08.17.12_Baked Mac and Cheese with Smart Bacon

Apparently we've been busy because I have not posted in weeks! Last summer we had a weekly tradition to have friends over for dinner where we watched game shows on TV and made a new cocktail. Somehow this entire summer had almost passed without us reinstating our weekly gathering, but we finally had our first Wild Wednesday Thursday of the summer!

Phillip recently started a new job and at his going away party from his old job, everyone got him gifts under the purview of "eat well, drink well, live well." One of the gifts we got were ramekins from his coworker Rabiah. I had literally been shopping for ramekins the weekend before and could not find ones the size that I wanted, but luckily, Rabiah read my mind and found the perfect ramekins. I had yet to use them so Phillip suggested I make a baked mac and cheese for this weeks Wild Thursday.

I did some quick Googling and found a recipe that incorporated bacon. I decided to base my recipe off this one, but sub the bacon for Lightlife's Smart Bacon. It actually worked quite well, except the "bacon" stuck together when it came out of the package making it virtually impossible to separate it into individual strips. I think it was just this package though because I don't remember having this problem when I used it in our Coq-au-vin-less Coq-au-vin. Anyway, the mac and cheese was DELICIOUS and I served it with a simple salad with craisins, sliced almonds, cheese and a homemade lemon vinaigrette. Yum.

Baked Mac and Cheese with Smart Bacon
Serves 4
Adapted from Emeril's Three-Cheese Baked Macaroni

• 1/2 pound macaroni
• 5 slices vegetarian bacon
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I used fresh grated)
• 2 cups grated Cheddar Jack Chees
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 TBSP melted butter or margarine
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 475°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni for 6-7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small saute pan, cook the vegetarian bacon in a little olive oil until it starts to get crispy. Add the minced garlic and saute another minute or two until fragrant. Add mixture to the cooked pasta.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, evaporated milk, spices, salt and pepper and cheese. well then add the pasta and bacon to the cheese mixture. Stir well until it is completely incorporated.
4. Scoop the macaroni into greased 4" ramekins. Bake for about 10 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly.
5. Combine melted butter and breadcrumbs in small bowl. Carefully remove the ramekins from the oven and top each ramekin with a quarter of the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle a little olive oil the top.
6. Turn the oven to broil and put the ramekins back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes then enjoy!

05.02.12_Avocado Mac and Cheese

Avocado. Mac and Cheese. Um...yes. I found this recipe yesterday and decided I had to have it immediately. We had already talked about being lazy and having boxed mac and cheese for dinner so this went along with the plans, but clearly made it way more exciting.  When I made the recipe I found that there was too much sauce and not enough noodles and I LOVE avocado (it's in my top five favorite foods) so I bought an additional avocado to make sure there were plenty of chunks of avocado running through the mac and cheese when it was finished!

My slightly modified recipe calls for:

• 10-12 ounces dry elbow macaroni
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 avocados (2 for the sauce, 1 for garnish)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 2 tablespoons flour
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (you could use any cheese really) 

While the water for the pasta was cooking, I added the 2 avocados, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and S&P into a food processor. I gave this a whirl until it all came together and was nice and smooth. I tasted the mixture to see if it needed any more seasoning then set aside. Once the pasta was al dente, I drained and set aside to make the cheese sauce. I melted the butter in the same pot I boiled the pasta, then whisked in equal parts of flour to make the roux. After the butter and flour were combined, I slowly added in the milk, stirring for a few minutes until the sauce started to thicken. Finally, I added in the cheese and stirred it all together until it was melty and delicious. In a large bowl, I combined the pasta and avocado mixture until it was all combined, then poured the cheese sauce over and stirred again. Finally, I tossed in the last avocado which I had cubed. I served the Avocado Mac and Cheese in cute ramekins and topped with a fresh sprig of cilantro.

The mac and cheese was super creamy and delicious. I was really glad I added in the extra pasta because I really liked the ratio of sauce to pasta with the additional serving or two of pasta. We had plenty of leftovers that I am excited to eat for lunch! So good.

04.10.12_Beer and Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

A while back Caitlin had me and Phillip over for dinner. She had made a vegan Mac and Cheese that had butternut squash in it and it was super delicious. In my daily perusing of the food blogs, I came across a recipe for Beer and Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese. It sounded like Caitlin's version, except it had real cheese instead of vegan, and added beer. Sounded like a win win to me. The original recipe used two whole boxes of pasta and seeing as I was only cooking for the two of us, I decided to half the recipe.

After cutting the recipe in half, it called for:

• 1 box elbow macaroni
• 1 lb butternut squash (peeled and diced)
• 1/2 bottle wheat beer
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese (we subbed a Four Cheese Blend we already had)
• 1/2 tablespoon butter (I actually omitted this)
• Pinch of nutmeg (my addition)
• 1/8 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese

When we went shopping, Safeway didn't have any whole butternut squash. They did, however, have the already peeled and diced butternut squash. I was really bummed that the store did all the work for me since, as you may recall, I LOVE peeling butternut squash (where's the sarcasm font when you need it?). To start, I cooked the macaroni, then drained and set aside. In the same large pot I cooked the pasta, I added the diced butternut squash, milk, beer, garlic, bay leaf, and S&P. I brought the mixture to a boil, then lowered the heat and simmered for about 25 minutes until the squash was soft. I removed the bay leaf, then used my handy immersion blender to puree the squash until it was nice and smooth. I mixed in the cheeses and the Greek yogurt, grated in some fresh nutmeg, then folded in the macaroni. After it was all combined, I poured the mac and cheese into a baking dish I had sprayed with non-stick spray, then topped with the Parm and panko. Then it was into a 375° oven for 30 minutes.

Thank goodness we split this recipe in half. It made a ton (though I am very happy to have leftovers). As if this recipe weren't easy enough already, I actually had made this in advance and kept it in the fridge. Then when we were ready to eat all I had to do was preheat the oven and pop it in. I ended up turning on the broiler for the last 5 minutes to get it nice and brown on top. The mac and cheese was so good and I could really taste the squash and the beer. I served it with a side salad of mixed greens, dried cranberries, and cashews topped with a homemade lemon vinaigrette and a shaving of Gruyere cheese. Delish.

02.12.12_Soft Pretzel Bites and Kale Chips

Several weeks ago a picture of soft pretzel bites appeared on my Google Reader and I died. As a kid one of my all time favorite snacks were these soft pretzel bites that had cheese in the middle. They always remind me of summer and I would eat an entire box in one sitting. When I saw the post for Soft Pretzel Bites and Cheese Dipping sauce I knew I would have to make this. I originally thought that the Super Bowl would be a good venue but our friend Amanda had already planned on making them (what are the chances?!) so I decided to hold off. After another week of waiting I decided I could not wait anymore. I decided that the Grammys would be a perfect excuse to stuff my face with them. Phillip also wanted to make something for our exclusive viewing party and smartly decided to use the leftover kale from our ginormous bag we had bought for the Mac and Cheese Style Cauliflower and Sauteed Kale to make kale chips.

The pretzel dough recipe called for:

* 1 1/2 cups warm
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tsp kosher salt
* 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
* 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
* 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
* Vegetable oil

I do not have a fancy Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough attachment so I had to tackle this by hand. After combining all the ingredients, I kneaded the dough for a few minutes before placing the dough in an oiled bowl and covering to let rise for a little under an hour. As the hour came to a close, I preheated the oven to 425° and put 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup of baking soda into a large pot. As I waited for the water to boil I prepared the pretzel bites. I had to divide the dough into eight equal parts, then roll them onto into long ropes (it looked identical to when I made the Homemade Gnocchi). Then I cut the ropes into inch long pieces and covered them with a wet paper towel to prevent them from drying.

Once the water was boiling, I dropped a spoonful of the pretzel bites into the pot. I was worried they would all stick together as I piled them up onto the spoon but with a quick stir they all separated. I stirred constantly, helping the bites flip over within the water, and after 30 seconds, removed with a slotted spoon, drained, and put onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I repeated this until they were all boiled. While I finished boiling the bites, Phillip melted 2 Tbsp of butter and brushed each bite with the butter before sprinkling with salt. We then baked them for about 12 minutes and then were nice and brown.

As the bites were baking I made the cheese sauce. It was just your classic sauce like if you were to make homemade mac and cheese. Melt 2 tbsp butter, whisk in 2 tbsp of flour and cook for about 30 seconds. Then slowly whisk in a cup of milk. After the sauce has thickened, add 2 cups of shredded cheddar, then season with some S&P. These pretzels were AMAZING. The recipe made two full baking sheets of bites and Phillip and I ate an entire baking sheet in one sitting. So. Good. It took a lot of self control not to keep eating them. We were so excited to eat them we forgot to take a picture of them in the bowl with the cheese sauce. Whoops.

For the kale chips, Phillip put the oven to 275°, then lined the baking sheets with foil. We took out any of the stems and then spread out the kale on the baking sheets. He drizzled the kale with some EVOO then we salted and decided to add some red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick. They baked for 20 minutes and Phillip flipped them about half way through. I was a little skeptical about these but they were delicious and could not have been easier, even though they did not photograph well.

02.09.12_Cauliflower Mac and Cheese and Sauteed Kale

I realize that regular Mac and Cheese is vegetarian but what fun is that. I saw this post for Mac and Cheese Style cauliflower that was served as a side and thought it would be great to take this recipe and adapt it to be a main course. Who can say no to a baked casserole dish of cheddar cheese?! I did not increase the size of the dish since it already called for an entire head of cauliflower but did make some adjustments to make it feel like more of an entree.  My modified recipe used:

1 large head cauliflower cut into medium floret
1 cup broccoli (we had some in the freezer so I decided to add it in)
2 Tbsp butter (I used Country Crock)
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups low fat milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
2 egg yolks
1/2 panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
Parsley (for garnish)

First, I cooked the cauliflower in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. At the very end I dropped the cup of frozen broccoli into the pot just to defrost it. After reserving a cup of the water, I drained the cauliflower and broccoli and set aside. Then in the same pot, I melted the butter and whisked in the flour. I was a little worried because it was clumpy but after adding the cooking water, milk, and garlic, the clumps went away as I whisked for the next 10 minutes. Once the sauce thickened, I added the cheese. Before adding the eggs, I tempered them with some of the sauce to make sure I didn't end up with scrambled eggs in the cheese sauce. Finally, I grated some fresh nutmeg into the sauce and added the pinch of cayenne. I folded the cauliflower and broccoli into the cheese sauce, poured in a baking dish I had sprayed with cooking spray, and put the dish into a 350° oven.

While the cauliflower cooked I moved onto making our side dish, sauteed kale. I've never cooked with kale because the amount of fresh kale you need to get several servings is insane. I felt pretty ridiculous walking out of the grocery store with a 2lb bag of kale that was literally the size of my chest. I followed Bobby Flay's recipe for this. I quickly sauteed 2 cloves of garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft before adding 1/2 cup of veggie stock. Then it was time for the kale. This was a sight to see. My largest sauce pot was apparently not big enough so I had to add the kale in small batches, tossing the kale with tongs constantly until it had wilted enough to add more. We used 1.5lbs like the recipe called for and by the time it was all cooked down it made about 4-5 servings. We finished the kale with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Back to the cauliflower! After 30 minutes, I it out of the oven and was discouraged by the amount of liquid in the dish. I ended up draining a couple of ladles full of the sauce so it wouldn't be so runny. I think the head of cauliflower I bought must have been to small. Luckily, I was adding panko to the top so it worked out great. I sprinkled the panko bread crumbs and Pecorino Romano cheese across the entire dish then stuck the baking dish under the broiler for a few minutes until it was golden brown. I topped the dish with some fresh parsley and voila! It came out great. The panko made it a lot less runny and made it feel like a main course. The kale was super delicious and went great on the side. I would definitely make this again. So good! I'm excited for leftovers tomorrow!