International Potluck Day - more Mac and Cheese (baked)

When was the last time you made mac and cheese from scratch twice in one week?  This is a first for me.  I rarely make it, ever.  The crockpot mac and cheese was fantastic and I would have made it again for the potluck lunch but my crockpot still had mac and cheese in it. 

In reference to the title, at work, we have an annual International Potluck Day in which each person makes something from their country and shares it.  Everyone looks forward to this day each year.  The food is amazing.  Inevitably one wag brings in a platter of McDonald's hamburgers.  I opted to make the mac and cheese this year. 

Here is the recipe which I cobbled together from two recipes:

Mac and cheese:

·         16 oz (one box) uncooked elbow macaroni

·         4 tablespoons butter

·         About 12-14 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1/2 cup sour cream

·         1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

·         1 cup whole milk

·         One tablespoon dry mustard

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Topping:

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         1 cup bread crumbs

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Directions:

·         Boil the macaroni until al dente, drain.

·         In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the grated cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. 

·         Add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.

·         Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.  I forgot to set aside some grated cheddar cheese to put on the mixture but I had leftover grated gruyere 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.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Warning - this is not low fat.  It is however sinfully good.

Ingredients:
 

2 cups uncooked macaroni

4 tablespoonsbutter, cut into pieces

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheese (I used gruyere, which probably isn't all that sharp)

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard  (what's with all the mac and cheese recipes that use dried mustard?)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 Directions:

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.  Gruyere will be very goopy. 

In a crock pot, combine the cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.

After all the above is combined, add drained macaroni and stir again.

Cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  I cooked it on low - second to highest setting.

 Soooo good but soooo bad for you.

Southern Comfort Food

I'm falling behind in my quest!  I was on an (almost) once a week pace until the weather got nicer.  This recipe was made on Saturday and I am only now blogging it Monday.  I made Chicken and Macaroni Bake.  Very rich and filling.

Ingredients:

•8 ounces elbow macaroni or small shells (I used egg noodles)
•salt
•3 tablespoons butter (I used 4)
•3 tablespoons flour
•1 cup chicken broth (I used almost a whole can, oops)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•3 to 4 ounces smoked gouda cheese, shredded or cut in small pieces
•pepper, to taste
•1 teaspoon fresh parsley, optional (didn't use)
•1 1/2 to 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
•1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed (I used sliced fresh mushrooms instead)
•1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
•1 to 2 teaspoons butter, melted

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water as package directs. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter; add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour mixture is well blended and bubbly. Gradually stir in chicken broth and cream. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Add pepper, to taste, along with parsley, if using. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the chicken and vegetables; cook for about 1 minute longer.

Combine the sauce with cooked and drained macaroni; pour into a 2-quart casserole. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, until bubbly and browned.

Serves 4 to 6.


http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickencasseroles/r/bl60414a.htm

(NUMBER TEN in 2010)

Goldilocks tries to cook Pasta con Burro e Salvia

Tonight is my second attempt.  Do you know what it's like to crave a certain meal, only to try your hand at it not once but twice and then forget what it should actually taste like?  It's quite frustrating.  I might have to seek out a real Italian restaurant soon to regain the taste of it before trying again. 

First time:  the pasta was overpowering.  Too much soft-mouth-feel, not enough sage.  This was despite the fact that I used ALL the sage I bought.  All of it.  More than 30 leaves I bet.  It wasn't quite fresh pasta, but it was "special pasta" - gourmet fettucine which really was just too overpowering for the dish.  Beware the pasta which can cook in just three minutes.  Clearly fresh is better, so perhaps I didn't use enough sage or brown it enough.  This was late last week. 

Second time (tonight):  Wegmans was out of fresh sage (the idea!) so I bought powdered sage.  The pasta (regular ziti) was fine but the sage flavor itself left much to be desired.  Not to mention I probably did not brown the butter quite enough. 

Will the third time be Just Right?  There has to be a third time you know.

Here is the recipe below.  I took cues from two websites.  One was the NYTimes which I followed more closely.

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/recipe-of-the-day-pasta-with-butter-sage-and-parmesan/

http://www.aproposofnothing.net/food/archives/000111.php

Ingredients


Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cut pasta, like ziti
2 tablespoons butter
30 fresh sage leaves
1 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Cook pasta until it is tender, but not quite done.

2. Meanwhile, place butter in a skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta; turn heat to medium, and add sage. Cook until butter turns nut-brown and sage shrivels, then turn heat to a minimum.

3. When the pasta is just about done, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the butter-sage mixture, and raise heat to medium. Add 3/4 cup of the water, and stir; the mixture will be loose and a little soupy. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until some of the water is absorbed and the pasta is perfectly done.

4. Stir in cheese; the sauce will become creamy. Thin it with a little more water if necessary. Season liberally with pepper and salt to taste, and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table if you like.

(NUMBER NINE in 2010)

Creamy Gorgonzola Fettuccine

Cows near Heiligenblut
Originally uploaded by Skyhawk Flyer

Friday afternoon, half an hour before I leave work: what do I want to eat tonight? For some reason the first thing that came to mind was pasta in a creamy gorgonzola/walnut sauce. I googled the words and the below recipe came up. This recipe was in Cooking Light in 2000. Below is the recipe and far below is what I actually did. Why do I have a photo of cows, you ask? Well, Gorgonzola is a cheese from cows.

Creamy Gorgonzola Fettuccine
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
3 cups (1-inch) diagonally sliced asparagus (about 10 ounces)
2 teaspoons butter or stick margarine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup (2 ounces)
1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Cook pasta in boiling water 6 minutes, omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus, and cook 2 minutes or until tender.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook for 3 minutes. Add flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in cream cheese and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.

Drain pasta and asparagus; place in a large bowl. Add sauce; tossing to coat. Serve with Gorgonzola and walnuts, and sprinkle with pepper, if desired.

What I did:

For starters, I bought asparagus (Spargel! white asparagus) and maybe the first clue should have been that buying it in October isn't likely to yield high quality. The first thing I did was to start to prep it, and after cutting roughly 1/4 of the bunch I tasted a few slices and literally spit them out. Too bitter! I wasn't about to gamble on all this food and cook them anyway in the hopes that they would taste better after cooking. In the garbage they went. It is a shame...

Because the fettucine was 12 oz and not 8 I decided to enlarge the sauce ingredients slightly. 3T of butter, for instance. 2T of flour, maybe even a little more. 1.5 cups of milk - 2%. 3 oz of cream cheese (the only thing that was light in this entire recipe!). 3/4 of a cup of gorgonzola cheese. I also stirred the cheese directly into the milk/butter/cream cheese combo which was cooking. I didn't think merely crumbling it on top would be the same effect - I wanted sauce! I didn't toast the walnuts. That may be a good idea.

I now have an entire 2 cup container of gorgonzola sauce in the fridge, even after having my meal last night. It was very good, and scratched my itch. (Now what am I going to do with all that sauce??)