Pasta with Summer

Yes, I will claim that the dish I'm about to post here is the quintessential summer spaghetti dish. I adore my pesto, and I enjoy many other summer pastas, but for a true summer pasta you gotta embrace the tomato, and it's gotta be quick.

So, I started with this (because it was just for me--if you're cooking for a crowd, double/triple/octuple appropriately):

A handful of chopped fresh tomatoes (mini-heirlooms from Trader Joe's in this case--if you've got fresh, use them!!), a handful of chopped basil from the garden, and a thinly sliced clove of garlic from the CSA. 

If I'd chopped the garlic smaller, I honestly could have had this sauce raw, but I like to cook just a little bit to mellow out the garlic, and my grandma has a habit of refrigerating tomatoes, which meant that cooking them could give them more flavor. Still, a light touch is important.

Put water up to boil and cook your pasta--I chose about 1/4 lb of straight up spaghetti (which made dinner and lunch-- 2 bowls like the size of the one pictured below), but feel free to use whatever shape you like, and adjust amounts accordingly. 

While your pasta's cooking (and do wait until the water's boiled and the pasta's in it, because you really don't need much time for this), throw a glug of olive oil into a small frying pan over medium-low heat. For me, a glug is about a TBS. Swish it around a bit and then add your garlic. You want it slowly sizzling so that it will cook but not burn. Toss in a couple strips of basil as well, to season the oil. 

When the garlic is getting really nicely aromatic, about 5 minutes into cooking, toss in your basil and tomatoes and cook just for a couple of minutes, stirring so everything blends. Season with salt and pepper, and perhaps a bit more oil if things start to stick. When the tomatoes are slightly softened, pull the sauce from the heat.

Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce. At this point, I threw in a bit of crumbled feta, but that's definitely optional. 

Sprinkle with parmesan, drizzle with oil, and smell the summer. 

Luscious (Meyer) Lemon Bars

My grandparents have a meyer lemon tree. They have a meyer lemon tree that's been in their backyard for almost 50 years. On that lemon tree are many big, big meyer lemons. Like, the biggest meyer lemons I've ever seen.

Meyer lemons are not your average lemons. They're a bit sweeter, for one thing, and there's something almost smooth about the flavor.

I love lemon bars of all sorts, but using meyer lemons makes them all the more special. And because my grandparents have such huge lemons, I only needed two of them for the whole recipe.

Oh, and about this recipe...it comes from The Joy of Cooking. Don't get me wrong-- Joy is an absolutely indispensable part of any properly-stocked kitchen--but generally speaking I take Joy's recipes as starting points and go wild from there. It's rare that I follow any of these recipes to the letter. But Joy's "Lemon Bars Cockaigne" are my be-all-and-end-all of lemon bar recipes. So here we go.

Ingredients (for an 8x8 pan--double for a 9x13)
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBS powdered sugar
6 TBS cold, salted butter (or unsalted+a pinch of salt)


3 large eggs
1.5 cups sugar (I use a tad bit less, to account for meyer lemons)
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup + 1 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup all purpose flour
a bit more powdered sugar, if you like, for dusting the tops





Procedure
1) Crust: Pre-heat the oven to 325°F and grease a pan. Stir the flour and powdered sugar together, and then add the cold butter in small pieces. You can either cut the butter in with two knives or a pastry cutter, or you can just use your fingers to mush it all properly. Then, pat the crust into the pan, building a bit of a crust around the side so that the filling won't slip out. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool.

2) Filling: Whisk eggs and sugar together until frothy and golden. Stir in the zest and juice, and then sprinkle the flour over the top, whisking the lumps out. Pour over the cooled crust and bake until set but still a tad jiggly, about 30 minutes. Let cool, sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top, and cut into bars. Yum!

Pappardelle with Mushroom Sauce

There's something about mushrooms and pasta. I love mushrooms in stir-fries and curries, and when it comes to veggie burgers not much beats a properly marinated and grilled portabella cap, but pasta and mushrooms really do seem made for each other, especially when there's no meat involved.

So it was that, yesterday, I decided to make a pasta sauce with mushrooms and not much else. I happened to have brown crimini mushrooms and some dried porcini on hand, but I bet that this would be equally good (or better) with many different varieties. Having dried mushrooms is important though, because the water you rehydrate them in is a component of the sauce.

This doesn't take long to whip up at all, and it's delicious. I loved it with pappardelle, but any pasta would work fine, I'm sure.

Dried Porcini Mushrooms

Ingredients
-8 oz pappardelle or pasta of choice
-2 glugs olive oil (about 1-2 TBS each)
-1 large shallot, thinly sliced (you can sub half a small onion here if you'd like)
-generous sprinklings of dried parsley, basil, and oregano (if you have fresh, even better)
-3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
-about 12 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
-1 generous glug (about 2-3 TBS) white wine--unnecessary but really good
-1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1 cup boiling water and chopped
-a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
-salt and pepper to taste
-lots of parmesan, for serving




Procedure

1) Start preparing your pasta as directed--if you already have your sauce ingredients ready to go, the pasta and sauce should be ready around the same time
2) Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Give them at least 15 minutes and up to an hour, really, to rehydrate. Don't throw away the water!
3) Swirl 1 glug of olive oil into a frying pan over medium low heat and add the shallots. Saute gently for a few minutes until they start to soften, then add about half of your minced garlic along with dashes of your herbs and a bit of salt.

4) If your pan looks dry, add your second glug of oil. Turn the heat up to medium high and stir in the fresh mushrooms and the rest of the garlic. My Dad says that when cooking mushrooms, the two important tasks are to keep them hot and keep them moving. So move that spoon around the pan, adding a bit more oil if you need to.
5) A minute or so into cooking, add your wine and give the alcohol a minute to evaporate. If your kitchen doesn't smell amazing at this point, there is either something wrong with your mushrooms or with your nose.
6) Turn the heat down to medium/medium low and throw in the rehydrated mushrooms. Start adding the mushroom water, but don't put it in all at once. You may not end up using it all. Let the sauce simmer. You don't want your mushrooms swimming in liquid, but they should be wading. Watch the sauce and add liquid accordingly. Let simmer for about 3-4 minutes, throwing in the spinach a minute or so from the end so that it just wilts. The mushrooms should be beautifully brown.
7) Season the sauce to taste, toss with the pasta and serve topped with lots of cheese. 

Pizza!

Pizza's a big deal for me. I eat Papa John's and Pizza Hut on occasion, it's true, but in general I am indeed a pizza snob. The crust has to be appropriately thin, the toppings fresh, the cheese plentiful but not overwhelming. My go-to crust comes from the NYT and can be found here. The good news about the NYT recipe is that it makes a crust like no other-- very easy to stretch into shape and wonderfully crisp and golden once cooked. The bad news is that it requires a 24 hour+ rising period. So, when I'm planning on pizza, I go for that recipe. When I'm not, I hunt for another. I have yet to find my perfect "in-a-pinch" pizza dough. Yesterday, I decided to give Jamie Oliver's a try. Jamie's awesome, but the man loves his meat, so when I encounter a recipe of his that doesn't require flesh, I tend to jump on it.

My grandma absolutely loved the crust; she called it rich. I wasn't a huge fan. The dough tasted a bit sweet and was breadier than I like my pizza to be. It's not bad, but it's not fantastic either. The reason I'm blogging this pizza isn't so much for the crust as for the toppings, which I definitely intend to replicate on future pizzas. The crust recipe is here; I found halving it to be enough for 2 medium/largeish pies

For toppings, I went in two directions, opting for one traditional pizza with tomatoes, cheese, and veggies; and another with a white sauce, caramelized onions, and arugula. The traditional pizza doesn't require much prep work at all; the white pizza, due to the caramelized onions, needs to be thought up at least an hour before baking.

Also, sorry I don't have a lot of prep pictures. We were having company, and it was kinda awkward to play with the iPhone while chatting with guests. :)


Ingredients (Traditional)
-a sprinkling of salt and olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic, minced
-about 6 oz diced tomatoes, preferably fresh but canned will work too
-a handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
-8 oz of sliced mushrooms, sauteed in a little butter with a few torn basil leaves and a minced clove of garlic
-several sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or minced.
-7 oz of grated mozzarella
-1 oz feta cheese, crumbled
-black pepper to taste


Procedure
1) Pre-heat the oven as hot as it'll go. For me, that's 500°F. If your oven gets hotter, all the more power to you. If you're fortunate enough to have a pizza stone, make sure it's in the oven on the lowest shelf, so it can get nice and hot. If not, grease a baking sheet and stick it on the middle rack. Your pizza will be good--just not as good. On that note, I highly recommend investing in a stone. Even the cheapest ones (I think mine was $25 or so) make a big difference in quality, and they can be used to bake bread as well.
2) I find (clean) hands to be the best way to prep the pizza. Roll out half of the dough (if using Jamie's recipe) to a 1/4 inch circle, or whatever size necessary to fit your pizza stone or baking tray. Use your fingers to pinch the edges all around the dough, creating a ridged side the better to keep the toppings/sauce in place. Put the entire crust on top of a piece of parchment paper, unless of course you have a pizza peel. The parchment paper will ease the process of getting the dough in and out of the hot oven.
3) Start with the olive oil, sprinkling a bit on the dough and using your hand to rub it around. Add more oil if you can't get a little sheen all the way to the edges. Sprinkle on a dash of salt, followed by the minced garlic, the basil, and the tomatoes, trying to get even coverage.
4) Spread a thin layer of mozzarella over the dough, then add the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and the rest of the mozzarella. Grind black pepper over the top.
5) Bake for about 10 minutes. The best way I've found to get the pizza into the oven is to put the pizza, on top of the parchment paper, onto a large cutting board, pulling the rack with the pizza stone or baking tray as far out of the oven as you can, and carefully tugging the paper onto the stone/sheet. Of course, you want to do this as quickly as possible to preserve the heat, but don't touch the stone or the oven or do anything else that will burn your hands! The crust will grow golden and the cheeses will bubble and perhaps even start to brown in spots.
6) Remove from the oven, let cool for just a moment, slice, and serve.

Ingredients (White)
-White Sauce:
      -1 TB butter
      -1 TB flour
      -1/2 cup milk (I used skim--use whatever you have)
      -2 cloves minced garlic
      -dashes of salt, pepper, and marjoram
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1 large onion, sliced thinly
-8 oz grated mozzarella
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese
-1 cup baby arugula, tossed in 1 tsp balsamic vinegar


Procedure (White)
1) Prep the caramelized onions. Essentially, you're allowing them to cook slowly enough to really release and celebrate the sugars inside. Take as wide-bottomed a pan or pot as you have and coat with about a TBS of olive oil or butter. When the oil shimmers, add your onions, stirring gently for a few moments, trying to get as many onions to retain surface contact with the bottom as possible. Allow the onions to cook on medium-low heat, stirring often enough to keep them from burning and seldom enough to let them brown. That turned out to be about every 5 minutes, on my stove. After the first 10 minutes, sprinkle the onions with a bit of salt and just the tiniest dash of sugar. The entire process should take at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Just be patient, and when they look wonderfully brown, remove them from the heat.

Onions pre-caramelization

Onions 15 minutes into cooking

Caramelized Onions

2) Prep the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir in the flour quickly, trying to avoid lumps. After a moment, pour in the milk, stirring well. Add a bit of salt and pepper and marjoram, along with the basil and garlic. Let the milk heat gently, stirring often. When it begins to bubble around the sides and thicken, cut the heat.
3) Prep the crust as described above.
4) Spoon the white sauce over the crust, spreading it evenly over the surface. Top with the onions and mozzarella, then sprinkle with black pepper.
5) Bake for about 9 minutes, then pull out of the oven, top with the arugula, and bake for one minute more before pulling out, letting cool very briefly, and serving.

Simple Scrumptious (Brussels) Sprouts

I know. Brussels Sprouts are the ultimate kid "ick" food. For the longest time, I didn't think I liked them. Interestingly enough, however, I don't think I ever actually gave them a try until a couple of years ago, when my at-the-time housemate cooked up a batch. They weren't just acceptable; they were awesome. Although I still don't eat brussels sprouts all that often, every once in awhile I'll get a craving, and, when I do, this is how I make them:



Ingredients
-about 15 brussels sprouts, ends chopped off and halved
-water enough to just barely cover the sprouts when placed in a wide pan
-about 2 TB olive oil, butter, or a mix
-2-4 cloves of garlic
-salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
-Prep the sprouts as described above and stick in a wide pan with just enough water to cover them. You want a pan large enough that all of the sprouts can make contact with the bottom. Alternatively, you can cook in two batches. 
-Allow the water to come to a boil and blanch the sprouts for just about a minute or two, until they turn bright green
-Place the sprouts on a plate covered with paper towels, dump the water from the pan, and heat the oil or butter in the pan.
-Put the sprouts, cut-side down, back into the pan and allow them to cook undisturbed over medium heat for about five minutes, until nicely browned. Four minutes into the cooking, sprinkle in the garlic.
-When the sprouts are golden brown, flip them and let them cook a few minutes longer. They should be nicely softened and crispy on the outside
-Serve immediately, topped with salt and pepper

And yeah, I know I've been a bad blogger lately. As usual, I've been cooking plenty and photographing little. Here's to a prolific May!

Croissants

They're a classic for a reason. Croissants are flakey puffs of buttery bliss. This makes them, perhaps, not the best idea for breakfast-every-day, but as a special treat they are special indeed. Here's the other thing. Croissants aren't nearly as hard to make as they're often made out to be. They just take time. Lots and lots of time. Also butter. Lots and lots and lots of butter.

In picking a recipe for these croissants, I decided to consult the expert, and so I turned to one of Julia's cookbooks: From Julia Child's Kitchen. Generally, I find, when reading Julia's work, that it is hugely helpful to imagine her voice boisterously and jubilantly speaking each word. Try it sometime. You'll have more fun.

As I know quite little about French pastry preparation, I followed Julia's advice more-or-less to the letter, and the results did not disappoint. So, take a Saturday, or a Sunday, or a few days, actually (there are several points in the recipe where the dough can rest overnight), and give these a shot. You'll be pleased.

Breakfast, anybody?

Croissants (makes a half dozen)

Ingredients
-5/8 tsp. yeast
-4 1/2 tsp. lukewarm water
-1 tsp sugar
-1/4 lb all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/3 cup lukewarm milk
-1 TB canola oil
-2-3 1/2 oz chilled butter (if unsalted, up salt to 3/4 tsp)

Procedure (approx. amount of time required)

Yeast mix, oil and milk mix, and dry mix.

1) The Mixing (5-7 minutes): Mix the yeast, water, and sugar together in a small bowl and let it liquify. This will take a few minutes. Meanwhile, weigh the flour and measure it, along with the salt, into a large bowl. Microwave the milk very, very briefly so that it comes to lukewarm/light side of warm. Mix the oil into it, if you'd like. Then, mix both the milk/oil milk and the yeast mix into the flour, blending thoroughly. I used a rubber spatula for this; a wooden spoon would also work.

Mixed dough

Dough mid-knead

2) The Kneading (5-7 minutes): Dump the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and let it rest for a couple minutes. You can use this time to wash the mixing bowl (you'll use it as a rising bowl soon). To knead the dough, pick up the edge with a spatula and flip the whole piece of dough over to the other ride. Do this about 8-10 times until the dough feels smooth and pulls back into shape a bit when tugged out. Don't do much more than this, or you'll over-activate the gluten and end up with tough dough later! Scoop the dough into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let it rise at a room temperature of no more than 75°F.

Rising dough--2nd rise

3) The Rises (5+ hours or overnight): These croissants get two rises. The first rise should last at least 3 hours, and the dough should, supposedly, triple in size. I'll be honest in saying that my dough sat for 3.5 hours and didn't much more than double, but if you can get yours to triple, excellent! After the first rise, turn the dough onto the work surface and pat it into a 6 inch longish rectangle. Then, fold it in three like a business letter--says Julia. Let it rise at about 75°F for 1.5-2 hours, until it has doubled in volume. Chill for half an hour. If you'd like, you can stick it in the fridge overnight. Just make sure to stick a heavy plate on top of the dough so that it doesn't rise too, too fast.

4) The Turns (3+ hours): So, this is where the butter enters the bread. There's a range of butter that one can use, but the more you use, the flakier the croissant. I went all out this time and used a full stick--the maximum Julia recommends--for my half dozen pastries. You want the butter cold but spreadable, and the best way to achieve this is to mush it around with your hand, squishing it down and scooping it up and squishing down again a few times.

Smooshing butter!

Once the butter's ready, roll the dough gently into a 7x4 inch (ish) rectangle.

Butter and dough, side by side. Yes, it's that kinda ratio

 Spread the butter as evenly as possible over 2/3 of the dough, leaving a little quarter inch border all the way around. Again, hands are the best way to go here.

Buttered dough

For turn number one, fold like a business letter again, first bringing the unbuttered 1/3 up to the middle and then folding the top down over it. Lightly flour the dough and rotate it so the top flap is on your right, like a book. Roll it into a 5x8 inch (or larger) rectangle and fold into 3 once again.

Dough after the second turn, folded business-letter style

Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 45 minutes, topping with a heavy plate to prevent rising. Complete two more turns (for a total of four) as in the second turn and then allow to chill for at least two hours. This is another good opportunity to leave it in the fridge overnight.

1/3 of the dough. The beginnings of two croissants!

5) The Forming (10-20 minutes): Roll the dough into a 15x5 inch rectangle and then cut crosswise into three pieces. Chill two of the three pieces and roll the last into a 5 inch square. Cut it diagonally in half, forming two triangles. Gently tug on the ends of one triangle, lengthening it to around 7 inches and expanding the base by an inch or so. Then roll it up from base to point and tug the two ends in a bit to form a crescent shape. Repeat for the other triangle, and then repeat the whole process for the two chilled pieces. You'll be left with 6 adorable little puffs.

Four completed croissants and two to go!

 6) The Final Rise and Baking (2+ hours): Place the formed croissants on a baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel. Allow to rise at about 75°F until almost triple in size and quite puffy. At some point during the rise, depending on how quickly your oven heats, set it for 475°F. If you'd like, you can paint the croissants with a bit of egg glaze. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and 12-15 minutes, until puffy and golden. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving. 

Daring Bakers: Dutch Crunch Rolls!

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

Yummy!

I know what you're probably thinking. Dutch what? Until this month I'd never even heard of this crunchy bread, which is, according to Wiki at least, actually of Dutch origin. In the states, it's supposedly very common in San Francisco, which is funny, as I spent tons of time out here as a kid and live here now and don't remember ever encountering it. Whatever the circumstances, this is a fun and super easy bread to bake, and it comes out looking wonderfully crispy and appealing. The secret is all in the topping, and the secret to the topping is rice flour. 
So, go ahead! Make some bread! Or rolls, as I liked.

As Dutch Crunch bread is typically used for sandwiches, we were encouraged to come up with a filling or two. I think that I'd really enjoy a black bean burger with some sharp cheddar and pico de gallo. The bread itself is pretty plain, so dressing it up with some spicy fillings would be nice. If I still ate meat, I'd honestly probably go for something like turkey.

So, without further adieu, I give you recipes for both the soft white roll I used as my base, and the topping that I spread atop it. I halved both recipes, both because I thought I'd rather start with three rolls in case something went terribly wrong, and because I've been baking a lot of sourdough lately and didn't need the extra bread.

Soft White Roll

Servings: Six sandwich rolls

Ingredients

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (No need to use a thermometer – it should feel between lukewarm and hot to the touch).
1 cup warm milk (105-110º F)
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus additional olive or vegetable oil for greasing bowl during rising)
1½ teaspoons salt
Up to 4 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).

2. Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together. 

Rising dough

3. Add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, as shown in the photo below (For us, this usually required an additional 1½ to 2 cups of flour).

4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

5. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size 

6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions (if you’d like to make rolls) or 2 equal portions (if you’d like to make a loaf) (using a sharp knife or a dough scraper works well). Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point).

Resting, formed dough

7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.

8. Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping as described above. While the original recipe recommends letting them stand for 20 minutes after applying the topping, I got better results by putting them directly into the oven.

These look like biscuits and gravy to me....

9. Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 380ºF/190°C/gas mark 5 for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Dutch Crunch Topping (yields enough for 6 rolls)

Do not make this topping ahead of time, but just as you need it - about 15 minutes before you put the bread in the oven.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105-115º F)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rice flour (white or brown; NOT sweet or glutinous rice flour) (increase to 1 cup or more for home-made rice flour)

Dutch Crunch topping!

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, as shown below, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.

2. Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. The best way is to just use your fingers (or a spoon) to glob it on. You should err on the side of applying too much topping – a thin layer will not crack properly.

3. Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends. With the Soft White Roll, you can place the rolls directly into the oven after applying the topping.

4. When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

Leek, Potato, and Mushroom Soufflé

Yes, I know. Soufflés are crazy. They fall. They don't rise to begin with. They don't taste better than quiche and are so much harder to get right! And yet, there is so very much satisfaction to be gained from pulling a soufflé out of the oven with the knowledge that you, little old you, have attained such clichéd kitchen mastery.

Here's a secret: the potatoes help! They create starchy structure that make this particular dish much more likely to stand tall. So, especially if this is your first soufflé adventure, this is a great recipe to use. I based my recipe very closely off of one in last week's NYT: Leek and Potato Soufflé with Ham and Fontina. If you're a meat-eater, by all means try the original recipe; it's probably delicious! Being a vegetarian, I opted to mess around a bit with the ingredients and ended up very happy with the result. Also, I was cooking for two, and in retrospect I think I would have tried to more or less halve the recipe and use a 1 qt. soufflé dish so as to avoid leftovers. The leftovers weren't bad, but it was best fresh.

For this recipe, you'll need two things: a 2 qt. soufflé dish (although a deep casserole dish might work?), and some form of hand beaters (see above) or a mixer to work with the egg whites. I've tried whisking egg whites to stiff peaks before. Believe me, it ain't pretty. I almost never go for working with electronic cooking implements, because I so enjoy the process of doing everything by hand, but if you haven't got one of those handheld beaters (my new favorite kitchen implement, by the way), put the egg whites in the mixer and plug it in.

Ingredients

Oh Trader Joe's. You are just the cutest thing.
Even your potatoes are friendly.

-1.5 lbs preferably yellow-fleshed potatoes, chopped and peeled (if you like)
-about 1 c milk and 1/4 cup cream. Or all milk, or half-and-half, or cream
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 TB butter, divided
-1.5 leeks, split down the center and chopped relatively thinly. 
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme 
-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
-3 minced cloves of garlic
-cayenne to taste
-1/2 red pepper, diced
-3 oz mushrooms, diced
-4 oz. grated cheese (we used a gruyere-cheddar hybrid, but a fontina or swiss could also be nice)
-3 eggs, separated
-a couple TB of grated parmesan


Procedure
1. Boil the potatoes and mash them with the milk or cream and a bit of salt and pepper. Cool slightly
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F, coat a 2 qt. soufflé dish with butter and sprinkle the bottom and sides with parmesan.









3. Heat 1.5 TB butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leaks, along with some salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes until softened but still very green. Add in the garlic, red pepper, thyme, and oregano and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the leeks mix to the potato mix. 

4. Add the other half TB of butter to the skillet, and saute the mushrooms over medium high heat until they release their liquid and are nicely brown, then stir into the potato mix along with the cheese and a bit of cayenne. Adjust the seasonings, making it a little stronger than you think it should be to make up for the eggs. 

5. Separate the eggs, placing the whites into a medium bowl and mixing the yolks into the potato mixture.  Use your hand beater or electric mixer to peat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the potato mix, and then quickly and gently fold in the other 2/3s. 

                                       soft peaks

stiff peaks

6. Scrape the batter into the soufflé dish and top with grated parmesan.
7. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until nicely browned. Check with a toothpick or skewer, but keep in mind that the potatoes add some moisture that will leave the toothpick looking a bit damp even when it's done--don't assume it's raw egg!

8. Remove carefully from the oven and serve.