The first time I ever tucked into a fluffy cheese soufflé I was in a tiny restaurant in Paris called, what else?: "Le Soufflé." Imagine an entire restaurant devoted to soufflés. They offered cheese, vegetable or dessert soufflés, each a perfection confection of airy heaven, delivered straight from the kitchen puffed, browned and aromatic.

A recent college graduate with no restaurant budget, I taught myself how to make a cheese soufflé in my tiny Parisian kitchen. I thought it would be difficult but discovered that once you know how to get your egg whites to the right stiff-white-peak consistency, you've got it nailed. Today's recipe is basically a simple white sauce enriched with egg yolk and nutty Swiss cheese. Stiff egg whites are folded right into the mixture. Remember to fold the egg whites carefully into the sauce to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

You might be thinking, forget it, this is too much work. But the truth is that soufflés couldn't be easier to put together. The secret to success is timing. So figure out what you will be serving ahead, such as a salad or soup, and time the soufflé to go into the oven as you sit down for your first course. Remember: You can wait for the souffle, but the souffle waits for no one.

Soufflé tips

• Use room-temperature eggs (cold eggs hold less air).

• Carefully separate the eggs. Make sure you use a spotlessly clean bowl for the egg whites or they will not whip up properly.

• When separating the eggs, use an extra bowl to separate the eggs individually. Then transfer each egg white into another bowl that contains all of the whites. This way you can make sure no yolk accidentally contaminates the white. If yolk does accidentally get into the white of an egg, save it for making scrambled eggs.

• Use an electric mixer for the whites; make sure the beaters are perfectly clean.

• You can use any kind of cheese you like; other cheeses that work nicely are nutty Parmesan, sharp Cheddar and goat cheese.

• You can make additions such as crisp bacon pieces, thin cooked vermicelli noodles or chopped spinach. Make sure to add it to the sauce before you fold in the egg whites.