Just for Julia Child, try making a souffle

A confession: I'm not a great fan of cooking shows. OK, I do watch "Top Chef" because I love all the drama in the kitchen and beyond. But to watch the usual lineup of TV chefs/cooks stir, chop, then ooh and ah over their creations bores me silly.

But Julia Child has always been in a class by herself. She's someone I could watch cook and instruct all day whether it was "Cooking with Master Chefs," "Baking with Julia," "The French Chef" or "Jacques and Julia Cooking at Home," where she and Jacques Pepin always performed the perfect culinary pas de deux.

Julia Child's talent, energy and wry wit always inspired me, and one of my saddest regrets is I never got to meet or interview her. And while I never attempted to create much of anything beyond a souffle, potato soup or boeuf bourguignon from the beloved "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (unlike the culinary daredevil Julie Powell who prepared each and every recipe during a year-long project), I always felt that because she showed me how, I could bone a fish, make a mayonnaise that wouldn't separate or form a crepe so thin you could read a book through it.

Powell's passion for cooking led her to re-create each of the 524 recipes in Child's legendary cookbook, which was first published in 1961. Powell's book about her culinary adventures is the basis for the new movie, "Julie and Julia" starring Meryl Streep.

You don't need to be a fan of French cooking to be a fan of Julia Child, but if you ever did desire to pick up a whisk and create a souffle, you'll want the perfect recipe.

This basic recipe from Child is light and airy.

Vanilla Souffle

Adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," by Julia Child.

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup milk, divided

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter, softened (optional)

5 egg whites

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Confectioner's sugar, finely sieved

Prepare 6-cup souffle dish and affix a paper collar. To prepare collar, cut a length of parchment paper or foil long enough to wrap around the dish with a 2-inch overlap, fold in half lengthwise and butter one side. Wrap the collar around the rim of the dish, buttered side in -- about 3 inches above the rim. Secure in place with straight pins.

Place oven rack in lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

Whisk the flour and half the milk in a saucepan. When well-blended, whisk in the remaining milk and 1/3 cup sugar. Bring to boil and boil slowly, whisking for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, let cool for a moment, then one by one, beat in the egg yolks and butter.

Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons sugar and beat to stiff, shining peaks. Whisk the vanilla into the sauce, then whisk in a quarter of the whites to lighten it. Delicately fold in the remaining whites and turn the mixture into prepared dish.

Set souffle in oven, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until souffle has begun to puff and brown, about 20 minutes. Rapidly slide out oven rack, dust with sugar, return to oven and continue baking until puffed high in the collar. Remove collar, serve at once. Serves 4.

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