So, here it is. The first entry in my blog. You can thank Mom in High Heels, who practically made me start one. I think she mostly wants recipes and cooking tips from it, but who knows what I'll end up writing about! I don't claim to have as many interesting stories as Mom in High Heels, or her blog counterpart from the Yummish Faith, but I am creative and funny, so watch out world! (Hey, Mr. Onstein, here I am!)
So, just for MiHH, here's what we had for dinner Friday night: Mac'n'cheese! It's really simple, only a little more difficult than that crappy boxed m'n'c. So, you boil the noodles (duh. I actually used elbow macaroni this time, but I usually use a spiral to hold all the sauce better!). Then you make the sauce. (I'm horrible at actual measurements, so you're out of luck if you need those.) Make a roux with butter and flour, then add cream and milk for a bechamel. Next you add the cheese. I use gruyere and sharp cheddar...and if you're going to do it, do it right and get good cheese. Stir until the cheese melts, meanwhile adding salt and pepper and (the "secret" ingredient) a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg. Then you mix the noodles in the sauce.
The next steps are optional, but just barely. You could eat Kraft boxed dinner out of the pot, but not homemade! Now you have to bake it. And sure, you could just throw it in a casserole dish and be done with it, but if you're going to do it, do it right (see above). Once it's in the casserole dish, you have to put on a yummy bread crumb topping!
Option #1: Plain bread crumbs. Boring, but if that's what you want...mix the bread crumbs with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle on top of the noodles. (I use prepared bread crumbs; you can make them yourself if you have stale bread lying around.)
Option #2: Bacon and bread crumbs. This is the obvious choice. I tried something different this time and it worked out. I fried up the lardons (that's French for little pieces of bacon) and mixed the bread crumbs in with them, bacon fat and all! Healthy, no. Delicious, yes. The other way would be to add the bacon pieces in with the crumbs and olive oil. You also add salt and pepper, and if you're really going crazy, Italian seasoning and/or parmasean cheese.
You pop the bread crumb-topped noodles and sauce into a 350 degree oven until it's gold and bubbly. Voila! Homemade mac and cheese!
Extra tips from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa:
-Grown-up mac and cheese with blue cheese in the sauce (I'm thinking instead of the cheddar)
-Lobster mac and cheese with chopped lobster tail in with the noodles. "How bad could that be?" (P.S. Ina uses already cooked and shelled lobster: "I have better things to do with my life than boil a whole lobster, then pull the meat out of the tail.")
-Top with tomato slices, then the breadcrumbs
Alright, there you have it. Entry #1. I'll try to keep up with it. But no promises. Especially now that I have rehearsal 20 of the next 28 days.
