FoodNuts!

Archive for the ‘Dishes’ Category

I was never a fan of macaroni and cheese, because the boxed stuff was sooo blah! But, then I decided to try making it homemade. Yes, I’m 29 years old, and had never eaten homemade mac and cheese. So like any good foodie, I searched the Food Network’s Web site, and finally settled on Em’s Mac n’ Cheese by Emeril Lagasse.

Oh.My.God. So good! And, a BIG hit with friends and family!

To be fair, I don’t follow the directions exactly, and use an entire package of cheddar and don’t use the Essence part of the recipe. Instead I add a little garlic salt and a lot of cracked pepper — both in the cheese mix and on top before I add bread crumbs. I also use 1 percent milk and add an extra tablespoon of flour while I’m whisking.

I’ve made this several times and its always been a hit. I prefer to use Kraft Natural Cheese, Sharp Cheddar. (I’ve tried it with other cheeses and it hasn’t come as good.)

Here are some photos from the process. It’s a great, quick and homemade meatless meal. I served it with Frontera Chardonnay.

Here are some shots of the process — you will see where they correspond with the recipe. It’s fun to make with a bunch of friends, too.

Click here for the recipe! And please share your favorite macaroni and cheese recipes below! I’d love to try them out.

Here is the buttered pan.

The mix of the butter and flour.

Mix in the milk.

All set for the oven!

Finished! So Yummy!

And, always remember to have some Fun.Friends.Adventure. in your life!

Cheers,

Michelle

Our friend Jack just posted the link to this site on his Facebook, and one of the comments he received was “This is food porn.” If there could be such a thing, they’re right.

Market Day Potato and Leek soup from kissmyspatula.com

Check out this recipe, story, and photographs of “Market Day Soup“

The core Foodnuts met last week and had a great foodie evening.  It is raining like crazy here in Southern Cal right now, so what could be better than soup and sandwich, only upgraded to divine gourmet.. the meal was followed by a great glass of port, and –are you ready? Girl Scout Cookies, as they are in season right now. We were so entranced with the food that we did not even take photos. I do have a couple nice shots of  the leftovers though.
Here goes.

Dutch Onion Soup

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 55 Minutes
Makes: 6 servings
4 sweet onions, sliced
3 T vegetable oil
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
½ cups port wine
6 cups Wolfgang Puck Organic Beef-Flavored Broth
2 springs fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
¼ t. ground black pepper
12 slices French bread (1/2 in thick)
1 ½ cups grated Gouda cheese-hence the “Dutch”

Heat oil in 6 quart saucepot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring often
Add celery and cook and stir for 3 min. Add port, broth, thyme, bay leaves, and pepper , stirring to scrape up browned bits from bottom of pot.
Reduce heat to low. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove thyme and bay leaves and adjust seasoning with salt. Heat broiler. Sprinkle bread with cheese Broil until cheese is melted. Put soup into 6 bowls, top with bread and any extra cheese.

Copyright 2005, Ina Garten. Delicious! My daughter made these for me one evening this summer and it was just wonderful! Didn’t include resting time of 20 minutes.

45 min | 20 min prep   SERVES 4         ( We served 7!)- Louise

BEEF

• 2-3 lbs filet of beef, trimmed and tied
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room at temperature
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh coarse ground black pepper

SAUCE

• 3/4 cup good mayonnaise (Hellmans)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon white prepared horseradish    (or to taste)-Louise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• kosher salt

FOR THE SANDWICH

• 1 loaf unsliced health bread or unsliced multi-grain bread (or french rolls or other hearty bread) -Louise
• arugula
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. TO COOK THE BEEF:.
2. Preheat oven to 500ºF.
3. Place the beef on baking sheet and pat the outside dry with a paper towel.
4. Mix the unsalted butter and mustards together in a small bowl and spread the mixture over the beef with your hands.
5. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper.
6. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare.
7. Remove the beef from oven, cover lightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room tempearture for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice fillet thickly(personal preference, I like mine thin).
8. SAUCE:.
9. Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve at room temperature.
10. TO MAKE THE SANDWICH:.
11. Cut the bread into 1/4″ thick slices.
12. Spread 4 of the slices thickly with the Mustard Horseradish Sauce.
13. Top with slices of beef and arugula and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
14. Spread 4 more slices of bread very lightly with butter and place butter side down, on top of the beef.
15. Enjoy, they are divine!

Sorry- You had to be there--Make your own!!!

Tupperware Leftovers

Beautiful beef shanks

On January 6^th of this year, I put myself on a diet. It was a simple one: No alcohol of any form (not only puts weight on, but makes for “bad decisions” in regards to your calorie intake), one meal a day that consists of one head of iceberg lettuce, hot peppers, a slice of blue cheese and raw scallions. As of the start of the diet, I have lost 56 lbs. Not only did I have my doubts that I could lose the weight, but I must admit I also had no idea how I would feel after such a big loss. I have more energy than I have had in years, I sleep less and sleep better, and have resolved to never return to that level of gravity again.

I bring this up only as a prelude to the following recipe. While on the diet, I ate a “regular meal” once a week, that once being Friday night. The meals varied as to what they were, but all fell into the “hearty” category. It was a good break from the somewhat monotonous once-a-day meal, and probably helped me to stick with the diet overall.

I noticed last night that my wife was thawing out beef shanks for the following day. Close to veal, it differs only in the age of the animal. I immediately thought of that great Lombardian recipe Osso Buco. It would be richer with beef than with veal, and I figured I would have to cook it a bit longer to get that “falling off the bone” aspect that makes Osso Buco so wonderful. That being said, on to the kitchen!

Basically, it is a very simple recipe. Its beef shanks à la Mirepoix.

To prepare the beef shanks, you have to remove the connective tissue that is on the outside of the shank, otherwise the shank will curl during cooking.

remove connective tissue

Dredge the beef shanks in flour. Add three tablespoons of Olive oil to a braising pan and brown the meat. While browning, prepare the vegetables.

brown dredged shanks in olive oil

The ratio of a Mirepoix is 2:1:1, onions, carrots and celery. Dice the vegetables but not too fine.

Diced vegetables

When beef is brown, remove from the pan and add the diced vegetables. Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil (add a couple more Tbls if needed). As they cook, add about ½ cup of water and cover (this will add a final steam to the veggies, softening them and preventing burning).

sauté vegetables in olive oil

When vegetables are tender, add two cups of beef stock or wine, or a combination of the two, depending on your taste. Add 1 tsp pepper, two teaspoons of salt and 2 tsp of thyme. Add the browned shanks with enough water to bring the liquid level to the level of the shanks, but not over them. Cover, and simmer for about an hour (Because I am using beef instead of veal, I simmered until they were  very tender, perhaps 20 minutes longer).

start simmering when all ingredients in

When tender, serve the meat with covering of the vegetables and sauce from the pan. It went very well with Potatoes à la Lyonnaise. I’ll cover them in another post.

The final product

A New Jersey restaurant has a new burger on their menu that hopefully will not attract any criminals — The Murder Burger.

[Insert your own  "Sopranos" joke here]

The burger is topped with pepper-jack cheese, sauteed onions, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and Thousand Island dressing before it is slapped on a roll. Then it’s dipped in Harp-beer batter and deep fried.

According to menu, it’s a “burger to die for.”

I’m a vegetarian, so I didn’t get to try it, but thought the name was fun.

You can find the burger at either of The Shannon Rose locations in New Jersey.

Enjoy!

And remember to always have some Fun, Friends and Adventure in your life!

Michelle