Mac and Cheese Friday

Yet another mac and cheese recipe! This is food networks #1 rated recipe for mac and cheese. I made it quite awhile ago, but just haven't gotten around to posting about it. It was pretty good, but not the best I have had. However the one thing that I will take from this recipe is hands down the panko bread crumbs. The crunchy topping on this was amazing. I liked the flavor the onions gave it, but really it needed a few more cheeses for complexity. By the way did you notice my awesome new baking dish? I choose this picture to show it off rather than the food :-)

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients


1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Mac and Cheese Friday

I haven't had a mac and cheese Friday post is a really long time. I still make it from time to time, but haven't really tried a new recipe due to laziness. But a couple weeks ago I decided to try a new one. This one hails from Ina Garten.

Mac and Cheese
courtesy of Ina Garten and Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients


Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top

I left out the tomatoes, but it was still delicious. Plus it was pretty easy to make. I really do love mac and cheese.

Flame's Maiden Voyage

So I finally cooked in Flame for the first time. I have been dying to do it since I got her, but the weather was to hot for a while and then last week we were so busy that we didn't eat at home all week. I wanted to make something special the first time I cooked with her and after much thought and consideration I decided on....Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. This seemed perfect to me because this is a French product so why not make some French food in it?

The dinner was so yummy! It took awhile to make, but was totally worth it. We actually wound up inviting Ryan's family over for dinner because it made so much. It feed 6 people with leftovers. I'm not going to write out the recipe because it's like a total of 5 pages, but if you want it you can find it in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1. Or you can also find much simpler versions online.

I wish that the first picture of me cooking the dinner turned out, but it was kinda blurry. It was kind of funny to me because Ryan and I had just came back from a run and I had on my workout clothes with my apron on. I will leave you with a picture of the view from our deck that night...

Grandma's Mac and Cheese: Mac and Cheese Friday #3

So this is my third mac and cheese Friday. I decided to make my Grandma's mac and cheese. It's super easy to make, very yummy and brings back lots of memories. When I think back to my Grandma's mac and cheese I always think of how much she would tease me about it because when I was a child she made it for me and I refused to eat it because it wasn't Kraft out of the box. Ahhh young Melissa...you had so much to learn!

Grandma's Mac and Cheese

16oz shell shaped macaroni

2 cups of shredded Cheddar cheese (we use sharp, but any kind will do)

Milk

Butter

Crushed Saltines

Preheat oven to 350. Cook macaroni then place a layer in a deep baking dish. Next cover with a layer of cheese, crushed crackers and a couple pats of butter. Repeat until baking dish is full and you end with cheese. Next pour milk into the baking dish until you can just see it. Bake for 45min- 1hour until cheese is bubbly and golden.

So I have some bad news about mac and cheese Friday. It will no longer be every Friday. Ryan and I decided that our arteries nor our waste lines could handle this once a week. So maybe every other week or something like that.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Monday was Ryan's 27th birthday. He asked for a pie. This was my first real attempt at making a pie. I have made the cream filled ones in the pre-made crusts. But this was 100% from scratch. It was a berry pie. It had strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries in it. The lattice top was alot easier than I expected. It's not as pretty as Martha's but Ryan said it tasted great! Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese: Mac and Cheese Friday #2

This week was a more "classic" mac and cheese, yet still unique.

Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese

Courtesy of: allrecipes.com

1 (8oz) package of elbow macaroni

8 oz of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

12 oz container of small curd cottage cheese

8 oz sour cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and pasta, and cook until done; drain.

In 9 x 13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, milk, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowel, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

This was a very good mac and cheese. I wont lie...I felt my arteries harden a bit while making this. And worked out while cooking it. But it was worth it. I really was expecting it to be a heavy mac and cheese. It wasn't it was light and creamy. The cottage cheese is what drew me to the recipe in the first place and it was a very nice touch to the meal.
Do you grate your own cheese? I am really beginning to think that cheese that I have grated tastes better than the stuff out of a bag. I do get the stuff in a bag out of laziness some times. But I really do like doing it myself. Also it saves money!
On a side note, my apartment is so dark at night and the lighting is horrible. I have to figure out something so that I can give you some better pictures.

Macaroni and Four Cheese Gratin: Mac and Cheese Friday #1

I chose a very classy and grown up macaroni and cheese to start out...unintentionally I might add. I had recently gotten four mini cocottes from Le Creuset and have been dying to try them out. They came with a cookbook which contained this recipe:

Macaroni and Four Cheese Gratin

courtesy of: Le Creuset's Mini-Cocotte: 25 sweet and savory recipes

18 oz winter durum wheat macaroni

1 oz (1/4 stick) sweet butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 oz Gorgonzola

2 oz fontina

2 oz marscarpone

2 oz parmigiano reggiano

2 oz chopped walnuts

salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 430 F. Lightly butter 4 mini cocottes

Plunge the macaroni a good minute in boiling salted water. They should not be cooked through. Pass the pasta under cold running water to stop them cooking. Add several drops of canola or simple vegetable oil to keep it from sticking together.

Melt the butter in a small pan over a low flame. Add the cream, the gorgonzola, the fontina, the marscarpone, and the parmigiano reggiano (reserving 4 tablespoons for the top). Stir the cheese until all are well melted. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the chopped walnuts.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and divide into 4 mini- cocottes. Sprinkle the rest of the parmigiano reggiano over each cocotte. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and crusty looking. On taking them out of the oven, let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.

So this recipe is totally yummy! Like I said earlier it is a very grown up mac and cheese. I actually felt like I was eating more of a pasta dish...not mac and cheese. Which is a nice change. The meal is a little on the spendy side coming in at around $20.oo. I go to Trader Joes for most of my cheese (other than basics). Any suggestions for a cheap place to get cheese? But this meal is worth every penny. And might I add, how cute are the little cocottes??? They are adorable to me. I am happy I got them. I was a little worried about how practical they would be. Honestly they are not practical at all, but they will be a fun to have. Ok, back the the meal. I forgot to get walnuts at the store so I didn't add them in. It still tasted great. If you don't have anything that is like the cocottes you could put it in a baking dish and it will turn out just fine. I had alot extra so I put some in a small baking dish and it was great.

Also have you ever had marscarpone cheese before? If not go buy some now and try it!! It is amazing. I had only had it in canolles before this. I ate a spoonful right out of the container. It was heaven. All sweet and creamy. Almost like a butter cream frosting.

Make this mac and cheese. You will not be disappointed. It will be a tough act to follow in the weeks ahead.

Confessions of a wanna be domestic goddess

*sigh* I'm having a love affair...her name is Flame.
Flame is a 6.75qt Le Creuset oval french oven. I love her. She was a gift from a very special man in my life who I love very much. I will say this she has been sitting on my stove waiting for her maiden voyage since I got her (a week yesterday). But it has been very warm and I have a special meal planed for her first time. It needs to cool down so I can spend a few hours in front of a stove. So keep your fingers crossed for some cooler weather!
I have learned over the past couple of years how much I love to cook. It isn't a chore for me. I like being able to be creative and try new things. I never thought that I would be this person, but I am. I now describe cheeses as "nutty" or "mild". I spend time trying to find the perfect wine to accompany my meal. I spend hours reading cookbooks trying to learn all that I can. My goddesses are Martha, Julia, Giada and many other lovely cooks. I hope that I can be even half the cook they are.

The Start of Mac and Cheese Friday

Do you like mac and cheese? Are you a fan of the blue box or homemade? Tomorrow I am starting mac and cheese Friday in search of the perfect mac and cheese. Each Friday I will try a new mac and cheese recipe in attempt to find the best. I will report back to you how each turns out and my personal rating. Please feel free to submit to me any recipes that you have for my quest!

But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head

I'm being naughty and blogging when I should be finishing my gerontology paper. But you know what, I'm tired of old people. Let's talk about something much more exciting...me!

Life has been crazy, but honestly I can't remember a time now when it wasn't. Perhaps I should create a scale of craziness, thus allowing one to get a better feel of how crazy life actually is. Yes, I think I will do this since one persons crazy may be a bad hair day and another persons may be running over a cow. I shall implement the scale as follows:

• Level 1: almost a normal day; has minor blip such as bad hair day or bad traffic
• Level 2: lots of things happening at once such as errands, plans, events
• Level 3: holidays; extended family visits
• Level 4: forgetting something that you needed to do that was of importance
• Level 5: work/school stressful; having one or more projects due; illness
• Level 6: work/school stressful; having 3 or more projects due
• Level 7: work/school stressful; having multiple tests and projects at same time; births; skin rash/hives
• Level 8: family drama; hospitalization
• Level 9: death or dismemberment
• Level 10: full on chaos; world may be ending

DISCLAIMER: this is a rough working scale. Changes may be made at any time, at my discretion. If you have any ideas of how to improve this scale, please contact me.
Back to the real blog. I would say at this point I am running at an 8. Which means that I am experiencing things from level 1-8. Yikes! I am hanging in there, but I know that I am in for a wild ride ahead. I am beginning to think that this is slightly cryptic, but I really can't discuss a few of the things yet because the people involved have not officially released said information. Stay tuned.
This weekend was fun I studied alot along with hanging out with Julie and Ryan's family. Julie introduced me to DSW shoe store which was an amazing trip, since Julie found what could quite be one of the most amazing shoe deals ever (Pucci people!). I found some cute shoes as well, but they weren't Pucci. The next day we decided to hit the streets of downtown Portland in our super cute new shoes and paid the price with blisters. We did have fun tho.
I am getting my hair cut tomorrow. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I want a new hairstyle desperately, but I am such a chicken about it. Last time I did a big change I left the stylist looking like Billy Ray Cyrus. It wasn't quite as bad once I styled it myself, but it was traumatizing all the same. So I am trying a new stylist (thank you Karla) and hoping for the best. Right now it's medium length and has lots of layers. I am toying with cutting it on the shorter side so that I get rid of some of the funky(and not it a good way) layers and can grow it out again. I would like to have long hair again, but I think that I need to cut off the yucky stuff to let it be healthy and grow out properly. I guess I will see what tomorrow brings. Pictures will be posted.
Tonight I am trying a new recipe. I am making homemade creamy tomato soup and chedderella toasted sandwiches.
Creamy Tomato Soup: courtesy of the Food Network
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 slice bacon, finely chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes
3 parsley sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy cream
1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the pan. Bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie the parsley sprigs, thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Remove and discard the herb bundle. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.
Whisk in the heavy cream, salt, and pepper, to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediately.

When I get sad, I stop being sad and I be AWESOME instead. True Story :-)

Today is my Grandpa's funeral. Needless to say it's kind of a sad day for me. It's weird because my Grandpa passed away on the 2nd and were just now getting to have the funeral. I guess that's the price you got to pay for a military funeral. You got to wait in line. I'm hoping that after today I can really start to move on. It has really sucked having this looming over head all month. So after today my goal is to stop being sad and start being awesome again (hence the title of the blog).

I'm totally bummed out because I missed two really good TV shows last night. "How I Met Your Mother" and "Gossip Girl". My mom called me in a panic last night and needed my help getting thing finished for the funeral today. So that means that I'm going to have to catch up on the good ol Internet. HIMYM is one show that I am truly happy to see back. It's a show that I don't think gets enough attention for how good it really is. It's smart and fresh. Not to mention that Neil Patrick Harris as "Barney" makes the show (another shout out to the blog title). I have realized that I watch way to much TV. But the thing is, I'm kind of a dork. I would rather stay home and be comfortable watching TV than get dressed up and go out. I am way to much of a homebody for my own good sometimes. But watching all this TV leads to a major problem. Shows that I like start to overlap. It makes for a lot of stress having to choose which show to watch live and which show to wait to watch on the Internet. I think that I really need to get TiVo. Maybe I will ask for it for Christmas.

Lastly it's time for a new recipe! Today's recipe is....

Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

12 ounces (1 box) jumbo pasta shells (approximately 36 shells)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing baking sheet
6 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, diced
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups marinara sauce
2 (15-ounce) containers whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• Lightly oil a 12 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Lightly oil the baking sheet and set aside.
• Partially cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly tender but still quite firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. You will continue cooking the shells in the oven after they have been stuffed.
• Using a slotted spoon, drain pasta shells and place on oiled baking sheet, spreading them out so that they don't stick together and allow to cool.
• Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the red pepper flakes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute.
• Add the marinara sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring often.
• In a medium bowl, stir the ricotta, Parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spoon 1 1/4 cups of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Fill the cooked shells with the cheese mixture, about 2 tablespoons per shell. Arrange the shells in the prepared dish.
• Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells, then sprinkle with the mozzarella.
• Bake in the lower third of your oven until the filling is heated through and the top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

This recipe was easy to make I made it all last night so I could take it to our family get together today after the funeral. I have not baked it yet, I will do that when we get to my cousins house. You can use store bought marinara sauce, but I used homemade. I find the taste so much better. Plus I make large batches and can my own, thus having jars on hand for things like this. It's very handy