Cheese Soufflé

My soufflé dish has been storing onions and garlic for about a year. I think I was traumatized by the Gorgonzola cheese soufflé I made for Valentine's Day last year. It was time to get back to the basics. I cleaned out the garlic and onions peels and made a classic chesse soufflé.

I used this recipe from Alton Brown. I was a little nervous since the recipe calls for greasing the sides of the soufflé dish, which I thought was the ultimate no-no. But, you coat the edges with grated parmesan cheese for the soufflé to catch upon and rise.

This turned out really well and would recommend this recipe especially for first time soufflé makers.

Leek and Fennel Flatbread with Arugula and Pecorino di Truffe

I was roaming the cheese aisle at Lunds over the weekend and came across Pecorino di Truffe. It immediately sent me back to the last time I had truffles. I had ordered a pizza with truffles and arugula at the Morges Tennis Club in Morges, Switzerland for my going away lunch. So using the pecorino on flatbread was a natural step at recreating some of the flavors of that lunch.

Ingredients:

• 2 Leeks
• 1 Fennel bulb
• 1 Bunch of arugula
  
• Olive oil
• Apx. 1/4 cup of white wine
• 1 TB of white wine vinegar
• Pecorino di truffe (or another hard Italian cheese)
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1lb pizza dough
  

How to:

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.
   
2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced leeks and fennel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until soft. Add the wine and sauté until the majority of the liquid has evaporated.
   
3. Roll out pizza dough on a bit of cornmeal. Drizzle the dough with olive oil. Add the leek and fennel mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes.
4. While the flatbread is baking mix arugula with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. When the flatbread is out of the oven add arugula and slices of the pecorino.

Taste: It turned out really good! It make enough for 3 generous servings.

Notes: I have been on a bread baking kick since receiving Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for Christmas. For this recipe I used the boule dough. Be sure bake for only 10 minutes - any longer and I think the leeks and fennel would have become a bit charred.