Carrot Souffle - THE RECIPE

Peter scoffed and turned his nose up at carrot souffle the first time he saw it and heard the name. As recently as this Thanksgiving I was guilting people into trying it. However, once the first bite is in their mouths, the look of disgust changes to one of surprise and happiness. And then they quickly finish off the small "I-don't-want-to-offend-you" helping they have and usually go back for more.

I'm not sure where my mom got the recipe, but I know she's made it as long as I've been alive, and I think longer. Everyone says, "eew, I don't like cooked carrots" - let me tell you, these put "cooked carrots" to shame. I don't care what you like or don't like or didn't like as a kid - try them!

I buy two 2lb. bunches of carrots, peel and slice them, and boil in a large pot of water for 45 minutes or so. I've also used the bags of baby carrots, but it's cheaper to do the extra work. The next step - mashing - used the be the worst part of this process, but then I discovered how nicely my Kitchen Aid does the job, and now making them is a breeze! I usually add all the other stuff, throw it in a greased souffle dish (with lid) and stick it in the fridge overnight (if I'm making it for Thanksgiving). Then all I have to do on Thanksgiving morning is pull it out and bake it - leaves me free to make the green bean casserole and watch the Macy's parade (yes, I still do). I start checking it around 40 minutes, but really go more by the clean knife than I do the time on the recipe.

I wish I had a good picture to show you, but I always forget to take one before we've dug into it! The best I can give you is to show you pictures of our leftovers...and for the record, I have no idea why it looks like it has green in the bottom left section - it doesn't in real life.