Home-made Mac & Cheese

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009

4 stars (out of 5 - one of my favourites!)

Ingredients (similar sauce to the crepes):

250g short cut macaroni (I did about 1/3 of a 900g box)
4 tbsp butter or margarine; another 1 tbsp to cook
4 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice(maybe more!)*
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese*
2 leeks (optional - great to cook in white wine)*
60g breadcrumbs (to coat)

{Note. There are two ways that I like to "jazz" up my mac and cheese. First, I like to use very strong cheeses. For the mac and cheese below, I used about 1-1.5 cups old cheddar, and about 1/2 cup of Morbier (a very strong, old cheese). The original recipe suggested Fontina and mozzarella. The second way is to add leeks, and I did this instead of the Parmesan cheese. See Stage 7 below for some suggestions about cooking the leeks in white wine.}

1. First I put the water on for the macaroni to boil.

2. SB and I then started the cheese sauce by first melting the butter in a saucepan.


3. We then added the flour, stirring constantly.


4. Finally, we gradually added the milk, stirring constantly.


5. As the sauce was being made, I sliced up the leeks into rounds...


6. ... and melted some butter in a frying pan.

7. I then added the leeks, and cooked them until they were tender (and separating). (We realized afterwards that it would have been amazing to cook the leeks in white wine like we usually do. You just add about a cup of wine to the pan, and cook until it evaporates. Next time!).

8. We then added the cheese to the cheese sauce...


9. ...and stirred until smooth.

10. We then combined the leeks with most of the pasta (I like to use about 3/4 of the pasta to start, and then add the remainder in as I stir in the sauce - just to make sure there is enough sauce!) in another large saucepan (I like to use a large saucepan so that I don't have to worry about spilling everywhere when I stir it up).

11. We poured in the sauce, and stirred it well.


12. We then poured the mixture into a greased casserole dish (the shallower, the better).

13. We coated the mac & cheese with bread crumbs, and popped it in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350F.

14. It turned out great!

One final tip that I have is to taste the sauce before you add it. Ours was very good, but it needed a tiny bit more salt.

Comments Feature

After hours of trying, I finally figured out how to enable the comments feature. Please feel free to leave any comments for me, as I love feedback!

E.

Baked Chicken Parmigiana

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009

4 stars (out of 5 - delicious and easy!)

Tonight I'm doing another ol' household classic: Chicken Parmigiana. It's pretty simple... and pretty good!

Ingredients (for two people):

2 boneless, skinless thinly sliced chicken breasts (1 per person)
1 beaten egg
1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese (optional)
2-3 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese (or about 1 slice per chicken breast)
1-2 cups of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1. First I sprinkled salt and pepper to both sides of the chicken breasts (for myself, I used chick'n breasts, of course).


2. I then whisked the egg in a small bowl, and dipped both sides of the chicken in the mixture.

3. I dripped the excess egg off the chicken breast and added it to a plate lined with breadcrumbs. I then sprinkled bread crumbs over top of this and made sure all sides were coated. If you would like a bit more flavour, you can also spinkle some grated parmasan cheese on top.

4. I placed the chicken breasts onto a lined oven pan and stuck them in the oven for 10 minutes at 425C. After 10 minutes, I flipped the chicken over and cooked for an additional 10 minutes. Please note that in my pictures I used a HUGE chicken breast, which was not very thin. Therefore, the chicken had to cook for about 20 minutes on one side, 10 on the other. Adjust your cooking times accordingly. I also have a convection oven, so you may want to check each side of the breast after just 8-9 minutes (for you lucky real-oven owners!).

5. As the chicken was cooking, I made my tomato sauce: basically I just used a prepared, jarred pasta sauce and added 2 cloves of garlic, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper. I simmered it until I needed it for Step 8.

6. I also started cooking the linguine...


7. ...and also prepared the fresh mozzarella by slicing it into ~1 cm. portions.


8. After the breast was cooked, I spread my tomato sauce on top of the each breast.

9. I then placed a slice (or two) of the fresh mozzarella on each breast and threw it back in the oven for another 3 minutes (or until the mozzarella melts).

10. I then served the chicken with the linguine and tomato sauce... and a salad for good measure.

SB's:


Mine (I only felt like a salad tonight):

Overall, I really love this dish; it has the zing of the tomato sauce coupled with the yummy, gooeyness of the mozzarella.

Dijon Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Sauce

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009

2.5 stars (out of 5 - not so much recommended)

It's slow-cooker time again! I like to do slow-cooker recipes on Tuesdays, as I prefer to work from home those days. This recipe looked very unique, so I thought I would give it a go. I'm a bit afraid that the dijon will be overpowering....

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dijon mustard*
2 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp dried marjoram*
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs*
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 (12 ounce - ~370g)jar marinated artichoke heart quarters, w/ liquid*

{Note changes: For the dijon mustard, it is highly recommended that you use the mustard in the picture below. I bought a cheap jar of French's Dijon and when I tasted it I basically burned my mouth so I switched to the Maille brand. Much better. I also used marjoram; however, the recipe actually calls for 1/2 tsp tarragon (I mistakenly thought that I had some in my kitchen... oopsies). Finally, I only bought a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, so make sure you don't make the same mistake. I ended up slicing some whole canned artichoke hearts in half and adding them. To do the veggie version, just substitute the chicken with chick'n}

1. First I combined the mustard, garlic, and marjoram in a medium-large bowl.

2. I then added the chicken thighs and stirred to coat them. I didn't cut the fat off of them this time, so we'll see if SB notices. I just can't do it.

3. After the chicken thighs were coated, I placed them at the bottom of my 4.5 qt slow-cooker.


4. I then topped with the onion, mushrooms, and artichokes (with the liquid from the jar).

5. I covered the pot, and placed it on high for 45 minutes, and then on low for about 6 hours (recipe says anywhere between 6 and 8 hours).

6. After cooking and smelling it all day, I was very disappointed to see that the sauce had, yet again, separated.

7. I served the chicken over a bed of basmati rice.

SB's:


Mine:


Here is what the sauce looked like after it was done:

I have to admit, I am quite discouraged with this cookbook. I bought it because it is the official "CrockPot" cookbook and came with great instructions, seemingly delicious recipes, and nice pics; however, this is the second time that their sauce has not turned out at all like what is supposed to. Furthermore, none of their recipes thus far have been anywhere close to fantastic. I am really questioning whether they actually tried these recipes out themselves. The picture they display is all creamy and perfect. Nothing close to the dish I produced.

The combination of artichokes and dijon seemed like a winning one; however, in the future I will look for a recipe that uses these ingredients in a casserole. SB seemed to like it enough, but I couldn't eat mine. It had that "slow-cooker" taste to it (see Easter - Vegetarian Edition). I'm not sure when I will be using it again :( It's too discouraging to put in so much effort to produce something so subpar. (SB is disagreeing right now... but I'm disappointed anyways!).

Peanut Sauce with "Crispy" Spinach

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009

I had planned on doing a peanut sauce dinner this week, and with the weather reaching almost 30c I decided that it would be the perfect meal to invite LX over... but first a glass of wine on our rooftop terrace. Life is tough.

This is a really old recipe, and the amounts for the ingredients that I give below are just suggestions. It is best to taste and add as you go along. For example, if it needs more salt, add more soy sauce; more garlic, add some garlic.

Ingredients:

1 cup of onion, chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp FRESH ginger (perhaps more)*
1/2 - 3/4 cup of peanut butter
2 chick'n breasts
1 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil

1 bag of baby spinach
Sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Basmati rice

Optional Ingredients*:

Asparagus
Cauliflower
Snow peas
Baby corn
Chicken or tofu for protein

{Note. Revisions: LX suggested more ginger than I had originally put in, and I agreed. I only added about 1/2 tbsp, so I suggest a little more than 1 tbsp and to simmer it longer. You may also want to add asparagus, or other veggies of your liking, and substitute the chick'n with real chicken or tofu. The crispy spinach is optional, and I'm not sure how to actually get it "crispy"!}

1. First I had my helpers (or "sous chefs" as they prefer to be called) chop up the green pepper and onion for me!

2. As they were chopping, I heated up my wok on medium heat and added the olive oil. I then added the green peppers and onions, as I wanted them to be very cooked (I am trying to slowly wean SB onto peppers). I like to cover them as they cook to really soften the peppers.

3. Once the onions and green peppers were cooked, I added the garlic, coconut milk, ginger, chili sauce, and soy sauce. Once it heated up, I spooned in the peanut butter.

4. As this was cooking, I also heated up a frying pan on medium-high heat and added olive oil. I then added a bunch of the spinach and coated with sugar. I stirred this occasionally.

5. When it became cooked (i.e., right before it burnt), I removed and set on a plate, and then started another batch.

6. I let the stir-fry cook for a while, as the rice and spinach were being finished. As it cooked, I tasted it and adjusted everything accordingly (adding a bit more of this or that as I went along).

7. A few minutes before everything was done, I added the cooked chick'n to the stirfry. If you are adding chicken, cook in a separate pan before and then add at the end. If you choose tofu, you can brown it first and then add it at any stage.

8. When everything was ready, I served on a bed of basmati rice.

Overall, I enjoy this stir-fry quite a bit. I need to find a better way to measure how much flavour the ginger and garlic is going to add, as I could definitely have upped the quantities of these ingredients this time around. The spinach didn't turn out very well, although it added a really nice flavour. It was pretty soggy and not at all crisp. LX suggested I could just add it directly to the stirfry, although I like the idea of the crispy spinach I can get in restaurants. Anyone know how to do this? SB would have upped his rating had their been real chicken (wimp!) and crispy spinach. It's definitely recommended.

Bleu Cheese Experimental Pasta

SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009

2 stars (out of 5 - needs a lot of tweaking)

On Sunday, we were out of... well, everything! We had just visited the Atwater Market on Saturday and purchased a bunch of cheeses. Included (for free) was a bleu cheese. Since neither SB nor I particularly care of bleu cheese straight up, we decided to experiment with a pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

1.5- 2 cups milk
75 g bleu cheese
Cherry tomatoes
Cornstarch (approx 1 tbsp) to thicken
Salt and pepper to taste
Penne (or your choice of pasta)

{Note. Revisions: I would start with the flour-butter combo to make a white sauce. See the asparagus crepe recipe for this, and substitue the blue cheese in for the cheddar cheese. I would also add a lot more bleu cheese, as it could've used more flavour. Finally, if you do the white sauce, you will not need the cornstarch to thicken. If you do choose to use cornstarch, T. recommended to me that I first dissolve it in liquid, as it can get quite clumpy... which you will see below.}

1. First I put the pasta on.

2. I then added the milk, bleu cheese, and salt and pepper to a sauce pan, and heated over medium-high heat. As it melted I added the cornstarch and stirred constantly.

3. Unfortunately the cornstarch became chunky (eww!), so SB strained it with our colander.




4. I added the tomatoes to the drained pasta, so that they would warm and cook slightly.

5. We then added the strained bleu cheese sauce to the pasta and mixed it well. It is actually more recommended to add the sauce to people's plates individually so that everyone can adjust to their tastes.

6. Served with garlic bread!

Overall, this could be good with the aforementioned revisions. I would also recommend quite a bit of salt, as we had to add quite a bit afterwards. I might try this again if I get another free bleu cheese! But definitely with the white sauce version instead.