Carrie, I've been making them only for Bob and I over the past two weeks. After a lifetime of hating all things egg, suddenly scrambled eggs taste good to me (though I'm not exactly dying to eat them for breakfast yet) and I'm excited about souffles, an art form I've up til now only been able to admire from afar.
Tonight they'll be Christmas Eve dinner-for six's first course, and I think they're very manageable in this position. Two reasons: they're a perfect white wine pairing (where the next course will be pinot and the main will be a big red), AND I'll have perfect control over them since they'll be the first item we sit down to. The bechamel was made two days ago, so all I have to do is have it at room temp and ready to blend with the egg yolks, with the whites ready to go in the Kitchen Aid mixer and the cheeses and rosemary standing by. The ramekins will be prepped--the hardest part will probably be tying the collars on, and that's a task I can assign to my guests which will make it even more fun. All the guests will be in the kitchen anyway (you know how that goes) so no problem staying part of things while taking the five or six minutes needed for final assembly and getting them into the oven. Once they come out, I have a hot oven ready for the
beef en croute which I'll fire when we sit down to the 'tween course of beet and salmon salads. The souffles will actually make a great show, especially since none of my guests have probably ever had a savory version.
Should work out just great. I'll let you know.