This week´s designated recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group are Munster Cheese Soufflés. “Munster” or “Munster Géromé” (the variety I used), is a strong tasting, soft cheese made mainly from milk from the Vosges, between Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté in France.
"Munster" is derived from the Alsace town of Munster, where the cheese was conserved and matured in monks' cellars. “Munster Géromé” is at its best in the summer and the autumn, when it is made from milk from the haute chaumes ("high stubble") of pastures that have already been mowed for midsummer hay in the Vosges mountains.
As this was my first attempt ever at making soufflés, I was a bit intimidated at first but I found Dorie´s recipe to be straightforward and relatively easy to follow.
The ingredients required are but a few, namely French Munster, whole milk, unsalted butter, plain flour, salt, freshly ground white pepper, eggs and cumin. I substituted freshly ground nutmeg for the cumin, other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.
First step in this recipe is the preparation of a béchamel. The next step is the addition of the egg yolks and cheese to the cooled béchamel and then all that is left to do is to fold in the beaten egg whites, and bake the soufflés for about 30 minutes.
We enjoyed the soufflés on their own, no side salad as suggested by Dorie – rather we nibbled on a few small pears – the sweetness of the pears is quite wonderful with these cheesy soufflés.
To see how much the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed the recipe for the Munster Cheese Soufflés, please click here.
If you happen to own Dorie Greenspan´s book “Around my French Table”, you will find the recipe on page 152.
Lovely ramekins & presentation - I would never have believed that this was your first attempt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cher - yes my first attempt - do not know why I waited so long or what I waited for...in any event, these were easy and quite tasty. I think I will try adding Parmiggiano Reggiano and herbs to the recipe next time.
DeleteAndrea, that's the most beautiful packaging for cheese I've ever seen. Our Munster is quite plain-jane in comparison. Your soufflés look amazing too, you must have been thrilled when you peeked in the oven. I would eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
ReplyDeleteChris, I must admit that I am somewhat of a sucker for pretty packaging - I cannot get enough of all those lovely wrappers, liners and packages. I think that is the first detail about a food that gets my attention! Thank you so much for kind comment - these soufflées stressed me quite a bit today - especially since we were in the midst of a birthday celebration when I made these.
DeleteIt looks like you've been baking up soufflés for years! Yours look magnificent...and pears were an excellent companion :) Hope yu're enjoying your weekend!!!
ReplyDeleteLiz, I think I was just lucky or stressed out enough ober these that I actually follwed the directions to a tee and the recipe was fabulous enough that it did work so well in the end. Thank you for the wonderful comment!
DeleteThose ramekins ar adorable. Ad the souffle looks great. Maybe if I had had a GOOD munster mine would have been tastier.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, we are fortunate to have a wonderful cheese store in Cologne and some of the department stores do carry this Munster cheese in their regular cheeese isle - so yes, we are kind of closer to the real source and that might make a difference in taste as far as the Munster cheese is concerned - thanks so much for stopping by.
DeleteYour soufflés look fabulous and sound delicious. I love the blue ramekin with the heart! You always have the best presentations, Andrea.
ReplyDeleteCathleen, thank you - the blue ramekin is one of only two that I own, the design reminds me of the Alsatian pottery - that´s why I used it for the Munster Cheese Soufflés. Thank you for the kind comment, my dear!
DeleteHow beautiful! It must be wonderful to enjoy these cheeses so close to their source.
ReplyDeleteAdriana, we are lucky to be able to buy wonderful cheeses from France around here and that does makethings easier at times. Thank you for the comment.
DeleteI think your souffles look amazing! And I'm jealous of your fancy cheese. Mine was not. I should have substituted the legitimately "fancy" (aka smelly) cheese I bought at the same time - maybe later this week. I was sorry I didn't make the salad to go with, but your idea of pears sounds wonderful - great idea!!
ReplyDeleteCandy, the fancy cheese took a bit of "research" but nothing out of the ordinary and I am alwas going for the fancy schmanzy wrappers whenever I can. Love these. Thanks so very much for your very kind comment!
DeleteZehr schön, Andrea! I wonders if I can get a French Munster cheese here? What would you substitute IF you could not find it? It looks so different from the Münster (or more commonly, Muenster) cheese we find here in the States. Liebe Grüße aus dem immer sonnigen Tucson!
ReplyDeleteDavid, I am certainly no cheese soufflé expert but I will use Parmigiano Reggiano and some finely chopped fresh herbs (such as chives and Italian parsley) next time I make these, see how that will work.
DeleteLiebe Grüße und Danke für deinen netten Kommentar!
Andrea
Wonderful looking souffles, Andrea! I like your substitution of nutmeg for the cumin. I love pears with cheesy things. That's the perfect pairing. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteTeresa, we like nutmeg in all things cheesy and these souffflés were no exception. And pears, so seasonal and so fabulous with these Munster Cheese Soufflés.
DeleteHello sweet Andrea. I've yet to make a souffle (which gets more shameful each passing month). Yours look lovely, and I'm sure we would be particularly fond of this version because we happen to love a good Munster cheese. Thank you for sharing them!
ReplyDeleteMonet, dear, Munster is not a cheese that I use all that much but it was wonderful in these lovely little soufflés - and I must admit that these were the first soufflés of my life - I really do not know what I was waiting for, I believe the whole process stressed my out but all is well that ends well.
DeleteLove Munster cheese!!! This dish and photos are just beautiful!!! So elegant but simple and casual at the same time!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much - I think soufflés have a tendency to look elegant and do not need too many props - glad that you enjoyed these pictures.
DeleteOh yum! I've never had a savoury souffle before and would very much like to try this.
ReplyDeleteTrishie, savory soufflés are wonderful - who would have thought, I certainly had never made them before this recipe came along - but I am glad that I finally got a chance to make a cheesy soufflé and enjoy it too! Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteThat is some first attempt :) Amazing, as usual. I appreciate the info about the cheese as I had really missed the boat on the difference between Muenster and Munster. I am all the more embarrassed that I glossed over this part in my quest to find a suitable cheese in New England, as my family is from the Alsace region and I have visited there before. And yet I missed the boat. Thank you for steering me in to the shore......and well done with the pears. I agree that fruit on the side is a lovely way to enjoy these. Regards !
ReplyDeleteTricia, I certainly hope that I did not leave the impression that I was trying to teach something about cheese - I just bought the Munster cheese that we can find in cheese stores around here .- the Munster or the Munster géromé - before this post I did not even know there was any other kind of Munster out there - so, in fact, I learned something new as I always do when I participate in this lovely, talented group. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave me this nice comment!
DeleteLove love your cute ramekins! Great idea of having pears with the souffles instead of the suggested salad, might just copycat you!
ReplyDeleteEmily, thank you very much! So nice to read that you enjoy my small collection of ramekins - I was just glad that I finally got a chance "to show them off" - the pears are certainly worth a try alongside these fluffy, cheesy soufflés.
DeleteBeautiful souffles, they turned out perfectly. I love your ramekins, so cute.
ReplyDeleteNana, so very kind of you! These ramekins remind me of the lovely Alsatian pottery so they were the obvious choice but unfortunately, I do not own as many as I would like to.
DeleteI always admire your place settings. I love those napkin rings! I made Dorie's suggested side salad and enjoyed it, but the pears sound like a great addition as well. I really like pears with cheese.
ReplyDeleteJora, thank you very much - glad that you enjoy my settings - no always that easy a task to come up with ideas but it is always fun. Dorie´salad sounded nice but somehow we were in the mood for some fruit alongside the cheesy soufflés.
DeleteI like the idea of sliced pears with this soufflé. It's simple and elegant. Your ramekins are beautiful!
ReplyDelete