Mary McKinley-Haas' Infallible Soufflé

from the Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook

I thought nothing on earth was infallible, other than perhaps the Pope, so I was naturally curious when I came upon Mary McKinley-Haas' recipe for Infallible Soufflé in the always  interesting Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook.  I had made soufflés before so I thought I knew what to expect, and this was indeed a basic foolproof recipe for the classic French version.  A thick white sauce is prepared from butter, flour, and milk in which egg yolks are incorporated.  Your choice of flavoring is then added and stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in.  The soufflé bakes in about 30 minutes (the recipe advises 45 minutes but watch it carefully) and it comes to the table a beautiful golden brown and is as light and fluffy as a cloud.  The author offers you choices of cheeses, ham, crabmeat, or chocolate with separate instructions.  I chose Parmesan cheese and was very pleased with the simplicity and ease of preparation.  The delicate and delicious result did indeed prove to be infallible according to the author's bold claim. Truthfully, making a soufflé is easier than turning out a perfect omelet, which can be a little tricky to do.  Who knows if this fancy egg dish was eaten often at Collinwood, but a soufflé like this one would have made a great midnight supper in the drawing room with a green salad and a bottle of chilled champagne.