Macaroni and Cheese

My husband and I love macaroni and cheese. Seriously…what’s not to love about noodles covered in a cheese sauce? As convenient as the box mixes are, it really does not take much more time to make it from scratch. Well semi from scratch as I’m not making my own noodles. We prefer the stop top method as we are not big fans of the crumbly topping that normally comes with the baked version.

Bechamel Sauce
1 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
8 ounces of dried noodles (elbow macaroni is what we normally use)
Salt, pepper to taste

Using the basic Bechamel Sauce recipe (for the purpose of this macaroni and cheese I use 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon of flour to one cup of heavy cream. I know the recipe calls for milk but my husband and I love the added richness the cream gives the sauce.)

While cooking the Bechamel Sauce, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles per instructions. Drain well but do not rinse. Rinsing will take the starch off the noodles and they need that starch for the sauce to cling to.

Once the Bechamel is ready, add the Worcestershire and slowly add the shredded cheese. You can use any good melting cheese. I have a soft spot for Gruyer. Chedder and Fontina also work well. Stir until all the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper if you think it needs it (the Bechamel should have already been seasoned). Slowly add the cheese sauce to the noodles, mixing until every noodle is covered with cheesy goodness.

Serve and enjoy! This makes four servings. Normally I have a little bit of sauce left over, steam some broccoli and/or cauliflower and pour over that! YUM!

Bechamel Sauce

In my opinion every cook should know how to make a few of the mother sauces, especially Bechamel. What is a mother sauce, you ask? I am very happy to tell you! There are five mother sauces as described by chef Auguste Escoffier in his book: A Guide to Modern Cookery. These sauces, in both French and Italian cuisine, are the basis for most of the other sauces you will find. The five mother sauces are Bechamel, Espagnole, Veloute, Hollandaise and Tomate.

For this post we are going to talk about Bechamel, which is one of my favorites. There are so many things you can do with a Bechamel sauce…you can turn it into a Mornay sauce (a cheese sauce with Gruyere and Parmesan cheese), or the English version Cheddar cheese sauce. Bechamel Sauce on it’s own is used in a wide array of dishes as well.

The basic recipe for a Bechamel is 1 to 3 tablespoons of butter and flour to one cup of milk. It is most important to keep the ratio of butter and flour equal. Otherwise your sauce will have an overly starchy non good eats flavor. Trust me I know this from experience. What you need the sauce for will depend on how many tablespoons of butter and flour you use honestly.

One tablespoon each of butter and flour per cup of milk makes a thin, easily pourable sauce. Two tablespoons of each makes a medium thick sauce. Three tablespoons of each makes an extra thick sauce.

Melt the butter and whisk in the flour until smooth. This forms a roux.

Cook the roux for about five to seven minutes. You don’t want it to get dark, but stay a light golden sandy color. Make sure to stir frequently. 

 Depending on the recipe…some say to warm the milk, some say to leave it cold. The whole purpose of it is to prevent lumps. Honestly I’ve never found it to make much of a difference. I just pull out my milk when I start so it can get to room temperature. Add the milk slowly, whisking it constantly. If you are making more than one cup…add a cup at a time, mixing well each time. Whisk together until smooth. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The milk will thicken with the roux. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg (freshly grated is best). Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

That’s the basic mother sauce…now you can get creative!

One of my favorite variations is to make a cheese sauce for homemade mac cheese. I make the thin sauce version as the cheese will thicken the sauce. I add a teaspoon of Worcestershire and a cup of shredded cheese. (A ½ cup to a cup of cheese per cup of milk is my normal ratio.)  As for what type of cheese to use? Any cheese that has a good melting point is good. Really it will be up to your tastes. Just make sure to have the cheese shredded (it melts better) and to add it to the sauce in small quantities, stirring well each time.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Yes this happened tonight. It was so yummy. Seriously one of the best things I have made in a long while, which is saying something as I’m a pretty damn good cook. This adventure started last weekend when I was grocery shopping. Pulled pork sounded really good to me and in Sacramento there isn’t a whole lot of choices when it comes to BBQ. The one really good place is a good 30 mins away and pricey. Not that I mind paying for good food…but let’s see what I can come up with. So I find a really nice pork butt roast or a Boston Butt roast as it is sometimes known and start to plot.

A little bit about pork butt…it’s not the behind! Seriously. That is where most cured and/or smoked hams come from. The pork butt or Boston butt cut comes from the top part of the shoulder. The rest is considered the picnic or shoulder roast. The Boston butt cut is preferred for pulled pork because it has heavy marbling (which means juicy yumminess) and overall a more tender and not a stringy. It works really really smoked, grilled low and slow or as I did used my crock pot. And this recipe is good for just regular pulled pork. You don’t have to make them into sandwiches. It can stand up on it’s own. Trust me. It’s that damn good.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
3-4# pork butt roast
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 onion chopped
8-10 hearty buns

Note: You will hear various opinions about removing the fat cap or not on the roast. I don’t. Why? Because if done right, the fat will melt into the meat making it juicy and yummy. Now if it’s too thick, feel free to trim it back some but I highly recommend on leaving some of it on. Trust me on this.

Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl. Massage the seasoning mix all over the pork roast until it coated fully. Heat a pan on high, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sear all sides of the pork roast in the pan. Put the chopped onion in the bottom of the crock pot and place the pork roast on top (fat cap up). Deglaze the pan with a cup of water and the liquid smoke. Pour the juice over the pork roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until fork tender.

Remove the pork, drain juice (reserve some) discard onions (or you can shred them into the pork like I did). Shred and return to crock pot. Add a little bit of juice just to keep it moist.

Stack the pulled pork on buns, add bbq sauce, coleslaw and pickles. Enjoy!

Tangy Mustard BBQ Sauce

So in my quest for a yummy pulled pork sandwich…I need a sauce. A little something something to pull it all together. This is where it gets tricky…my husband doesn’t like a lot of bbq sauces. Most are either too sweet or too heavy on the tomato/ketchup. So I looked and looked…then it came to me. I’m trying to do this pulled pork Texas style and in Texas…they really don’t do pulled pork. That there’s beef country. So what goes well with pork…something sweet, something tangy…kinda like a Carolina style sauce…yeah that was the ticket.

Tangy Mustard BBQ Sauce
1 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
3 tablespoons butter

Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan until smooth. Cook on medium low heat for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to get all nice and happy together. Store in a jar or squeeze bottle in the fridge. It’s best when it’s had a few hours to set before serving. It’s tangy with a touch of sweet and a little bit of a kick that likes to linger on your tongue. The perfect sauce to go on top of the pulled pork.

Quick and Easy Coleslaw

I’m not the biggest coleslaw fan. Most times I find coleslaw to be either too soupy or too heavy on the vinegar. But I was making pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and that is one of the few times I actually like it. So I started to research…and there are a lot of different recipes out there. And I also had to keep in mind that my husband isn’t the biggest mayonnaise fan. It makes it a bit hard but after looking around this is what I came up with…

Coleslaw
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise
1/4 cup of Sugar
1 teaspoon of White Distilled Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
14 0z bag of shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix

In a bowl mix all the ingredients with a whisk. Add the shredded cabbage mix and toss. Cover and let chill for a few hours before serving. Do not be alarmed by the amount the coleslaw condenses down to. The salt and the vinegar draws out the the moisture.

I have to admit I’m pretty stoked with the result. It wasn’t too soupy and the tang was just right. The husband approved of it as well.

Beef Tips in Mushroom Gravy

1.5 – 2# of cut of beef. (I used a nice looking London Broil)
Salt, Pepper, spring of rosemary
Mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery)
Beef Stock (homemade is best but a good organic stock works as well)
3-4 large button mushrooms, sliced
1 recipe of Pasta or 1# of dried egg noodles

Season the beef liberally with salt and cracked black pepper on both sides. Add to a heated pan to sear on both sides. Once seared, remove the meat from the pan and deglaze with a little bit of the stock. Add the mirepoix (chop an onion, 3-4 good size carrots and 4 ribs of celery – mirepoix adds a depth of flavor to stocks, sauces, etc.) to the pan. Place the meat on top of the mirepoix and add enough stock to come up about halfway to the meat. Strip the rosemary from the sprig and add. Cover and braise in a 275-300 degree oven until the meat is fork tender. (About 2 hours or so)

Once braised, remove from the oven. Take the meat out, cover and set aside so it can rest. Strain the braising liquid. In a large sauce pan, make a roux (equal parts of melted butter and flour. I used a 1/3 cup of each). Slowly whisk the braising liquid to the roux until there are no lumps. Add the mushrooms (you can use any type of mushroom. The hubby just prefers button mushrooms.) and cut the beef into small chunks. Add beef to the gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer for about 15 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta. You can either serve it over the pasta or just mix it together like I did. Serves at least 4.

Enjoy! I know we did!

Basic Pasta

Pasta…it can be a very daunting concept but it doesn’t need to be. In my opinion, there is nothing better than the taste of fresh pasta. And really it is not that hard.

The recipe is really easy.

1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1-2 Tablespoon water, as needed.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Form a well in the middle and add the beaten egg. Mix with a fork, bringing in sides of the well little by little. The dough may be dry. If it is, you can start to add the water a tablespoon at a time. Knead for 3-4 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. The resting is essential for a tender pasta as this allows the gluten to relax.

Using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine, roll out and cut to your desired thickness. Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta. Don’t walk away as fresh pasta does not take nearly as long as the dry variety to cook. Once al dente, drain and serve. Makes about 3-4 servings

Cheesecake Cupcakes

Okay I know what you are thinking. What? Cheesecake cupcakes? Yes and I’m telling you that they are soooooo yummy.

I have been craving cheesecake for a while and I told the hubby this. We were throwing ideas back and forth of what types of cheesecake to make when he mentioned these. I had made these a long while ago and they were good. So I set out to search through my plethora of cookbooks to find the recipe. (One could not have too many cookbooks.)

The basis of the recipe comes from The Cake Mix Bible. I made a few tweaks and I must say these were even better than I remember.

Cheesecake Cupcakes
Crust:
1 package classic yellow cake mix or chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup of butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Top layer:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar

Fruit layer (optional):
2 cups fresh berries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place foil or paper liners in 24 muffin cups.

For the crust, in a bowl combine the cake mix with the melted butter and mix until crumbly. You can use a mixer if you desire but I found it was just as easy to use a fork. Divide the mixture until the bottom of the muffin cups (approx 2 T each). Level the mixture but don’t press it down too much.

Now onto the cheesecake filling. Combine the cream cheese and the sugar at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Now add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well for about a minute. Spoon evenly over the crust mixture. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until set.

While the cheesecakes are baking, make the top layer. Combine the sour cream and sugar in a bowl. Spoon evenly over the cheesecakes and return back to the oven for 5 additional minutes. Cool completely.

The fruit topping is totally optional but I highly recommend it. For this one I used blackberries. I smashed the blackberries and then added the sugar. Spoon over the cheesecakes and serve cold.

Every one loved the individual cupcakes. The picture above shows the different layers. The crust tasted like almost like a graham cracker crust (the chocolate cake mix tastes like an oreo crust) and it has a nice crunch to it. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy. The sour cream added a nice tang to it and the blackberry sauce was just the crowning touch.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

So the other day as the husband and I brainstormed our grocery list the subject of stuffed bell peppers came up. They sounded good and we hadn’t had them in quite a while. I dig around looking for the recipe I used last time but try as I might I could not find it. So okay let’s wing it. I know the basic ingredients…bell peppers, ground meat, rice…

I have to say what I came up with was rather tasty.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
4-6 green bell peppers (can use any color but the husband prefers the green)
1 1/2 cup of cooked white rice
1 pound of hamburger (or any ground meat really)
1 small onion – diced
1 T minced garlic
1 t salt
1/4 t cracked black pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t Worcestershire
8 oz no salt added tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I recommend applewood smoke Gruyere)

Cook your rice. Honestly, I cheat and use 5 minute rice. It’s easy.

While your rice is cooking, add the garlic, diced onions and hamburger in a skillet and cook until meat is done and onions is transparent. Drain the grease and return to the skillet. Add the spices, Worcestershire and tomato sauce. (Now don’t look at me strangely for the nutmeg. It’s actually quite tasty in savory dishes. Just remember that a little nutmeg can go a long way. And if you can…Fresh nutmeg is best.) Add the diced mushrooms and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes or so.

While that is simmering, prepare your bell peppers. I prefer to cut my bell peppers in half versus keeping it whole. You get a higher filling to bell pepper ratio. Make sure to cut off as much as the inner membranes as possible without damaging the outer shell.

Add the rice to the meat mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon the mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells and place on a cookie sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven and back for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, pull out and add the shredded cheese if you want and put back into the over for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serve with a salad and enjoy! They turned out so good!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
2 T butter
½ cup finely diced onions
2 tsp garlic (freshly minced preferred)
1-2 pounds of broccoli (fresh or frozen but I prefer to use fresh)
4 cups of chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups shredded cheese (can add more if you want)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a dutch oven pot, saute the onions and garlic in the butter until onions are nice and translucent. Add chicken stock and chopped broccoli. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Note: Here’s my take on the broccoli…I normally prefer using 2 pounds as I like my soup heavy on the broccoli (It’s yummy yo!) I normally use whole broccoli, willing to save some change and put in the time to chop up the broccoli. The stems are good flavor and will add body to your soup while you can reserve most of the crowns or florets.

Once broccoli is tender, pull out the florets you want to keep whole for the soup and blend the rest using a hand blender or food processor until it is nice and smooth. Add the heavy cream and let it simmer until the soup starts to bubble and thicken.(If the soup is not thick enough for your tastes, you can thicken it easily by mixing together a cup of COLD water and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Add the slurry to the soup and let it boil for a minute or two. Just keep in mind that the cheese also thickens the soup.) Slowly add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring until it is completely melted before adding more. Salt and pepper to your taste.

Cheese Note: You can use any cheese…just keep in mind you want a cheese that melts well and smoothly. One of my favorite cheese combinations for this soup is 1 ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar and 1 ½ cup shredded applewood smoked Gruyere. So yummy.

Serve with a little extra cheese on top if you are like me. Add some crackers and viola! You have a wonderful meal! You will get 4 to 6 servings out of this, depending on the size of your soup bowl.