(Photo from JeffreyW’s mouth watering collection)
New weekly feature — assuming y’all respond as you should. Welcome back to TaMara, Recipe Goddess of What’s 4 Dinner Solutions:
Aloha Balloon-Juicers. I’m back. I wish I could say I was back from a long trip abroad, but no, life has just been very busy. That has not changed, but after quite a few requests, I think I have figured out a way to bring recipes back to Thursday nights with the limited amount of time I can devote to it. Unfortunately, for now, I won’t be doing full menus.
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What I proposed to John and Anne Laurie was to have a recipe exchange. Each Thursday we’d have a theme (I’m a sucker for a theme) or an ingredient to focus those recipes (but by no means restrict them) and everyone could share their favorites. Each week I’ll give you the next week’s ingredient or theme so you have a whole week to think of something great to share. Anne Laurie would probably gladly accept photos, too.
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Now I expect all those people who emailed me and touched base with me in open threads wondering when I might post recipes again, to participate in this endeavor. Don’t make me come in there!
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This week we’re starting out simple with my favorite comfort food and a recipe I thought many of you would have a favorite variation they could share. Like most of my recipes, this is pretty simple and even a novice cook should be successful. Experienced cooks will tweak it beyond recognition, as all good cooks do.
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Next week our secret ingredient will be spinach. So come prepared to share a favorite recipe with spinach in it, in some shape or form. Here’s some baked macaroni and cheese to start things off. Hope you enjoy – TaMara (BHF)
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Baked Macaroni & Cheese
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I like mine garnished with fresh chopped tomatoes and jalapenos.
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12 oz elbow macaroni
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp onion powder (about 2 shakes)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups milk
3 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3 oz shredded jack cheese
4 oz crushed potato chips
large sauce pan, small sauce pan, large casserole dish
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Bring water to boil in large sauce pan, add macaroni and cook according to package directions. In small sauce pan, melt butter, add flour, onion powder, salt & pepper blend well and then add milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until bubbly, add cheese, stir until melted. Drain macaroni, put into casserole dish, stir in cheese sauce, top with crushed chips and bake 20 minutes at 350°, until top is light brown and cheese is bubbly.
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Click here for a Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese recipe and click here for a Chipolte Macaroni and Cheese.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Oh, yippee. Recipes! Thanks for coming back, Tamara. I’ll see what I can do with spinach for next week.
Raven
Participate how?
General Stuck
I’ll have one of those to go with a biggie diet coke. I dint know you were gone. I’ll be ready with my special recipe for Hillbilly Caviar.
clayton
If there is one thing that will take the taste of ABL out of my mouth it is BHF.
Just sayin’
You all are as tone deaf as the people you blog about. Angry Doug J excepting.
khead
Damn. I am going to bed soon and that pic just makes me way too hungry.
Have some kittehs in return.
Diana
love it.
My “there’s nothing in the house to cook” recipe, which works if you have pasta, canned ancovies, olive oil, and hopefully garlic and/or red pepper flakes:
boil water for pasta; add salt & a slug of olive oil; add pasta once it’s boiling; when it’s close to being done, put another pan on the stove, add more olive oil, crush garlic, add anchovies, add red pepper flakes, add a spoonful of the past water if they’re drying out, add the pasta once it’s cooked, crush some pepper onto it (anchovies will provide the salt) and, look, you have a meal. Without any shopping. If you grow garlic or herbs in your garden, you need never go shopping (but then, if you have a garden, you’re probably home more than me).
Origuy
A while back, the only cheddar we had in the house was flavored with horseradish, so my housemate made mac & cheese with that. It turned out so good that she tried it later with real horseradish. Even better.
clayton
I’m gonna tell John Cole on you!
As soon as I find his email — other wise this public display of my aggro is going public!
TaMara (BHF)
@Raven: Hopefully by bringing your favorite recipes each week. Or even asking for a recipe. It’s been my experience if you have a request, someone here can find you a recipe for it.
@khead: OMG, too cute.
jl
@Raven: Have a spinach recipe ready to post next week.
Right now I got nothing much. Let’s see what I can do off the top of my head.
Boiled Water.
Fill pan with water and put on stove.
Turn on heat under pan.
Wait until water bubbles.
Here is another favorite.
Pomegranate Seeds, Ready to Eat.
Buy Pomegranate.
Shuck the pomegranate and put seeds in bowl.
I think those little red things in pomegranates are technically arils, not seeds, but this is a one of those famous jl basic cooking lessons, and I don’t want to confuse people.
Edit: yep, arils
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril
Raven
@TaMara (BHF): OK, I thought we meant tonight.
jl
Also, too. Welcome back TaMara, the recipes are one of my favorite BJ features. Along with petpix.
TaMara (BHF)
@General Stuck: Well you know I always popped in to see the latest pictures of your puppy. ;-). Just haven’t had time to do the menu thing for you guys.
Bnut
My sister and I serve a “Cajun” mac and cheese out off our food truck sometimes. We use half cheddar and pepper jack, mix in hot sausage, bell peppers, onions, garlic and a healthy dose of Zatarains seasoning. It’s pretty damn good.
PeakVT
Want.
I hate JeffreyW now.
Violet
Yay! You’re back! I like mac n cheese with a smoked cheese, like smoked gouda. Gives it a deeper flavor.
I’ll be trying to think of a spinach recipe. Mostly I just toss spinach into things at the last minute, like a pasta dish, so I’m not sure what kind of recipes I can think of. Hmm…
sfinny
@jl: I thought the pomegranate recipe involved going to the produce market, buying the already shucked seeds in the plastic container. Opening container.
jharp
I am all for it. Photos please.
sfinny
@Violet: I’ve been thinking spinach lately as well. My plan is a baked ziti dish with ricotta and mozzarella, spinach, garlic, maybe some red peppers. Still working it out in my head.
Svensker
@jl:
What happened to the html commands?
Anyway, I’ve discovered frozen pomegranate seeds (arils). Buy bag, open bag, shake out seeds, eat. No mess, much deliciousness!
jl
@sfinny: Sorry, I went to fast for some of you folks.
Next week I will slow it down a bit, and bring my canned cream spinach creamed spinach recipe.
If you can find a good brand in a market near your house, it is really really good. To die for!
@Svensker: Really? Where, I am interested. Pomegranate arils freeze pretty well, so I am stocking up while good ones are still around. The price drops near the end of the season, and I am circling one supermarket nearby waiting to pounce.
Svensker
Also, too, yay Tamara! Missed your recipes. Looking forward to nomnitude.
eyelessgame
Hey, I got one, that I stole from a friend who visited for Thanksgiving, and I just made it tonight.
I cubed up some acorn squash and sweet potato, sliced some carrots into discs, cut a couple onions into eighths, and took a whole garlic root and peeled the cloves.
Then I took a third of a pound of bacon, chopped it into little bits (froze it first – that helps with the chopping), and fried it in a big pan. When the bacon was crumbly, I dumped in the veggies (right into the bacon grease). Threw in some basil, powdered garlic, and black pepper – don’t bother measuring, these aren’t subtle flavors.
After about ten minutes, transferred to a baking dish and put it in the oven at 325 for an hour, stirring it a couple times.
My children asked for seconds.
Vegetable dishes where your children ask for seconds are rare. Sure, the bacon helps. But still…
TaMara (BHF)
@Bnut: Want.
Lee
Add bacon! Saute 2 diced slices with 1 chopped onion, add a couple of seeded chopped tomatoes (fresh is best), slowly reduce to a sludge, add to white/cheese sauce and continue as normal.
I will be adding crushed potato chips to my next batch.
Looking forward to creamed spinach!
Yutsano
@TaMara (BHF): @Bnut: Moi aussi. Might have to con visit to Nashville office now. :)
Spinach: might have it covered unless eemom beats me to it. Or we can have a throwdown. Either is good. :)
TaMara (BHF)
@Yutsano: I expect good things. Bar is high for you my friend. I’ve really been into spinach lately. I’ve been putting it in everything, so it seemed like a good choice. Now I just have to pick.
JGabriel
Welcome back, TaMara (BHF)!
.
Yutsano
@TaMara (BHF): I look at it this way: anything that involves phyllo cannot possibly be bad. And I was up cooking dinner, specifically carbonara with kale. I have to get SOMETHING green into it or I feel like I’m eating death!
JGabriel
No offense intended to the present thread, but I do hope we get a Gingrich Infidelity Thread in time for Marianne’s interview.
.
TaMara (BHF)
All right. You guys have fun here, I need to get things ready for work tomorrow. If you have time stop over to the blog and see the fun I’ve been having with my new camera. More wildlife than food, but JeffreyW is hard to compete with on the food front.
See you next week…bring your spinach. Nite.
Mnemosyne
Until my stomach decided to go all acid reflux-y on me, my go-to dish was a sort of quick chicken chili. Chop up one boneless, skinless chicken breast into chunks, brown it in a a little olive oil, add garlic and onion to taste and cook until translucent, pour in two cans of chopped tomatoes with green chiles (undrained) and one can of beans (drained), and simmer for about 20 minutes.
You can throw in whatever else you have on hand, but those are the basics.
On the macaroni and cheese front, I keep meaning to make this Black and Tan Macaroni and Cheese from Food Network.
Just Some Fuckhead
Woohoo! BHF is back!
Yutsano
@Just Some Fuckhead: HOLY SHIT YOU’RE ALIVE!!
We had a wake and everything dude!
JGabriel
@Mnemosyne:
Mmmm, sounds good. How do you make that?
WHAT? Throw away BEER? GACK!
Fie!
.
Comrade Mary
@Just Some Fuckhead: Yay!
/duct tapes JSF to blog
Sorry. Did I get any hairy bits? Should I have shaved you first? I have a slightly used Venus and an Epilady. Which do you prefer?
(And Hi! Hi! Hi! BHF! I think I may have a spinach recipe for you.)
Yutsano
@JGabriel: Did you read the whole recipe? IT. GETS. WORSE.
@Comrade Mary: I recommend waxing. It’s the only way to be absolutely sure.
Comrade Mary
@Yutsano: Well, duct tape kind of counts as waxing. Or so I’ve been told.
Ella in New Mexico
This post and picture is NOT what I needed to see now that I’m on the 1500 calorie a day diet.
God it looks good.
Mnemosyne
@JGabriel:
Dude, you’re not throwing the beer away. You’re making beer-boiled macaroni. Your macaroni will absorb the beer.
And here’s another thought — you don’t actually need all that much liquid to make pasta. So you’ll waste even less than you think.
Mnemosyne
@Yutsano:
Well, it gets worse for me, because I’m lactose intolerant, so the combination of
heavy creamhalf and half, whole milk and evaporated milk — plus two kinds of cheese — is pretty much guaranteed to make me (and, by extension, G) miserable afterwards. But sometimes love requires sacrifice.(Corrected after I took another peek. Plus I forgot the butter in my litany of dairy.)
MonkeyBoy
Here is a recipe with a question at the end.
Sorta related as a cheese sauce – Cheesy Hollandaise.
Warm up but don’t cook in a double boiler
2 egg yolks
juice of 1/2 lemon
little bit of ground red pepper or chipolte
Whisk a little to mix the ingredients
In a small pot melt
1/2 stick unsalted butter
equal amount of cheddar cheese
When the cheese is melted in the butter whisk it a little and then somewhat slowly add it to the egg mixture whisking all the time.
The question: When I make this with store brand orange cheese it comes out “grainy” – and no I didn’t over cook the eggs forming little scrambled egg particles. If I use a more expensive cheese (I’ve got “Adam’s Reserve New York Extra Sharp” on hand) it comes out smooth. I doubt the orange coloring (annato) is causing the difference, so what is? Unmelted the good cheese seems more waxy to the bad cheese’s rubbery.
Has anybody else noticed funny texture differences when 2 different brands of the same cheese type are melted?
Yutsano
@Mnemosyne: You and wifey both. She still freely indulges herself in cheese and milk and ice cream and whatnot. Having virtually no food allergies/hypersensitivities is a blessing sometimes. :)
@MonkeyBoy: I’m thinking it’s a cheese quality issue, as in the store brand cheese has some sort of “filler” to replace some of the milkfat in the cheese. When you melt the cheap cheese in a sandwich, do you get a similar mouth feel?
dww44
I know everyone thinks the macaroni and cheese their Mom made was the best, but really, my Mom’s was the best, because it was so very simple and fast. She was a widow, raising 4 children, worked in a factory at mostly minimum wage, stood the whole time, and when she got home she threw meals together fast. She was, as is commonly called in the South, a “plain” cook and other than for a pound cake or two, didn’t ever follow a recipe. And she didn’t measure.
Susie’s Macaroni and Cheese
1 8 oz pkg elbow macaroni
1 8 oz block sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 egg, beaten
Margarine
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and place ½ into a lightly greased casserole. Slice ½ of cheese and layer on top of macaroni. Repeat layers. Mix beaten egg with milk and pour over macaroni/cheese mixture. Season to taste. (She always put a bit of black pepper in the milk.) Dot with margarine and place into preheated 350 degree oven. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until dish bubbles in center. Mom always stirred the dish about half-way through the baking. Her family always thought her macaroni and cheese was the best. What made it so good were the large chunks of cheese and the fast cooking. She never ever overcooked this dish.
Bnut
@MonkeyBoy: Quick tip when mixing cheeses, or to make cheese less stringy or gritty in general when melted: a small hit of white wine.
Yutsano
@Bnut: Tastes good. Also. Too.
MonkeyBoy
@Bnut:
If white wine can fix grittiness then wouldn’t the lemon juice I’m using work the same?
I’ve got broccoli, lemon, and eggs right now but rather than experiment I think I’ll just use the good cheese tomorrow.
Bnut
@MonkeyBoy: Somehow I missed you were making Hollondaise not a cheese sauce, lol. The only thing I could imagine would be the heat level, but otherwise, shitty cheese. Now I want some eggs Benedict.
Yutsano
@Bnut: He’s sort of making a hybrid, which has its own neat little traps. I tend to avoid making my own even though it’s really not that difficult to do.
Ugh. Now I do too. Thanks.
Comrade Mary
I think I’ll have eggs right now. No Benedict needed.
Suffern ACE
I am very simple in the comfort food department. I like Generic Mom’s Lipton Soup Mix Chicken and Rice.
1-2 T Butter
1 C White Rice
2 C Water
Salt, Pepper
1 whole chicken, cut up.
1/2 package Lipton French Onion Soup Mix
Melt butter to grease 9×13 pan. Add Rice. Add chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken. Pour soup mix over chicken. Pour water over chicken. Cook for 45 min-1hour @350, until chicken is done and water is mostly absorbed in rice.
The comfort part is the very browned rice that sticks to the side of the pan. There. I admit it. I love a dish with prepackaged soup mix. Cause mom made it. And now that I’m older I know why she made it so often-We liked it and it took about five minutes to prepare.
MonkeyBoy
@Yutsano:
(I didn’t see your comment earlier, were you in moderation?)
No, the store brand seems to melt fine on bread/tortillas but then again I just use a thin layer and its mouth feel is hidden by what other ingredients are added. My sauce is more liquid which means it can remain in your mouth and be felt.
@Bnut:
If you want some cheese in your eggs Benedict then you can just add a slice somewhere without having to put it in the sauce – this seems to be a standard variation. Up until now I thought that asparagus was a standard ingredient and that was the reason for the Hollandaise but googling corrected this.
However for a sauce on just naked vegetables you have to incorporate the cheese into the sauce.
The few “broccoli in cheese sauce” that I have been exposed to seem to be disgustingly bland and fatty (sorta like the normal mac and cheese). Adding a large amount of lemon juice balances things for my tastes.
Suezboo
Question somewhat related from Ignorant Furriner :
Do Americans regard Mac n Cheese as a side dish? In the picture, there is meat and veg on the same plate. Here, in the Third World, mac n cheese is a standalone, full on meal.I am Curious (Yellow).
chopper
i tend towards either simple as hell stuff (when i have to work and take care of a toddler all day) or crazy (when i have most of a day to myself and actually feel like cooking).
today i’m slow-cooking a chicken for 7 hours, so it’s the former. some home made matzo ball soup and some greens on the side, likely.
Lojasmo
@Suezboo:
I see it as a side dish, but it is labeled an entreé at my workplace.
J.W. Hamner
I will try to participate, though I have a class starting up Thursday nights… but maybe posting a recipe will give me something to do to compress after the commute back home.
Svensker
@jl:
Unfortunately (for you) I live in Toronto in a very Indian/Pakistani neighborhood, so maybe that’s part of it. I’d never seen them in New Jersey.
Svensker
@Suezboo:
It’s both. You can have it as a tasty “starch” instead of potato or rice or noodles, or you have it for dinner as the main course. From my experience it’s more often eaten as a side dish in the South or for “family event” meals.
Chris H
Roasted Poblano Mac ‘n Cheese:
2 poblano peppers
small onion, diced (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
1- 1 1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp hot paprika (to taste)
2 cups whole milk
8 oz sharp cheddar, grated
4 oz colby, grated
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
salt and pepper, to taste
breadcrumbs (optional)
Set oven to 400 F.
Roast the poblanos on the stovetop over an open flame, turning occasionally, until skin is blackened and blistery all over. Put in a paper bag and crimp shut. Let stand 20 minutes. When peppers are cool enough to handle, skin, stem, seed, and dice them. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni according to package directions. I specify a 1/2 lb here because I like my mac ‘n cheese extra cheesy, but you could get away with a pound as well.
Melt butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Saute onion and garlic, if using, until translucent and soft. Add poblanos, then sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring, about a minute, until it loses its raw flavor. Off heat, whisk in mustard and paprikas, then whisk in a little milk and return to heat. Whisk in the rest of the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer, stirring, until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Off heat, whisk in the cheeses until melted and smooth. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well to combine.
Pour the macaroni mixture into an appropriate-sized baking dish–9×9 is fine for a 1/2 lb; 9×13 works for 1 lb. Sprinkle bread crumbs over, if using. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.
Elie
AWESOME! Welcome back Tamara and to food posts and commentary. I am stoked (and hungry — also)
Yutsano
@Svensker:
True, though to round it out as a full meal a protein of some sort is usually included. I’ve done tuna, chicken, BACON!! all have worked. I’ve even heard of putting in pepperoni!
GrammyPat
“Netty Irene’s Mac & Cheese”
4c cooked macaroni
1c grated or chunked yellow cheese (substitute 1/2 white cheese)
3 eggs
1c (lg can) evaporated milk (no substitutions nor condensed)
bacon strips
salt, pepper, garlic
GrammyPat
“Netty Irene’s Mac & Cheese”
4c cooked macaroni
1c grated or chunked yellow cheese (I substitute 1/2 white cheese)
3 eggs
1c (lg can) evaporated milk (no substitutions nor condensed)
bacon strips
salt, pepper, garlic
Blend eggs, milk, salt, pepper,& garlic. Pour over cooked macaroni in baking dish. Put in chese and “poke it around” until mixed. Place bacon slices to cover entire top.
Bake 30-40 minutes @350deg.
So simple and easy…yet so delicious that I’ve been asked for the recipe too many times to count.