And I'd Like to Thank the (Kitchen) Academy...

Julie, of A Finger in Every Pie, had a finger in every blog the past few days judging the entries for Paper Chef no. 7, which 3... 2... 1... time's up at noon on Monday.

Well, Julie sent me an email, and when I clicked over this morning to her...envelope please...

*Gasp!* Oh my...me? Silly li'l delicious me? My sexy little souffles won! I can't believe it!

Well, I don’t really know what to say. I am totally pickled tink *blush* And of course, so amazingly honored and...and...and...I'm somewhat speechless.

This might sound so incredibly silly, but wow, isn't it weird how in our funny little (yet very wide) food blogging world, something like this could mean so much to me? Really, it means so much. Like Julie emailed me later in the morning, I feel like I won an Oscar or something.

Thank you thank you thank you is all I can say. I loved waiting in breathless anticipation of the secret ingredients. I loved fantasizing about what to make with honey, dates, buttermilk and eggs, flirting with pancakes, toying with muffins. I loved the weekend I spent with...(uh, nevermind about that – LOL!) I loved rushing home, making a quick stop at the store, then working myself into a fluffy frenzy over a souffle. I loved the saucy comment-banter (which to be quite honest, was probably the most fun part of all). And to also have this? It just makes me *shriek* with glee!

It's just so ridiculously fun to play every month, and truly, I am honored to play with everyone!

*basking* now in that after-souffle glow ;)

Oh yes, and here is the “recipe” (in quotes because to be quite honest, it’s a fairly basic recipe with just a few embellishments here and there) for the Buttermilk Feta Cheese Souffle, as well as the salad, which truly is just a list of ingredients because I just tossed everything together to taste :)

Buttermilk Feta Cheese Souffle
Oven starts at 375° F.

Generously massage small ramekins with soft butter. Any size will work, as long as you have enough to be the equivalent of 36 to 40 oz. I used six 6 oz ramekins. Many recipes say to dust with breadcrumbs or grated cheese, but I used ground walnuts. I didn’t do this the first time, but next time, I will toast the walnuts first. Cover with plastic wrap and let them chill out in the freezer. Why, I have no idea, but that was the recommendation of my favorite food nerd.

Heat 1 c buttermilk to not-quite hot. I snapped a cup of it in the microwave for just under a minute, but if you’re a real cook, you could probably heat it up in a small saucepan on the stove – LOL!

Melt 3 T butter in a saucepan with about a clove of super minced garlic, and let it gurgle for a few minutes. Sprinkle 3 T flour and generous dash of fresh ground black pepper in (don’t need salt since there will be cheese), and stir together over the heat for a few minutes until it’s pale golden brown. Remove from heat and pour the buttermilk in and stir together.

Crumble in 4 oz feta cheese, 6 oz if you’re a cheese freak like me :) Not sure how my 2 oz cheese greed affected the souffle in the end, but I think it worked out. Stir to melt together. Not sure what normal souffles look like, but this looked a little grainy.

Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time.

Now it’s frenzy time.

In a separate bowl, whip 5 egg whites into stiff peaks.

Grab the ramekins from the freezer and have them ready and waiting on a cookie sheet.

Add about a cup or so of the whites into the cheese base and gently stir it in. Then fold in the rest of the whites. I got really nervous here, because I didn’t want to over-fold. I think it was alright that there were some white spots.

Ladle into the ramekins, just shy of the rim, then sprinkle the tops with more ground walnuts. They fluff in the oven anywhere from 18 to 25 minutes. Use whatever means necessary to restrain yourself from opening the oven door before 18 minutes. In fact, how about occupying yourself by making an accompanying salad made of walnuts, dates, and greens? :)

After 18 minutes, I barely opened the door and practically burned my chin trying to get a sneaky peek. I left them for one more minute, then floated them out of the oven. If you're like me, you'll want to shriek when you see them all cute and puffed, but don't. They're sensitive. Serve them right away, since they’re a bit moody, and start to deflate when they’re taken from their sauna. Of course, when I made them, they stopped a moment for the papparazzi.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
Okay, this is somewhat of a misnomer I realize now, because there’s no vinegar, LOL! Just toss some fairly strong greens with a few tablespoons of honey (I used sage honey from Bill’s Bees), juice from half a lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Add toasted walnuts and Medjool dates. I sliced the dates lengthwise in quarters, but next time, will cut them smaller, since they are incrediby sweet and were almost too much sweet with the honey on the greens.

Thanks for letting me share this with y’all, and I can't wait for next month!