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I will even accept it from Diane Von Furstenberg. I wonder if it was named for her?
All I know, darlings, from reading "The Swans Of Fifth Avenue," and "Answered Prayers" is that this was de rigueur at La Cote Basque, and it was a big deal for the staff to make. But if Slim Keith, or Babe Paley, and now The Raving Queen, requested it, make it they did.
It consists of eggs, spinach and Gruyere cheese. And something where uncooked eggs are poured into the center, so that they cook along with souffle? Huh? Can anyone out there supply the correct information? I am so anxious to try this, and I know my beloved will be thrilled to make it.
In the name of Julia Child--help!!!!!!!!! Julie Powell, do you know this one?
What a cozy meal it would make. Just like at La Cote Basque!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3 comments:
Any cheese and spinach souffle recipe will work.
Butter the inside edge of the souffle dish generously and rub with finely chopped Gruyere cheese. This helps the souffle mixture by giving it something to hold onto as it rises.
The only difference between the Furstenberg souffle and any other cheese and spinach souffle is after you butter/cheese the dish, you add a layer of the soufle mixture to the bottom, then 6 mildly poached eggs are set in this "batter" an equal distance apart. (The idea is when you cut the souffle into 6 servings you're likely to have an egg in each piece you cut.)
The eggs are poached as minimally as possible first just to hold their shape, then transferred to a paper towel-lined plate and rolled to remove excess water and any fine pieces of egg white strands that come away (a Julia Child trick).
Once the poached eggs are placed equidistant around the bottom, the rest of the souffle mixgture is added over them and baked.
Christian Dior has a recipe for it in his 1972 book but there's no spinach in his version. (Unless you knew how to make souffles you probably wouldn't be able to make it with the confusing recipe he provides, which is basically a cheese souffle that you can turn into the Furstenburg version by adding the poached eggs.)
As for Truman Capote, he wrote:
“It’s a cheese and spinach souffle in which you sink six poached eggs. The yolks have to be soft and run all through the spinach and the cheese…It’s simply sensational. The trick is to have the yolks very very soft when the thing rises. If the eggs harden the whole thing is over. Apparently a chef of the Furstenbergs in Austria invented it.”—Truman Capote (Interview Magazine, January 1979)
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/new-again-truman-capote-1
This guy has a video to give you an idea on YouTube, but it's an individual version. Truman used 6 lightly poached eggs in his full-sized version (Dior's recipe says serves 6). This guy also uses bread crumbs with the butter to help the mixture climb and hold as it rises, but there are no breadcrumbs mentioned in any recipes I've seen (for this or any other souffle I've made).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL59iiCmZ2c
I also found this on the Net but haven't made it. Again, any cheese/spinach souffle to which you add the poached eggs will work, and will likely be better than this at helping you to achieve the desired results.
I will say that the use of white pepper and the nutmeg sounds correct for the period. Suspect is this uses 4 eggs and serves 4. Truman Capote's recipe used 6 poached eggs and the idea was there would be one poached egg with every portion served.
Truman Capote's Souffle Furstenberg
https://classiccelebrityrecipes.blogspot.com/2016/03/recipes-by-truman-capote-fettuccine.html
4 eggs, very lightly poached
3 tbsps. butter
3 tbsps. flour
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 ozs. Gruyere cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Poach eggs very lightly; cool. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, cook until bubbly and smooth while stirring. Add milk all at once; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and smooth. Season with white pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat. Add egg yolks to sauce, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in finely chopped spinach and cheese. Beat egg whites in separate bowl until stiff, but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into spinach-sauce mixture. Spoon 3 generous tbsps. souffle mixture into 4 individual well-greased souffle cups (each cup capacity). Gently slide one poached egg into each cup; cover with remaining souffle mixture. Divide cheese between each souffle. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake 18-20 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Robert,
Thank your for all the information. It is much appreciated.
I will show it to my husband; he is the wizard in the kitchen.
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