Hot Chocolate Souffle

I found this recipe a few weeks ago from Taste of Home, and knew as soon as I saw it I needed to make it. I love Taste of Home recipes, they are simple, tried and true recipes and most of the time, I am not disappointed by them.

Over the weekend, we had a little heat wave. It was in the 60's and sunny. Of course everyone in TN was out and about, wearing their capri's and flip flops and planning to cook out for dinner. We had some of our best friends over on Saturday for burgers and I made these for dessert, the recipe says that it will serve 12 and that was one to feed everyone here. While the guys were at the grill, I melted the chocolate and butter, mixed all the other ingredients together, put them in the ramekins and baked while we ate. These were the perfect dessert for the evening. The marshmallows got all toasty, my favorite part, and we all decided that next time I will add crumbled graham crackers and more marshmallows and make it a smore souffle. :)

Just a work of warning, make sure that you eat them immediately, or they will deflate and the marshmallows fall through. Still tastes the same, just a little flat!

Hot Chocolate Souffle

1 cup butter, cubed
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 cup mini marshmallows
4 1/2 tsp cinnamon-sugar

Grease the bottoms only of twelve 6 oz ramekins; set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Set aside

In a large bowl, beat eggs and yolks on high speed on 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture. Combine flour and baking powder; beat into egg mixture just until combined.

Fill prepared ramekins half full; sprinkle with marshmallows. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar; serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers...if there are any!

Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

What can I say? I do love me some cheesecake! And this one did not disappoint. This one was made from Dories, BFMHTY...I present to you, Tall and Creamy Cheesecake. And that is exactly what it is! Tall and Creamy! Of course, the strawberries and chocolate drizzle doesn't hurt it either!

French Bread

I have been wanting to make Julia Child's Soupe A L'oignon, or french onion soup, for some time now, but really wanted to try my hand at making french bread loaves when making it. I bought this magazine, Taste of the South, over the weekend and found a recipe for the french loaves. This was my first time buying this magazine, and I am glad that I did. I may have to subscribe, just to help feed my addiction!

The bread was not that hard to make. I did learn that I need to split my dough more evenly..I ended up with a small loaf and a larger loaf,and not to use so much flour when forming into the loaf. But, other than that...it was a cinch to put together and was delicious! I ate 3 warm slices with a little butter before I even got to the soup. This was also a great time to teach Abby how to knead. I think she enjoyed it as much as I do.

Oh, and about the soup? Fantastic! Jamey gave me Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a Christmas gift. This is the first and only thing so far that I have made from it. It really made me want to dive into the book and make almost all of it. I have to say though, I draw the line at brains...yes, it tells you how to cook and clean them. Oh, and don't get me started on the aspic either..just can't bring myself to it. But, for the most part, it is stuff that I would make.

French Bread

From: Taste of the South

2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp sugar

1 (.25 oz) package active-rise yeast

3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided

1 Tbsp salt

5 1/2-6 cups bread flour, divided

1/4 cup cornmeal

In a medium bowl, combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy, approximately 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a large stand mixer, combine yeast mixture, 1 Tbsp oil, salt and 3 cups flour. Using the dough hook attachment, beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Stir in enough of remaining flour to make s stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, approximately 1o minutes.

Grease a large bowl with remaining 2 Tbsp oil. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in size. About 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down, and divide in half. Shape dough into 2 (17x3 inch) loaves.

Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with cornmeal. Place each loaf on a prepared baking sheet. Make 4 cuts diagonally across the top of each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake until crispy and golden brown, about 30 minutes.