spreading the aloha

my brother and his two kids got in town last night. after starting our morning off a little late today, which was partially my fault because i was so disappointed that no one scored during the brazil vs. portugal game that i decided to bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to get some of my frustrations out and because the kids started watching movies...well needless to say we didn't leave the house till after one or two. we headed down to the portland zoo since my mom and the boys wanted to check out the dinosaur exhibit. as we were walking around through the primates area of the zoo my nephew struck me with a special idea. oddly enough it came from something he said while he was staring at a monkey's butt. he was staring at a monkey that looked like rafiki from the lion king and he kept saying "that monkey is spreading too much aloha!" i couldn't help but laugh! well, that got me to thinking that since they are only here for a few days i should spread my aloha, no, not by showing my butt off, but by baking them something extra special! as we continued to walk through the zoo and see all the dinosaurs i thought about the many things i have made so far, what i could make them? and what i wanted to try to make? i could only think of one thing...chocolate souffles. this time "martha" (aka my martha stewart baking book) was not needed, she actually doesn't have a recipe for chocolate souffles:-( so i checked out the food network website, always on my bookmarks of my computer, and i found a pretty good one. i set to work preparing the ramekins with butter and sugar...

and melting down the chocolate and butter...ALWAYS double boil!!

beat the egg yolks, warm water and sugar, then the egg whites, lemon juice, and sugar and folded in gently. slowly scooped into the ramekins and baked @ 400 degrees for about 20 min...

and the result...

a little overflowed...but still delicious...

makana, my nephew, loved it and finished off what my dad did not of his...

i had never made souffles or eaten one before, but i have to say they are very light and surprisingly rich. i added some vanilla bean ice cream on the side and it was heaven. i think even pairing it with some fresh strawberries would help bring out the chocolate flavor and not make it seem as rich as they are. i wrote down a few notes about filling the ramekins too, i will definitely remember not to fill them to the very top next time!! but, overall a pretty good success and a recipe that i will continue to perfect with time...^_^

i just had to add this picture in because it is just too cute not to have in my blog. a little squirrel statue on the bench at the zoo^_^