Sunday, November 24, 2013

Neicy's Homemade Mac n Cheese!




Alright, you asked for it! My deliciously hearty, stick-to-the-ribs, homemade mac n cheese! This recipe is inspired by the mac my grandmother, Flo used to make. It was soooo good and every time I tried to get the recipe from her, she say, "Oh gee, ya know, I don't quite remember. A lil o this...and a lil o that..." which would send her digging thru her cookbooks to find the "recipe". Which totally tells you where I got it from. I've never really been one for recipes either. I just kinda wing it and make it yummy! But in this case, I needed to know the "secret" to making it so awesome. I tried dumping mixtures of cheese and butter, or cheese and cream into some hot freshly cooked noodles and it was never quite right. The result...stringy, chewy, cheesy noodles. Eww.
So what's the secret? A good ROUX! Which is a very simple mix of 2 ingredients that serves as a sturdy and flavorful base and thickener for many different sauces...and is a MUST for good homemade mac n cheese!
It's a combination of equal parts flour and fat, usually butter. In some cases, you'd use bacon grease for the fat, as the base of sauces like Gumbo...yum! Anyway, back to mac.

This is really all you need...easy as cheesy pie!






Start with large elbow macaroni noodles. NOTHING else will do! These noodles, to me, scream homemade mac. Cook em til there done, drain em and set em aside.


Next, pour 1 Quart of Milk (I use low fat, but you can definitely ramp it up with whole) and slowly heat it up, without boiling, in a small saucepan.

Preheat your oven to 375, then make your roux.
Don't be intimidated by the fancy word, it's a piece o cake and you'll find yourself using it all the time. 

Melt 6 Tablespoons of salted butter in a large non-stick 2 Qt. pan (large enough to pour the noodles in afterwards). 




As soon as it melts, slowly whisk in your flour.
Keep whisking for 2 minutes or so and it will turn a lovely light, golden brown.

While whisking, stir in the hot milk and cook for a few more minutes until thick and smooth. (Sorry for the blur, it's hard to be the chef and the photographer.)


Remove from heat and stir in your shredded cheeses. (This is where you can really experiment til you find the blend you like.) 
I find that a nice somewhat pungent cheese like gruyere with sharp cheddar and a lil parmesan is perfect. But you really can't go wrong, it is cheese, after all!

Now add your spices to the cheesy goodness. Salt, White and Black Pepper, a little Dry Mustard and heaps of freshly grated Nutmeg!

I talk about this all the time. Fresh nutmeg is essential in cheesy sauces, it's totally unexpected, but try it, it rules!
I usually use a almost whole nutmeg nugget in a batch o mac.


Time for the noodles!


Stir your cooked macaroni into the pan and mix together really well. 


This time, I added some cubed proscuitto (for the hubs) and stirred it all up.

Taste for goodness and adjust any seasonings...

then pour it into a large baking dish and top with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.


You can cover it with bread crumbs or more shredded cheese if you like and then pop it into the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes until sauce it bubbling and your cheese is nice n melty.


After removing from oven, let it sit for 5-10 so it can thicken, then serve!
Peas are also an amazing addition to this mac!


 Neicy's Homemade Mac n Cheese!

Serves 8-10 ppl

1 pound Large Elbow Macaroni
1 Quart Milk
6 TB Salted Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
12 oz Shredded Gruyere
12 oz Shredded Sharp Cheddar (save a little for the top)
1/2 Cup Proscuitto or Pancetta (optional)
1 Nugget Whole Nutmeg
1 tsp-ish Dry Mustard powder
1 tsp-ish Ground White Pepper
S&P


























Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Pomegranate, Kale and Black Rice Salad with Chopped Pecans, Feta and a Poached Egg!


Pomegranate, Kale and Black Rice Salad with Chopped Pecans, Feta and a Poached Egg! What?!?

OK, I saw this dish on Pinterest and just had to make it, modified of course. I used Black Rice instead of Wild, Pecans instead of Walnuts and added a Poached Egg and Feta Cheese. And it was... awesome! I'm definitely throwing this into the weekly rotation. You could do so many different things with it. I tossed a few slices of last night's pork tenderloin on top and it was delicious!
"Lean, Green and Protein!" my new motto.

 I also made a yummy dressing for the Kale with some Pomegranate Habanero Jam that I had in the fridge, which added a sweet bite to the slightly bitter kale that was just perfect.

Add a little Olive Oil to a Tablespoon or 2 of the jam, whisk it up with some Honey, Red Wine Vinegar, and a few drops of water just for consistency.
Apple or Cranberry Juice is a nice touch too, rather than water.

And now...the easiest way to bust those juicy lil morsels out of those pesky lil pomegranates! I've struggled with this for years and remember trying to eat them as a kid just like you would a grapefruit and ending up with a red stained face, fingers and shirt, sitting in a pool of juice. But boy, was it good! I've actually avoided them in the past just because I didn't want to deal with the mess. but since I've discovered this method, I'm all over it!


Start by "scalping" the Pomegranate. Just take your knife and barely score the skin of the fruit all the way around, and then peel off the top and any portion of the thin white membrane that remains.

What you'll find inside are a few separate chambers containing all the seeds.


Score the edges of the fruit down the sides of each segment and then pull them apart like an orange.


Knock the seeds out of each section and discard the membrane portions that fall into the bowl.

And now you're left with a big bowl of luscious pods!
Chop up some fresh raw Kale and add it to one side of the bowl.


Add your cooked Black Rice to a section of the bowl. I sprinkled in some Feta while it was still hot which meant that every now and then you'd bite into a yummy lil melty pocket of cheese...yum.


Sprinkle some Feta and chopped Pecans on top and add your pomegranate seeds to the last section, then drizzle your dressing lightly over the top of the Kale. You don't want to add to much as this salad already has tons of flavor, the dressing just adds a little sweetness that brings it all together.


I added a few slices of cold Pork Tenderloin leftover from last night's dinner, but this dish easily stands alone as a tasty vegetarian option.


Last but not least...a soft poached egg, which I really can't say enough about. When the yolk breaks and runs down into the nooks and crannies of the Kale, it's just amazing! LOVE an egg!

Pomegranate, Kale and Black Rice Salad with Chopped Pecans, Feta and a Poached Egg                                    Serves 2

1 Pomegranate
2 Cups Black Rice, cooked
4 Cups Kale, raw and chopped
2 Soft Poached Eggs
A handful of Chopped Pecans
Some Crumbled Feta

For the dressing:
2 Tbs Pomegranate Habanero Jam (but you could really use almost any flavor)
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp Honey
A tiny bit of water
S&P


I can't wait to experiment with this bowl of goodness and see all the varieties I can come up with...Stay tuned!!  :)