Recipes and meals spring- summer 2013 MidAtlantic & friends

Ric--
I'll be over any time you cook like that Country Boy!
I eat--almost, anything--as long as it is not spicy.
Grew up with S and P--what can i say?

I DO use Onion Powder and garlic Powder to death. Lots of Dill too.
Love a bit of Caraway Seed in certain dishes (try them with Lima beans sauteed in bacon fat)
and add a bit of diced bacon or ham too. YUM!

I don't cook often--being by myself--it is hard...Cook something--then eat it all week...Yech!
Love to go all out when i am bringing something to a party, though.
G.

Gita, you just have to find an old friend and share (pawn off) the leftovers. My in-laws love it, and it makes me happy too.

greenhouse_gal:

If I'm still following it...

Sacré bleu! I had to fetch a napkin to wipe up the excessive salivation produced while reading this. You've caused a bit of a confit here this morning.

SO - just where do you mean by southern NJ...close to Millville? I have an annual appointment there the first weekend in June - and I could be distracted by wafting wonderfuls, in a heartbeat. I'll even bring a couple wine pairings to test drive, if that doesn't offend.

Someone here also offered up a convenient way to extend a visit - something about vehicular breakdown right before dinner...

aw Catbird, hope you're feeling much better

Salut, ViburnumValley! Yes, tout près de Millville. I have no confit de gésiers at present; I'm still kicking myself for giving the unused half of a package to our friends instead of packing it in the suitcase to take home from France this fall. I should have stocked up on them, delicious little morsels that they are. I think we've missed the first weekend in June anyway, though.

Vehicular breakdown right before dinner sounds clever but then you'd have to take potluck. On the other hand, if I know that foodie friends are dining with us I make all sorts of delicious things, like cassoulet or smoked shad or duck with lavender and honey...

Hehehe, yes, you could break down near me, then I can drive with you to greenhouse gal. I can show you the way. wink, wink

C'est tout! (Then we're set!)

greenhouse_gal has just about a year to prepare - and offer pairing suggestions. I'll have my appointment to keep in Millville, but that'll basically just be a detour to the greater goal of gizzards.

Jan23 and sallyg will be partners in crime - and alibis...

Woohoo!!!

Leftovers today and tomorrow before we leave for the rest of the month.

Just a quick salad, pasta, meatballs,and wine with friends after a dip in the pool.

Because of the long gray rainy season, we are celebrating in high German style.

Roast duck, beets, Swiss chard...paired with a 2008 Rutherford (Napa) Pinot Noir.

Amuse bouche of duck organ meats and a 1996 Breivogel (Pfalz) Ortega Auslese...

All sounds tasty!

I ran out of Penzey's curry powder- and thought I could use red curry paste from the grocery store instead. Buy first and read later--haha--the paste is a Thai curry. But everybody liked it.

Mark and I made Shirley Corriher's "Improved Tunnel of Fudge Cake " for DD birthday yesterday. But being cursed this week of course the cake refused to come out of the pan. So its a " Pile Of Fudgy Chunks Cake."

Real mac 'n cheese last night with ham steaks on the grill & fresh green beans...

Hot dogs this noon, but livened them up wtih fresh sauerkraut from the farmers' market. The kraut was delicious, and I also enjoyed the beet kraut we got (lots of shredded beets in with the cabbage, great flavor, but a little sand that I could have done without).

I've been playing with mac 'n cheese recipes for a while, after I gave up on getting my MIL's recipe "just right." I think I've got a winning recipe. :-) (My MIL even says it's better than hers -- because she doesn't have to cook it!)

Jill's Mac & Cheese

1 pound macaroni, cooked, drained but still hot
(look for hard "durum" wheat for a noodle that won't get squishy)
8 oz. 50% or 75% fat free sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (divided)
1/4 c. butter, cut into bits (easy to chop if it's frozen)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 fresh large eggs
1 1/3 cups milk (skim, whole, or anywhere in between)

Preparation: Shred the cheeses. Put half (4 oz) of the extra-sharp, full-fat cheese to the side. Add the spices and the chopped butter to the rest of the shredded cheese. Beat eggs well and add to milk.

Cooking: Cook macaroni in lightly salted water. Drain. Return to pot. Stir in cheese, butter, and spices while macaroni is still hot, so cheese melts. Let it cool slightly before stirring in the egg and milk. (If you can stand to stick your finger into the mixture for a few seconds, it won't scramble the egg.)

Baking: Pour into a 9x12" baking pan (or into 2 loaf pans). Top with the remaining extra-sharp cheese. Bake 45 minutes at 350' (325' in a convection oven), until casserole is "set" and top is starting to brown. If desired, brown to golden perfection with a few minutes under the broiler

sounds yummy!

You have to try it! If you make it for kids used to "blue box" stuff, though, be sure to call this by a different name, like "mac 'n cheese baked casserole," or it will be disliked on principle. The extra butter & cheese in this recipe is offset somewhat by using the 75% reduced fat cheese... and the regular-fat sharper cheese is mostly on top where you taste it most.

Sounds great!!

Jill--

Your Mac and Cheese recipe is almost the same as my mine--except in this recipe, Ialso add
chopped, good ham. The rest is almost the same...
I have had this recipe forever---a good pot-luck dish.
I brought it to Jan's Swap--in case you had some of it.. By the time I got to the food table--
this was almost GONE! Had one spoon-full left.


MACARONI, HAM, AND CHEESE CASSEROLE
From: Gita Veskimets

6-8oz. (dry) elbow, bowknot, or any other small macaroni
(cooked per directions and drained)
4-6 Tbsp. Butter (or Margarine)
4 eggs
1 ¾ cup light cream or 1/2 and ½
½ tsp. Salt and ¼ tsp. Pepper—or to taste for both
1 tsp. Dry Mustard
½ tsp. Paprika
3 cups good, cooked ham in ¼” dice (One lg. ham steak will do)
1 ½ cups shredded, sharp Cheddar Cheese (more is yummy)
1 med. onion—minced
1—10oz. Pkg. Frozen peas (optional) for color--I usually don't add this.

Cheese Crumb topping sprinkled on top (recipe at the end)

DIRECTIONS:
***Have all dicing done ahead of time!***
In a 9x11x3 casserole dish (or similar)—(half a disposable foil pan works great):

--Put drained, hot macaroni into the casserole pan.
--Toss cooked macaroni with the butter/margarine.
--Lightly beat eggs with a small amt. of the cream. Add all seasonings and whisk
until well incorporated. Add remaining cream.
--Mix the ham, onion and cheese into the macaroni and pour cream mixture over
the top.

--Sprinkle top with cheese crumb topping. (Can be frozen at this stage).

--Bake in a 375degree oven for 45min.-1 hour until firm and bubbly.
--Serves 8-10.

CHEESE CRUMB TOPPING:
Combine ½-3/4 cup shredded, sharp Cheddar Cheese with 2-3 Tbsp. Of fine,
dry bread crumbs and 2-3 Tbsp. of melted butter/margarine. Sprinkle over casserole.

Note: Do not fill pan to the top. This may bubble over as it bakes.
This makes a great potluck dish. It makes a ½ aluminum foil pan full
**This freezes VERY well. To use, thaw out in the fridge and bake as usual.

I'm roasting a ten# pork loin for our family picnic Sunday, to make pulled pork BBQ. I also had 5#s of Cuban style pork frozen from our GH assoc. picnic to take along. That had started out as a whole loin, of about 22#s. The last time I made the Cuban style, think Cumin, garlic,black and white pepper, lime and orange. I thought no one liked it because there were so many rolls left. As it turned out everyone was having seconds without the rolls. LOL

They were no fools - why fill up on bread?

Absolutely!!