Carrot Soufflé

Carrot SouffléGrandfather Christmas

One of my favorite things about the Holidays are the traditions. We all have things we do each year to celebrate Christmas or Hannukah or even New Years Eve and Day.

In my family we have quite a few. I’ve written about Ebleskiever, and it wouldn’t be Christmas without warm Gingie Cookies. One of my favorites though has nothing to do with food. Well, it kinda does. Sort of.

My Grandfather (Dad’s Dad), was one of those people who would really put a lot of thought into a gift. As a kid, I didn’t really get it, but as I grew older I understood and appreciated his presents more. One of my favorite, were the porcelain figures that he bought from Phair’s (There’s a blast from the past!), and attached to our Christmas gifts. Each one was hand-selected to match our personalities. Mine was a duck in Victorian dress. Dad’s was a bear with a three piece suit and glasses with a newspaper under his arm. My sister’s was a cat, I think, also in Victorian dress. In later years the porcelain was replaced by another set of figures with Venetian masks a la the Three Musketeers. My mother used these figures on the table for Christmas morning and Christmas Dinner as place markers for seating.

Now that Christmas morning has migrated to my sister’s house, we no longer use the figurines. But my sister’s wooden Musketeers make an appearance, and it always reminds us of him.

As far as I know, my mother still has all of the porcelain figures safely (I hope) tucked in a box. I have my Musketeer, and it is my favorite ornament for our tree. Every year he goes up, and every year I tell my kids “This was a gift I got from Gumpa”.

Our menu for Christmas Dinner is always the same (yet another tradition!), and it was one Gumpa’s favorites. The menu remains sliced BBQ Chateaubriand, Barley and Pine Nut Pilaf, and Carrot Soufflé. Below is the Carrot Soufflé recipe. It’s easy, elegant and tasty with roasted meats. 

Carrot Soufflé
Recipe courtesy of Private Collection, Recipes from the Junior League of Palo Alto, 1980
Serves 8

Ingredients
2 C cooked and pureed carrots*
2 tsp lemon juice
2 T minced or grated onion
1/2 C butter, softened
1/4 C sugar
1 T flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 C milk
3 eggs

*Carrots may be cooked and pureed hours ahead of time, adding the lemon juice and covering tightly until ready to mix.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly butter a soufflé or casserole dish. Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Pour in to a 2-quart, prepared dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour until center is firm to the touch.

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