Bacon Souffle
Oh man, I hate souffles! Ever since chef school I've detested them, they're a pain up the backside to make, offensively technical and too damn easy to screw up. In fact it took me years to master this dish, initially the only souffle I could get right was the cheese souffle, but with a little bit of perseverance and a lot of kicking from my then head chefs I just about managed to get the hang of them (well kinda...)

However I know that there are a lot of people out there who adore souffles so....without further ado I guess I better get demonstrating, for those who haven't made souffles before, pay attention to the method and no sneaky shortcuts or you'll pay for your errors with a limp and soggy souffle!

Serves 4 idiots who should learn to enjoy other starters

Ingredients
Butter and flour to line each ramekin with
40g / 1.25 oz plain flour
1 Tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 rashers of bacon
1 shallot or 1/4 onion
290ml / 1/2 pint milk
5 eggs yolks
4 egg whites

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
Wipe a little melted butter around 4 x ramekins, then dust a little flour inside the ramekins. The flour should stick to the melted butter (this is to ensure the ramekin is non-stick, trust me...saves on the washing up)
Now line the ramekin lips with a thick lining of butter, (this aids the souffle to rise upward, sometimes known as 'to top hat', due to the resulting shape of the souffle)
Weigh the ingredients, separate the eggs
Chop or dice the bacon, shallots and garlic

Method:
First make the bacon mix
In a frying pan:
Heat the oil
Add the garlic and 'brown off'
Add the bacon, cook for 3-5 minutes until cooked and gently browned
Add the shallots, cook for a further minute
Remove bacon mix from the saucepan and allow to cool

Now make the sauce
In the same saucepan:
Add the flour to the fats and pan juices left from the bacon, cook the flour for 1 minute
Add the milk, stir vigorously to prevent the formation of lumps
As the milk heats the sauce will thicken considerably. The sauce is of the right consistency when a wooden spoon leaves visible tracks in the liquid and the sauce leaves the side of the saucepan
Allow the sauce to cool
Beat in the egg yolks and bacon mix

Now to complete the souffle
Whisk the egg whites until 'stiff peaks' form
Add a third of the egg whites to the bacon sauce. Gently fold/stir the whites into the sauce (this is known as 'loosening')
Now add the remaining whites to the sauce and finish folding/incorporating these into the mix
Pour the mix into the ramekins
Bake for 12-15 minutes

The souffle is cooked when, if the souffle is shaken, there is only the faintest of tremors. If the souffle wobbles violently carry on baking

Serve immediately

Where you went wrong:
Souffles are easy to screw up so be careful to complete each stage to perfection!
Souffle collapsed: Egg whites not whisked enough / Sauce mix wasn't stiff enough / the ramekin was knocked in the oven / the souffle wasn't allowed to completely cook through or pulled too early from the oven
Souffle burnt on surface: Oven heat possible too intense, either reduce the heat to 190°C / 375°F or bake the souffle on the middle shelf

Presentation:
Serve simply in the ramekin on a starter plate

Cowboy Trick:
Can't afford to make a mess of the souffle?
Add 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder to the bacon sauce when it has cooled before completing the recipe as usual. This will give the souffle an extra rise ensuring an impressive looking starter.
When using the baking powder, reduce the oven temp to 190°C / 375°F and bake the souffle for an extra 2-3 minutes longer