All good things must end, which includes the 8 Days of Cabot, our whirlwind descent into deliciousness with the help of Cabot Creamery Collective‘s amazing cheeses.

Some will say, though, that I saved the best for last with this little cheesy gems because today we’re making

Two Pepper Cheese Souffles

That’s right two different types of chili peppers go into these souffles.  What are the two peppers?

Well all throughout the 8 Days of Cabot, I’ve been on a definite Tex Mex kinda twist and the last block of cheese I had left was Cabot Habanero Cheddar.  I thought that the spicy kick of the habanero cheese  would be perfect in a cheese souffle.  So that’s pepper #1.

Never one to leave well enough alone, I got to thinking.  Habaneros are good…but habaneros and chipotles in adobo are even better.  So I mixed them together to form an amazing cheese souffle.  But I wasn’t done yet.  I also added mushrooms to the souffle to give it an earthy taste and a firm texture that you are going love.

It’s Cheese Souffle Time!

The recipe I used for this was basically taken directly from Alton Brown.  This was a risk becacuse I often find his recipes to be overly complex and difficult to execute.  Not so this time.

You will need:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 5 eggs, separated
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 oz shredded Cabot habanero cheese
• 4 chipotles in adobo, sliced
• 4 mushrooms, sliced thin
• Butter for greasing the muffin tin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the milk to a simmer (not a full boil, just keep it warm.)  If you have not done so yet, separate the eggs.  Beat the egg yolks with a fork like you were making scrambled eggs.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour (this is called making a roux).   Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the flour begins to smell nutty.  Pour in the milk, salt, cumin, and black pepper.  Stir to incorporate the flour and wait for the milk to come to a gentle boil.

Add the shredded habanero cheese to the milk and stir to melt.

When fully melted, remove from the burner and temper the egg yolks by putting a few tablespoons of the milk in with the egg yolks.  This will raise the temperature of the egg yolks so that they will not scramble when you add them to the rest of the milk.

Add them to the rest of the milk.  This is the main batter and should now be off the heat.

Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until white and glossy.  They are ready when you can pull the beaters out the egg whites and the egg whites at the end of the beaters do not move (a.ka. stiff peaks.)

Using a spatula, fold 1/3 of the egg whites mixture into the main batter.  Gently incorporate so as not to let any of the air out of the egg whites.  Add another 1/3 and repeat.   Then fold the final 1/3 into the main batter.

Put a few slices of mushroom and chipotle into tins of a greased muffin then add just enough souffle mix so that the muffin tins are full without running over.

Put the muffin tin in another oven safe container and fill the container with hot water.  Bake the souffles 10-12 minutes or until the eggs have set.  Let them sit for five minutes to let them set before serving.

After that, all that is left is to enjoy!

Notes:

1. Of interest only to me is that I whipped the egg whites in this recipe by hand.  No electric mixers for me.  I just needed to brag.
2. Of interest only to me is that I didn’t use cream of tartar which would have helped the whipping process.
3. Lastly, of interest only to me is that I whipped the egg whites before I made the main batter and had to periodically rewhip the egg whites.