pepper

4 egg yolks

5 egg whites

1 cup (3½ ounces) coarsely grated Swiss cheese

Prepare the soufflé dish. (See box below.) Slide rack onto lower-third level, and preheat oven to 400°F.

The Sauce Base.
Cook the 2½ tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons flour together in a 3-quart saucepan until they foam and froth for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and beat in the hot milk, then simmer and stir slowly for a minute or two to thicken. Remove from heat and whisk seasonings into sauce, then, one by one, the egg yolks.

Whip the
egg whites to stiff,
shining peaks. Whisk a quarter of them into the sauce to lighten it, then delicately fold in the rest of the whites, alternating with sprinklings of the grated Swiss cheese.

Turn the soufflé mixture into the dish and set in the oven. Reduce heat to 375°F and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until soufflé has puffed several inches into the collar, or an inch or two above the rim, and has browned nicely on top.
When is it really done?

Remove the collar and serve at once.

To Serve a Soufflé.
So as to deflate it as little as possible, hold a serving spoon and fork upright and back to back. Plunge them into the center of the soufflé and tear it apart.

TO PREPARE THE SOUFFLÉ DISH.
Choose a straight-sided baking dish or a “charlotte” mold. Smear a light coating of soft butter over the insides of the dish, covering bottom and sides. Depending on the soufflé, roll finely grated Parmesan cheese, or bread crumbs, or granulated sugar in the dish to cover inner surface completely, and knock out excess.

The Collar.
If you are using a collar, cut a length of parchment paper or aluminum foil long enough to wrap around the dish with a 2-inch overlap, fold in half lengthwise, and butter one side. Wrap the collar around the dish, buttered side in; it should rise 3 inches above the rim. Secure in place with 2 straight pins, inserted heads up for quick removal.

VARIATIONS

• VEGETABLE SOUFFLÉS.
  After making the sauce base, fold in ¼ to ⅓ cup of well-seasoned cooked chopped spinach, asparagus, broccoli, or mushrooms. Complete the soufflé as directed, but fold in only ⅓ cup of the grated Swiss cheese.
  

• SHELLFISH SOUFFLÉS.
  Make a cup or so of
  creamed lobster, crab or shrimp
  and spread in the bottom of the buttered soufflé dish. Cover with the soufflé mixture but fold in only ⅓ cup of the grated Swiss cheese. You might serve the
  fresh tomato fondue
  along with it.
  

• SALMON AND OTHER FISH IN SOUFFLÉS.
  The soufflé is a dressy solution for leftover fish. Stir a cup or so of cooked flaked fish into the sauce base, and give extra flavor by adding several tablespoons of minced shallots sautéed in butter and a tablespoon or two of minced fresh dill. Again, cut down the grated Swiss cheese to ⅓ cup.
  Hollandaise sauce
  would go well here.
  

  WHEN IS THE SOUFFLÉ DONE?
  If it has a collar, rapidly release it just a bit to check—if the puff sags, refasten the collar and bake a few minutes more. When a skewer is plunged down into the side of the puff and comes out with a few particles clinging, the soufflé will be deliciously creamy inside but will not hold up long. If the skewer comes out clean, it will hold up a little longer.
  

• SOUFFLÉ ON A PLATTER.
  Rather than in a deep dish, you may bake a soufflé on a platter or in a gratin dish. For 4 people, butter a 12-to-14-inch oval ovenproof platter and arrange on it four ½-cup mounds of a deliciously flavored something, like the
  creamed shellfish
  . Heap a quarter of the finished soufflé mixture over each, top with grated Swiss cheese, and bake 15 minutes or so in a preheated 425°F oven, until puffed and brown.
  

• SOUFFLÉ ROULADE—THE ROLLED SOUFFLÉ.
  For an 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan, serving 6 to 8 people. Slide rack onto upper-third level of oven, and preheat to 425°F. Butter the pan and line with parchment or wax paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each end. Butter the paper and flour it, knocking out excess. Follow the master recipe, but increase proportions to the following: 5 tablespoons butter, 6 tablespoons flour, 1½ cups milk, 6 yolks, 7 whites, and 1 cup of grated Swiss cheese. Spread the soufflé mixture in the pan and bake for 12 minutes or so, until just well set—don’t overcook, or it will crack when rolled. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and invert the soufflé onto another paper-covered baking sheet. Carefully peel off the paper lining. Spread over the soufflé 1¼ cups or so of any warm, well-seasoned filling, such as pipérade,
  sautéed mushrooms
  and diced ham, the
  creamed shellfish
  , or other. Roll up the soufflé and top decoratively, if you wish, with more filling, and/or a sauce such as the
  tomato fondue
  , or
  hollandaise
  .