Tomato Mac and Cheese

   When I was about ten, my mother traveled to New York City to a dog show. She took me as her kennel boy. The trip exposed me to several things I never had seen, far more than the famous buildings and the Rockettes.

Among those things were Automats. Many of you may not know what they were. They don't exist any more. They were restaurants that had an entire wall or two with glass covered boxes about the size of a small mailbox. Inside each there was a food item. Sandwiches, mashed potatoes with gravy, soup, and so on. You could put the right change into the slot by the box, and then be able to remove the food. No servers anywhere. Just clean up crew, and some tables.

Among the items offered was a tomato mac and cheese. The original recipe comes from the days before WW2. Many have changed and tweeked it since. This is my version.

    

Ingredients

2 Tbs. Butter

2 Tbs. Flour

2 cups Half and Half

8 ounces elbow macaroni or other small pasta

1 15.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes

1 tsp.seasoned salt plus more to taste

1 tsp. dry mustard 

2.5 cups shredded cheese (We blend several types, but predominantly sharp cheddar)

Method

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in a large sauce pan. Add the macaroni and stir periodically to keep it from sticking together. Two minutes before the time suggested on the package check the pasta. What we want is a firm al dente. Drain, but do not rinse. Add the can of tomatoes, with juices, to the pasta and stir to mix. Put the lid on and be sure the pot is off heat.

2. Melt the butter in another pan over medium heat. When melted, add the flour, while whisking to combine. Continue to whisk until the butter and flour merge and resemble liquid sand. Whisk in the dry mustard. Slowly add the half and half while whisking. Continue to cook the mix, whisking to avoid burning the sauce. In 3 to 5 minutes the sauce will thicken and become a smooth bechamel.

3. Off heat, add 2 cups of the cheese one small handful at a time. Stir and allow each handful to melt before adding the next. Taste the sauce after the cheese is added and melted. (Cheese adds some salt.)

4. Mix the pasta and tomatoes with the cheese sauce. Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish. Smooth it out and sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top. 

5. Place, uncovered, the casserole in a 375 oven and bake until golden brown and bubbly. Usually 30 to 40 minutes.

6. Allow the casserole to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a green leafy salad.

About an hour and bingo!

Note: Some might prefer a splash of Franks Hot Sauce in the bechamel before adding the pasta.

A Light Summer Meal

I conceived this meal for a cooking demonstration for the community in which we now live.

The theme for the meal is a light and fresh luncheon or dinner meal for a summer day.

In addition, I wanted the menu to have three characteristics, simplicity of preparation, ability to double or otherwise multiply, and each course suitable for potlucks.

Last of all, I challenged myself not to use mayonnaise.

From those specifications, we have a three course menu.

Salad Course - Carrot Salad

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 or 3 medium peeled carrots

Juice of 1  juicy lemon

2 Tbs. EVOO

Salt and pepper to taste

Minced parsley

Method

Use the large hole side of the box grater and grate the carrots on the bias.

Sprinkle the carrots generously with salt and drain in a colander for 30 minutes.

Place the carrots in a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil. Generously grate black pepper over the carrots.

Add the lemon juice and toss again.

Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Plate the salad and garnish with the minced parsley.

Entree - Small Pasta with Asparagus and Green Peas

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

For the main ingredients:

5 ounces bite size pasta (ditalini, orzo, small bowties) pasta

4 to 10 stalks of asparagus (make a circle of your forefinger and thumb and use enough stalks to fill that circle)

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained

2 leaves of oil packed sun dried tomatoes

For the dressing

1 clove of garlic, pressed or pasted

Juice of 1 juicy lime

1 knife point of dijon mustard

1 large pinch of kosher salt

1 small pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

1/2  to 3/4 tps. sugar

1 tsp. oil from the sundried tomatoes jar

1 tsp. dark sesame oil

3 to 4 Tbs. EVOO

Method

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small jar, then shake until the dressing has emulsified. Pour into a large bowl.

Prepare an ice water bath for the asparagus.

Cut off or break off the woody ends of the asparagus.

Slice the sun dried tomatoes into thin slivers.

Bring salty water to the boil.

Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the time recommended for the pasta. 

Add the asparagus stalks to the pasta and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more and the asparagus is knife tender.

Remove the asparagus and place in the ice water bath to chill.

Strain the pasta through the colander.

Drain the pasta thoroughly.

Put the pasta in the large bowl. Toss and set aside.

Cut asparagus in 1/2 to 1 inch pieces on the bias and add to the pasta.

Add the thawed and drained peas to the pasta.

Add the sun dried tomato slivers to the pasta. Toss thoroughly.

Serve after pasta has cooled to room temperature.

To hold for later or as a pot luck item, reserve 1/3 of the dressing and add all other ingredients and toss well. Cover with cling film and refrigerate. Just prior to service add the reserved dressing and mix well.

Cover with cling film and set aside for 1 hour to 1 day.

Dessert - Early Summer Berry and Brioche Cup

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

Approximately 1 quart of mixed berries (any combination of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and currants)

12 slices of brioche, cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Juice of 1 lemon

softened butter

Method

Use the butter to coat the interior of six 3" ramekins.

Use a cookie ring to cut one 3" circle from each bread slice.

Place one slice in the bottom of each ramekin.

Bring the water, sugar, and lemon juice to the simmer.

Add the blueberries, if using, to the syrup as it heats.

Simmer the syrup until the sugar dissolves in the water.

Add the remainder of the fruit and simmer briefly before removing from the heat. The goal is to soften the fruit without cooking it to mush.

Use a spoon to fill the ramekins to within 1/4 inch of the brim. Distribute the remaining syrup among the ramekins.

Place the remaining brioche on the ramekins.

Place the ramekins on a sheet pan.

Cover the six ramekins with cling film.

Place a second sheet pan on top of the ramekins. Weight the second sheet pan with cans of food.

Refrigerate overnight.

Remove the weight, sheet pan, and cling film. 

Clean the exterior of the ramekin and serve.

 Chicken Thighs Braised with Farro

It has been a while since my last post. Life has been in the way. Nonetheless, things are good now, and I am feeling creative again. What you see above is a fun variation on French farmhouse cooking. I think you will like it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs

1 small onion large sliced in half rings.

1 large carrot sliced at an angle, 1/8th inch thick

1 large celery stalk, sliced at an angle, in 1/8th inch pieces

1/2 bell pepper, pith and seeds removed and diced in 1/4 inch size.

Four large baby bella mushrooms, cut in bite size pieces.

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 cup farro (not pearled)

1 Tbs. tomato paste

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

2 large sprigs thyme

2 sage leaves

Enough salt free chicken stock to cover the bottom 2/3rds of the chicken.

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Trim any excess fat or skin from the thighs. Salt and pepper generously and set aside.

Chop the vegetables, and tie the stems of the herbs together with kitchen thyme. Put the herb bundle in two cups of the chicken stock to hang out.

Add a Tbs. of high temperature oil to your braising pan. Place on medium heat until it shimmers. Salt and pepper the chicken and place skin side down in the pan. Do not move the chicken until it self releases. When the skin is dark brown, turn the chicken over and cook three more minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the onion, carrot, peppers, mushrooms, and celery. Saute until the vegetables soften. Add the tomato paste and continue to cook until the paste turns dark red. add the garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add the farro and the chicken stock with the herbs to the pan. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Stir and taste. Adjust the salt and pepper if needed.

Return the chicken and juices to the pan. Add stock as needed to submerse 2/3 of the chicken. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to just boiling. Cover and place the pan in the oven.

Cook 20 minutes and check the farro. It should be al dente. Continue cooking if needed.

Serve with a green leafy salad and good bread.

 

Okra Hominy Tomato Casserole

Somebody's Dead Casserole

My mother, bless her heart, chose not to cook well. She wasn’t raised with any expectation that she should, and she viewed the task as something which took time away from things she wanted to do. As a result, except on the rare occasions when her reputation was involved, everything was cooked at maximum heat and speed.  Her ultimate goal was to have my father take everyone out to eat.

In her day and time, especially where everyone had roots from the South, post funeral casseroles for the mourning family constituted one such reputation event.

This was my mother's "go to" casserole for such events. She rarely made it for our family, just for the grieving.

Family anecdote: One afternoon my younger sister and I got off the school bus and walked home. When we came in the door, my sister smelled mother making this casserole and said, "Uh oh, somebody's dead".

Ingredients

2 cans cut okra, one drained and one not

2 cans hominy, one drained and one not

2 cans diced tomatoes with juice

1 small yellow onion, diced small

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 

1 teaspoon Franks hot sauce or similar

Bacon strips

Method

Combine the first seven ingredients in a casserole dish. Cover the mixture with bacon strips and cook at 350 for 1 hour. At this point, the dish will refrigerate for up to four days and will freeze for up to 6 months. If you prepare the dish ahead of time and chill it, you can remove bacon fat before finishing the dish.

To finish the dish, set the oven rack on the second highest level and broil the top on high until the bacon crisps, around ten minutes.

Serves 12 as side dish.

Hearty Bacon Potato Leek Soup

Surviving a Polar Vortex

As I type, the temperature outside is 5 degrees. The wind is over 20 mph with gusts to 30. On days like these natural instinct leads us to seek a filling meal that combines fat with the carbs and protein.

Days like these call for something other than vichyssoise. Something that starts with bacon!

Ingredients

1 slice thick bacon, diced

Two medium leeks (white and light green parts only) sliced in thin half rings

3 or 4 orange size gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

bay leaf

1 clove garlic, minced

thyme

chicken broth to cover

1 cup cream

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Method

Starting with a cold pan, gently cook the bacon to just done. Remove the bacon and set aside.

In the same pan, saute the leeks until they soften without browning them. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and the thyme leaves, and saute for another 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Add the chunked potatoes to the pan and fill with broth until the potatoes are not quite covered.

Simmer the potatoes until they are very tender.

Remove the bay leaf. Use a stick blender, a blender, or a food processor to puree the potatoes and leeks. You may need to add a little broth, but do not add any more than you must. Add the Worcestershire sauce, the cream, and the buttermilk. Add the grated nutmeg. Add the bacon back. Stir to blend.

Cook the mixture over low heat while whisking to avoid scorching or clumping. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and is hot. If the soup becomes too thick, add more stock. You wants a thick but pourable soup. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Garnish with scallion rings, minced parsley or chives, and/or more bacon crumbles.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Bubble and Squeak

 

Cabbage and potatoes are mainstays in UK households. Bacon, potatoes, and cabbage have been plentiful (with the exception of one notable period) and not expensive for centuries. Bubble and squeak describes the sound of combining leftover mashed potatoes and leftover boiled cabbage into a patty with bacon crumbles and frying those patties in the bacon fat or butter. The result is very tasty.

Modern American households infrequently boil cabbage and frequently contain vegetarians. This recipe addresses those problems, and can even be adapted to become vegan.*

Recipe for a Modern Vegetarian Bubble and Squeak

(Serves 3 or 4)

Ingredients

2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced, or 4 medium yellow potatoes, skins on and diced (Note: The russets are starchier and hold together better, but I had yellow potatoes and usd them for this photo essay)

10 regular brussels sprouts or five of the giant size, shredded

2 baby bella mushrooms, diced

3/4 stick of butter, divided

splash of milk

1/2 tps. smoked paprika or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Method

First cut the brussels sprouts in half long ways and remove any disgusting outer leaves. Place a half sprout cut side down and, starting at the top end, slice the sprout in 1/8 inch slices until you feel the root. Repeat for all the sprouts. You should wind up with a large double handful of shreds. The shreds will shrink so cut more than you think you will need.

Dice your mushroom.

Next dice your potatoes and boil them in salty water until a knife easily pierces one of the larger pieces. Drain the potatoes and put them back in the empty pan to allow them to steam out. Add 1/4 stick of butter and the splash of milk. Mash thoroughly and taste. Add salt and pepper as needed. Put in the refrigerator to chill.

While the potatoes cool, melt 1/4 stick of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the sprouts and mushroom. Stir to combine and leave the mix undisturbed until the mixture barely begins to brown. Stir and then sprinkle with the smoked paprika. The smoked paprika will add a hint of the smoky flavor lost by excluding the bacon.

Continue to saute until the sprouts wilt and the mushrooms soften.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

When the potatoes and the sprout mixture are cooled, combine the potatoes with the spouts. Taste and reseason as necessary. Form two large patties and lay them on parchment paper.

Chill the patties to allow them to firm up.

Once the patties have firmed, heat the skillet or griddle to medium.  Melt the remaining butter to prepare a non-stick skillet or a griddle. Use a large spatula to slide the patties into the pan and fry without moving until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the patties quickly as if flipping pancakes and fry the reverse side to brown.

Cut the patties to the serving size desired and garnish with chopped chives.

* Modifications for vegans: Replace the butter with extra virgin olive oil and substitute oat milk for the cow juice.

I HATE IT! SHORT RIBS ARE TRENDING!

Once upon a time, short ribs were cheap. Now they are trending and the price reflects their new popularity. I have seen this before, both with flank steak and skirt steak. Just as with the other two examples of trend victims, you must cook them carefully or you will have tough, inedible meat. And, in the case of the  short ribs, you will have greasy, tough, inedible meat.

Short ribs are a cut from the ribs, of course, and you will find them in the grocery with bone in or bone out. I prefer the bone in. I feel it adds more flavor. The meat attached to the bone will have a fat cap, fat marbling, and sinew. 

Sounds like and looks like pork shoulder, does it not? That similarity gives you the clue on how to cook them. Go low and slow and be patient.

Ingredients 

(Serves two. Adjust the proportions to enlarge the number of servings)

A dutch oven or braising pan

1 and 1/2 to 2 short ribs per person.

1 medium onion, sliced thin latitudinally 

3 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 can dry cider

Chicken broth as needed

1 sprig of rosemary and thyme plus a bay leaf

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon preferred spice*

1 handful of sliced mushrooms (optional)

high temp oil for searing

* The spice is wildly variable and a matter of your preference. Some possibilities include paprika (sweet, hot, or smoked), Chinese five spice, curry, Greek seasoning (adjust you salting of the beef to make up for the salt in this season), and others. You can omit the spice as well and go au natural. In this dish I chose to use seven spice, a blend commonly used in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Method

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

Generously salt and pepper all sides of the short ribs.

Pour a Tablespoon or two of the high temp oil in your cooking vessel and place it on a burner set to high. When the oil shimmers, place the rib, fat side down, in the pan. Let the ribs sit, undisturbed, until the side is dark brown. Use tongs to roll the rib to the next side and repeat until all sides of the rib are brown.  Note: Do not crowd them. If necessary, sear the meat in batches. 

Remove the ribs from the pan and lower the heat to medium low. Add the sliced onions without wiping the pan down. Saute the onions until they soften and turn translucent. Add the tomato paste, garlic and, if using them, the mushrooms. Continue to saute until the paste turns brick color and the garlic is fragrant. 

Add the spice and stir to blend it in. 

Settle the ribs, bone side down, in the pan. Add the can of cider and enough chicken broth to bring the fluid 1/3 to 1/2 up the side of the ribs. Add the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf.

Cover the vessel, place it on a low medium rack in the oven, and cook until the meat falls off the bone. This usually requires 4 to 6 hours.

Remove the meat and bones from the liquid and wrap in foil. Put the foil packet back in the oven. 

Remove the solids with a sieve and degrease the liquid with a fat separator. Taste and adjust the spice and salt. Pour the degreased liquid back into the cooking vessel and bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Reduce the liquid by half. Place the ribs, minus the bones and gristle back in the liquid and continue to reduce the liquid and it becomes syrup.

Note: A splash of Kitchen Bouquet will darken the gravy to a pleasant color.

Serve over polenta, noodles, mashed potatoes, rice, or spaghetti squash.

Those who love slow cookers: please note you can put the sauted onions in a slow cooker set on low and then add the remaining ingredients. The timing will be similar to the oven braise.

To those who are impatient: set the oven temp to 325 and cut the time by an approximate third. The difference will be small.

Tip: Refrigerate the separated cooked meat and the broth overnight. The fat cap should come off easily.

Reheat the meat in the degreased broth and, like stew, it will improve.

Another note: Nancy and I added four minced dried dates to go with the spice I chose. Fantabulous!