Browsing Tag

dinner

Recipes

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

February 21, 2012

So, if you read my blog or know anything about me, you know that I have a weakness for macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and Cheese is my kryptonite… no matter how well I’m doing on a diet, I can’t ever seem to resist some cheesy mac. I guess if I’m being honest, I love anything with copious amounts of melted cheese on it–grilled cheese, fettucini alfredo, lasagna, queso dip, etc. I read somewhere once in a marketing textbook (or maybe I dreamed it…it’s really hard to say), that people are 70% more likely to buy something if it’s illustrated with a picture of melted cheese (I know I’m guilty of this, so we’ll call it science).

Recently my mom posted a video on my wall of some italian guy named Fabio making italian macaroni and cheese, and even though I’d decided that morning I was going to start dieting, I knew that if I didn’t make that recipe soon, I’d be dreaming about Mac n Cheese for the next few weeks. So, of course, I went out that afternoon and bought all of the ingredients I needed for my cheese extravaganza.

I edited the recipe a bit from Fabio’s recommendations, partly because I couldn’t find fontina cheese, and partly because it is impossible for me to exactly follow directions of any kind. So below is my edited recipe from Fabio’s Italian Macaroni and Cheese.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. dry elbow macaroni
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 8 ounces shredded smoked gouda cheese ( just got a round from Bi-Lo and shredded the entire thing)
  • 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (or gorgonzola)
  • 1.5 cups heavy cream
  • 12 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Put the heavy cream and all the cheeses into a metal mixing bowl.
  2. Add cracked pepper and pinch of salt to cream and cheese.
  3. Put the bowl on top of a pot of boiling water on medium high and stir until the cheese is melted, set it aside.
  4. Cook pasta in the pot of boiling water until al dente.
  5. Drain the pasta and set aside.
  6. Saute the minced garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft.
  7. Remove garlic and mix with pasta.
  8. Mix in the cheese sauce, and put in the pot and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. At this point, if you didn’t want to bake the macaroni, you could eat it right now. It tasted great and would’ve made a great creamy macaroni and cheese. I kind of wish I’d set some aside to compare the difference in taste.
  9. While the sauce is heating, put the breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
  10. Place Mac and cheese in an oven safe container and top with bread crumb mixture and bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. I made the mistake of leaving the macaroni in too long. The original recipe said 15-20 minutes, and I left it in for 17, and my finished result was not as creamy as I’d wanted it to be. I think it would have been much better had I not left it in as long.
  11. Also, I topped it with some more cheese, which I would advise against doing, since the cheese will burn before everything else is finished cooking. If you do want to top it with some cheese, do it like 2 minutes before you plan to take it out, that will it will be melty and delicious, and not burnt.

aaaand there goes my diet again.

aaaand there goes my diet again.

1 Comments
Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 12/19/11

December 19, 2011

Today’s quote comes from “The Thin Man” himself, Mr. William Powell. I really like this quote. It’s funny without being gimmicky. It speaks to reality, since I’m pretty sure this is how everyone feels every time they come to my house for a meal.

“Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table.”

–William Powell

Badassery

Recipes

The World’s Best Lasagna

December 13, 2011

So for my official “Night Before My Last Day Dinner Party” I decided to make lasagna for the coworkers I invited over to share in the feast. I had all of these people to impress so I knew I had to do something more than just thaw out a Stouffer’s lasagna (although Stouffer’s is delicious). So I found this recipe online HERE and tweaked it a bit to fit with what I had and how much time I had to do it in. Here is my tweaked recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons dried parsley
  • No-boil lasagna noodles (I used about 24)
  • 32 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 12 slices provolone cheese
  • 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

  1. In a large saute pan (one with high sides, you’re going to be adding a bunch of liquid to it), cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

    Meat sauce done right.

  2. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. To assemble, spread 1 ladle full of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with ricotta cheese mixture, and layer with sliced tomatoes. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. I eyeballed this, so just use what feels right. I topped it with a bit more meat sauce and then stacked the noodles on top. Repeat layers.

    Noodle meat. (that’s what she said)

  5.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 6 slices of provolone and cover with foil. I used non-stick foil with the non-stick side down toward the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking. You could do the same basic thing by spraying aluminum foil with some Pam or other non-stick spray.

    I’ll have a side of cheese with my cheese, please. Also, noodle meat.

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I noticed that the cheese was browning a bit too much around the 19 minute mark, so I took it out a bit early.

    Right after I took the foil off.

    19 minutes later. aka perfection.

Needless to say, the lasagna was pretty ballin’. Everyone ate pretty much all of it. I made two casseroles full and only one little slice was left over. I laid out hors d’oeurves to accompany the lasagna, including buttery crescent rolls, meat balls and tomato sauce, and mini caprese salad bites (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil on a toothpick).

I seriously could eat ten thousand of these things. So. Good.

Les brought salad and we all drank wine to go with it. We laughed and talked for like 3 hours. Probably the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. Plus the lasagna was delicious. Then I made chocolate chip biscotti for dessert. It was pretty decadent.

Biscotti is italian for “Cookies from Heaven”

I’m pretty freaking awesome.