Creamy Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese

If you're like me, Macaroni and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. A boxed childhood lunch, this creamy made-from-scratch recipe will prompt you to toss out every box of Kraft Mac and Cheese you have in your pantry!




Ingredients:

• 1 8oz. box of elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar and Mozzarella
• 3 tablespoons Ricotta
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare macaroni by directions on box and drain well.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to remove lumps.

Slowly pour in milk and cook, while whisking, until thickened. Pour in heavy cream slowly.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add cheeses and stir until melted.

Add macaroni and stir.

Pour mixture into 2 qt. casserole dish.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Sesame Snow Peas

Sesame Snow Peas:

• 1 pound snow peas


• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil


• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds


• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar


• Salt and pepper

Rinse the peas and trim off the ends.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the oils and heat.

Add snow peas and saute until bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and toss.

Creamy Mashed Yukons

Creamy Mashed Yukons:

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled


• 1/2 stick butter, melted


• 1 cup half-and-half


• Salt and pepper


• 1 bunch chives, chopped

Boil potatoes until fork tender.

Heat the butter and half-and-half over medium heat until hot, but not boiling.

Drain the potatoes, return them to the pot and mash with a hand masher.

Add hot liquid to potatoes and whip with an electric hand mixer until smooth.

Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Add chives and mix before serving.

Fresh Pepperdalle with Broccoli and Cheese Sauce

My husband, Weston, is the dough maker in our household - bread, pie crust, cookies. In a recent episode of Jamie At Home, Jamie made this delicious dish with fresh pasta and sprouting broccoli.

As we'd just received a pasta roller for Christmas, he decided to try his hand at making some Pepperdalle. He originally intended to make tagliette, but later realized the pasta was too thick, and thus it was dubbed Pepperdalle. :)

Either way, it was fresh and delicious and every bit as nice as the fresh pasta we'd had in Tuscany in March of last year. I don't think we'll ever buy boxed pasta again!

Now, how do we get rid of the 5 lb. of spaghetti we bought from Costco a few months ago?

Ingredients

For the pasta:

• 4 large free-range or organic eggs
• 2 cups pasta flour, plus extra for dusting
• Sea salt

For the cheese sauce:

• 3/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta
• 5 ounces sliced fontina or other nice melting cheese (I used Jarlsberg)
• 5 ounces freshly grated Parmesan
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound broccoli
• 2 large free-range or organic egg yolks
• 1 small bunch fresh marjoram, oregano or thyme tips, leaves picked (I used thyme)
• Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Crack the eggs into a food processor and add the flour. Pulse frequently and listen for the sound changing to a rumble - this means the dough is coming together nicely. When the dough is the consistency of bread crumbs, turn the power off and test the consistency by pinching the dough. If it's a bit sticky add a little more flour and pulse again.

Tip the dough mixture onto a floured surface and shape it into a ball using your hands. Give it a little knead until smooth, then divide your dough into 4 equal parts. Start on the thickest setting of your pasta machine and run the first bit of dough through 4 or 5 times, moving the rollers closer together each time until the pasta is silky, smooth and about as thick as a CD.

Flour your finished sheet generously, then fold it up and cut across into 1/2-inch strips. Gather all the slices together and toss them through your fingers, with a little flour, to open them up and make your pile of tagliatelle. Place to 1 side and repeat with the rest of the dough.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. In a bowl large enough to rest on top of the pan, put your creme fraiche or sour cream, fontina or other melting cheese and your Parmesan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the bowl over the pan for the cheeses to slowly melt. It won't take long.

Meanwhile, trim any dry ends off the broccoli, then finely slice the stalks diagonally and leave the florets whole (cutting any larger ones in half).

At this point the cheese sauce should be lovely and oozy, so remove the bowl from above the pan and drop the pasta and broccoli into the boiling water. Boil hard for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pasta is just cooked through.

Whip up the 2 egg yolks and the marjoram, or other chosen herb leaves, into the sauce. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving a little of the cooking water, and quickly toss them with the sauce - the heat from the pasta will be enough to cook the eggs through. If the sauce is a little thick, add a few splashes of cooking water to make it silky and loose. Taste and season, if necessary.

Serve as quickly as you can, with some extra Parmesan sprinkled over the top and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Root Vegetable Mash with Orange Zest

I'm a big fan of sweet potatoes, and had a single huge one leftover from the Black Bean, Sausage, and Sweet Potato Soup of last week. I knew I was going to be making a beef stew with a note of cinnamon tonight, and thought the flavour of sweet potatoes would better match the lovely rich flavour of the stew than regular old Russets.



Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, or 2 medium into potatoes, chopped into 1.5" cubes
• 4 or 5 medium carrots, 1" chop
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1 tsp orange zest
• Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste
  

In a large pot, bring enough salted water to cover the potatoes and carrots to a boil.

When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and carrots, boiling until fork tender, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and carrots when they are done. Add butter and cream, a little at a time, and mash the vegetables to a slightly creamy, yet still slightly chunky consistency. Add the pinch of cinnamon and the orange zest. Salt and pepper to taste.

Savory Tomato and Sweet Onion Pie

One of my favourite places on the internet is a large message board full of random topics. Last year, one of the members of that forum's Cooking Crew started an Iron Chef type of competition among the board members. This was my entry for Battle Tomato.

I've used this crust before in various savory quiches, and it always turns out so light, and flaky, with just a hint of spice. I thought the flavour would work really well with a layered pie of tomatoes and sweet onions. The tomatoes were incredibly delicious and flavorful on their own, but combined with those sweet onions and the gorgeous soft cheeses, this dish was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Savory Crust Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pinch each - paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne powder, dried oregano, and thyme.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small rectangular pieces
• Ice water in a spray bottle

In the bowl of a food processor combine flour, paprika, salt, galric powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, and butter and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. While the motor is running, spritz water inbetween pulses until dough comes together to form a ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a flat disc. Refrigerate overnight or at least one hour.

Remove from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface to desired shape and thickness.

Pie Filling Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 pounds peeled ripe tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onions
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface to fit a deep 9 or 10-inch pie pan. Place the pastry in the pie pan and crimp edges decoratively.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, then line with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights (I didn't have pie-weights, so I used bulk cannellini beans) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.

Remove foil and pie weights, and return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Crack the egg in a small bowl, reserving yolk for the filling, separately. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork, then brush the surface of pie crust with a light coating of egg white and allow to cool. Peel tomatoes. Boil some salted water, and cut a shallow X on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop into boiling water for 30 seconds, and then into an ice bath.

Slice the tomatoes, discarding the stem and root ends, into 1/4-inch slices and lightly season with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the bread crumbs in the bottom of the pie crust. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise with the reserved egg yolk and stir until smooth. Place a layer of tomatoes in the bottom of the piecrust over the breadcrumbs, using about half of the tomatoes, then top with half of the sliced onions.

Drizzle with half of the mayonnaise mixture, half of the thyme and basil, half of the fontina and half of the mozzarella cheeses. Top with half of the remaining breadcrumbs then top with the remaining tomato slices, remaining onions, remaining fontina and mozzarella, remaining mayonnaise mixture, and remaining thyme and basil. Top with the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle with the olive oil.

Cover with the Parmesan cheese, place in the oven and bake until bubbly hot and golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Spaghetti Alfredo with Roma Tomatoes

My husband was working late tonight, and I needed something quick, simple, and easily portioned to make for dinner. So, after tearing through my crisper looking for veggies, I decided upon some nice looking Roma tomatoes in an Alfredo sauce. I wrote the recipe to serve 4-6.



Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sweet butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 2-3 fresh roma tomatoes, cored, seeds removed, and diced
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 cup grated fresh parmagiano reggiano
• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 box of spaghetti, or 12 oz of pasta of your choice

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic, cream, pepper, and bring to a simmer, while stirring often. Add the parmagiano and simmer sauce for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and is smooth. When the sauce has thickened, add the mozzarella and stir until smooth and creamy, constantly stirring. Add the chopped tomatoes until warmed through.

While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta according to package directions. Toss and serve.

Beer Battered Tilapia Tacos with Winter Veg Coleslaw and Cilantro Cream

I love a nice fish taco, and although I've lived in TX for nearly a decade, I can't forget the lovely fish tacos from the California Coastal areas of La Jolla and the Beach Cities.

This recipe is incredibly easy to put together, and the Winter Veg Coleslaw can be made in advance and refrigerated for a couple of days. It's best fresh, though!

For the Winter Veg Coleslaw, adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe, you'll need:

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, peeled
• 1 bulb fennel, trimmed
• 3 radishes
• 1/2 a head of red and green cabbage each, outer leaves removed
• Handful of fresh dill, mint, parsley, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 small red onion
• 1 shallot
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• Sea salt and pepper

Shred the fennel, and cabbage in your food processor using the chopping blade. Flip the blade over to the grating blade and shred the carrots and radishes. You can also use a mandoline or a grater.
In a separate bowl, mix half the lemon juice, a couple of tbsp of the olive oil, chopped herbs, yogurt, and dijon mustard.

Pour the dressing over the grated vegetables and mix well to coat, and season to taste with salt and pepper and the rest of the lemon juice.
For the Cilantro Cream, you'll need:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup yogurt

For the Beer Battered Tilapia, you'll need:

Ingredients:

• About 2 qt. canola or vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• Sea salt
• 1 cup good beer
• 2 egg whites, beaten to soft peaks
• 1 lb. of firm fillets of a mild, white fish (bass, cod, tilapia) cut into finger sized strips.
  

For serving, you'll need:

• 12 to 16 corn tortillas
• limes

Make the Cilantro Cream Sauce - mix all of the ingredients together and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

For the fish, fill a large dutch oven or heavy pot with oil to about 2.5". Heat the oil to about 350F , checking the temperature regularly with a deep fry thermometer.

Meanwhile, prepare the batter - mix the flour and 1 tsp of salt in with the beer and stir until smooth. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites.

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Work in batches of about 3-4 pieces at a time. Using kitchen tongs, dip each piece in the batter, letting excess batter drain off, and carefully submerge the fish in the hot oil. Fry until golden and booked through, around 5 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels.

To serve: As soon as the fish has finished frying, transfer to a warm plate and let your guests build their own tacos using the fish, coleslaw, and cilantro cream. I also served with Black Beans cooked with cilantro and onions and a lemon, cilantro rice.