What We're Eating - A Food & Recipe Blog » macaroni

Many Mini Comfort Foods

Us — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:30:35 +0000

Cheese Sliders aka Mini Cheeseburgers

Tonight was comfort food party night! The menu consisted of savory roasted asparagus soup garnished with crumbled feta and a roasted asparagus spear; sliders made with 2oz griddled burgers, melted cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, a slice of dill pickle, mustard, and ketchup on a toasted whole wheat Hawaiian roll; and finally southwestern macaroni and cheese made with a bechamel-based sharp cheddar and havarti cheese sauce, roasted red peppers, fresh jalapeÃ±o, chorizo, and cilantro – served up in dainty little parmigiano reggiano cups. The hors d’oeuvres were all washed down with a nice crown and coke(zero)…very light on the coke.

Macaroni and Cheese BitesA: mmm… there’s something fun about small-ified foods.
T: I agree. You can just grab one for a bite, or you can eat 50 of them for 50 bites.
A: too true. fifty bites might be a bit overboard though. i got full off of just a few of these bites!
T: I did too… I guess the burgers were really more than a bite, though. But much more smallified than a standard burger. Smallified. College worked for me. Not.
A: yeah. we did go to LSU. where we learned things like “smallified”.
T: yeah, things like how to find your keys when you wake up on a stranger’s patio with a black eye and no keys.
A: hehehe oh aaron. what a funny dude. okay! refocus. so, i’m definitely digging on those cute little sliders… le petit hamburger.

Shots of roasted asparagus soupT: they were really tastier than I expected them to be. They had a wonderful sweetness, and yet the sweetness did not overwhelm the savory flavors at all.
A: and the tartness of the pickles. I just have a deep love for burgers. in a perfect world cholesterol wouldn’t exist and i would eat burgers every day. or at least once a week!
T: What did you think about the other hors d’oeuvres?
A: i actually thought they were both really tasty. i pulled all the different dishes from the sidebar poll and made the top three savory comfort foods… in mini versions. it’s really a fantastic idea for an event that Brigitte at Dispensing Happiness made up.
T: it certainly is. So what do you rate these puppies?
A: well, i give the roasted asparagus soup a 4.2/5. It was tasty and i could see myself eating WAY more than a shot full of it (which is a good thing since we’ve a huge ass pot of it). The burgers: i give them a 4.6/5. they were mini, they were greasy, and doggonit i liked them! as far as the mac and cheese was concerned, hey! it’s mac and cheese. what’s not to like. i particularly like the cute little parmesan vessels they came in and the jalapeno accent on top. I give them a 4.44/5.

A happy drinkT: yeah those little parmesan vessels were incredibly cool. I absolutely loved the burgers and the mac n cheese. The soup was good, but not my favorite thing ever. I give the burgers a 4.6/5. They were super-duper. I give the mac n’ cheese a 4.7/5. I need to have many more bites of it since I’ve only had one thus far. I give the soup a 4.
A: i kind of figured that it wouldn’t be the ultimate soup for you…knowing that brothy chicken based soups are your key to comfort soup. I was particularly inspired to make a roasted veggie soup from nicole’s recent post about roasted cauliflower soup. mmm. Overall i’d have to say it was a pretty successful comfort food hors d’oeuvres party. more sliders anyone?!?
T: more mac n’ cheese, pleese.

Recipes in this post:

Orgasmic Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Us — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 01:40:22 +0000

triple x food porn

Inspired by the Mac-n-Cheese Off, we’re eating an earthy ode to mac-n-cheese. This dish is made with a bechamel based sauce that’s filled with herb goat cheese, sharp cheddar, parmigiano reggiano, sauteed shitake and crimini mushrooms deglazed with sherry vinegar, truffle oil, fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage. Since the actual macaroni and cheese is extremely rich, we went with a crispy top-layer made from panko and parmigiano reggiano rather than the standard ooey gooey cheesey top layer.

this is not from a box

T: I gotta say, Amanda, this mac and cheese was out of this world. I believe it came from another planet. it was outrageously tasty.
A: why thank ya, mister T! mac and cheese happens to be one of those foods that i find totally decadent and just absolutely love (when it’s made well).
T: you know, i grew up eating boxed mac and cheese like 95% of the time. i never had much real mac and cheese. And when I did, it was not creamy at all. Then along came mandy. Mandy, mandy.
A: hehehe honestly, i grew up with a similar mac-n-cheese experience. On occasion my dad would make mac-n-cheese and throw in some tomatoes and some good cheddar, but it was always dry and kind of gritty. a common outcome when you don’t use the bechamel based cheese sauce and just try to toss the macaroni with some cheese and bake it.
T: yeah that’s the way I would have thought to do it… make some box mac & cheese and throw some cheddar on there. or…. boil some macaroni and then just put cheddar on it. Either way I’d be sucking.
A: i’m sure if you did any research before you made the macaroni and cheese you wouldn’t just do that. there are tons of recipes out there.
T: if I did any research. Chances are if I were doing this it would be 2 in the morning I and would have had a few ice-cold Natural Light beers and I wouldn’t be sensible enough to “do research”.
A: heard that! fortunately you have me. and i tend to make macaroni and cheese out of what ever happens to be left over. it just seems to go with everything. this was an unusual mac and cheese for me because nothing was left-over. it was all made just for this meal.
T: i want more of this mac and cheese.
A: i actually wasn’t sure if you would like this one as much as previous ones, since you still aren’t mushrooms’ biggest fan…and my inspiration for this one was the earthiness found in mushrooms (and truffle oil).
T: I don’t know, I like mushrooms in the right scenario… just don’t want to sit around and eat them raw or something. But I was a massive fan of this mac and cheese. Like, OMG, Mandy. That was the best mac and cheese I’ve had. I give it a 4.9/5. You’ve got mac and cheese nailed.
A: damn, yo! that’s a crazy high score! i was a huge fan of the dish too. maybe not a 4.9/5 fan, but still…. I give this one a 4.75/5, which happens to be a pretty damn high rating.
T: if I’m not mistaken that’s the highest score we’ve ever given anything on this blog.
A: hmmm… i feel like i remember 1 other meal that might have scored higher, but i can’t think of what it was exactly.
T: i don’t remember either. But I’m sure it had plenty of cheese in it. Cheese helps anything get a higher score. Cheeeeese. Back to the Mac n Cheese…
A: yeah, so there is only one thing i would do to this dish if i could afford it – use real truffle and not truffle oil! but… seeing as how i’m currently in search of new employment!!!! that can’t really happen.
T: how much is a truffle, anyway? Or I guess I should say… how much is the amount of truffle that you would need for this dish?
A: well, since you can’t really buy just part of a truffle, i would need to purchase a whole one.
T: ok google-master mandy, what’s that going to run us?
A: well, from mirepoix usa you can get an eighth of a pound for $225 usd. on boots in the oven, they went to a at a truffle festival in italy and they had smaller ones there for about â‚¬20 each. and they don’t particularly weigh a lot. i hate money! i wish i could just barter for products in my time off. i’m gonna make a sign and go stand in front of a specialty store that says “Will Work For Truffles… (and/or an aussie rack of lamb)”
T: Dude that is a great idea! You should totally do that! It might just pan out!
A: hehehe you never know. it might just be outrageous enough…
T: maybe you could dress up as a truffle… is that going too far?
A: uh… maybe so and where on earth would we find a truffle costume!
T: we would construct it out of paper mache of course!
A: or maybe i could just wear a chef’s coat or something…
T: ok, yeah… that’s more like it. so where in the San Diego area can we do this?
A: i dunno. i’ve not looked into who carries truffles around these parts. i don’t imagine it would be too terribly hard to find out though. you never know guys. maybe we’ll really do this.
T: quizas, quizas, quizas.

mac-n-cheese-off

Recipes in this post:

Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Three Cheeses with Truffle Oil

Leftover Night Meets Mac and Cheese

Us — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 00:12:35 +0000

Chicken and Veggie Mac and Cheese

Tonight we’re eating some serious comfort food. Dinner consisted of homemade macaroni and cheese made with leftover roasted chicken breasts, grape tomatoes, baby zucchini, creamy havarti, and sharp cheddar. The mac and cheese was accompanied by a salad of baby field greens.

T: howdy.
A: whud up, homes?
T: that was some damn good macaroni and cheese we ate!
A: what was it you said at dinner?
T: that mac and cheese was how mac and cheese should be. Damn good. It tasted very cheddary, but it was very creamy at the same time.
A: That is sometimes hard to achieve when using sharp cheddar. For this meal i decided to use 1/2 havarti and 1/2 sharp cheddar. Havarti is a very creamy cheese. And as with all good mac and cheezes, i started with a bechemel.
T: one more time, what’s a bechemel? I know it’s a creamy sauce, but I dont’ know how to do it.
A: damn boy! i would think with as many times as i’ve explained this you would remember it! a bechemel starts with a roux then you slowly whisk in warm milk a little at a time then bring it to a boil. My hidden secrets (that are not so hidden) are the nutmeg and paprika that I added to the sauce.
T: I know you say that rouxs are easy, but people are always bitching about how hard they are. What gives?
A: i really don’t know. all i can think of is that people walk away from the roux then it burns. It’s butter and flour people! it’s gonna burn, if you let it. a roux is just one part butter (or oil) and one part flour. For a bechemel you really don’t want the mixture to turn any different shades. you just want to slightly cook the flour so it doesn’t taste raw – yet maintaining the creamy white color.
T: So then you just dumped all that with some cheese onto some pasta?
A: pretty much, you have to bring the bechemel to a simmer because thats when it gets thick. At that point i would turn the temp down and stir in the cheese. Then pour it over the al dente pasta.
T: Al dente is… not all the way cooked? In spanish diente is tooth. Any relation?
A: i dunno! i only took one semester of italian. It means firm, though. you don’t want mushy pasta. And with mac and cheese it should be particularly al dente because it’s going to get some more cook time in the oven.
T: I like cheesy top layers.
A: MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmmm CHEESY TOP LAYERS!!!. I don’t think there is much i like more than cheezy top layers. bubbly, gooey, sometimes crispy cheeeeeeeeeese!
T: cheesey top layer would be a good appetizer. I want to go to a restaurant and order a starter of cheezy top layer.
A: seriously. I am known to even steal other people’s cheesy top layer when they aren’t looking. it’s dangerous – this addiction i have to crispy, chewy, gooey, melty, unbelievably good cheese.
T: oh, amanda, that is just wrong! Have I fallen victim to your cruel game?
A: i’m sure! you probably didn’t know it though, because i’m smooth like that.
T: well I never. …. I just… I can’t… I don’t know what to say. Amanda!
A: yes tyler! i’m right here!
T: you sly little thing. I will watch my cheezy top layers more carfully from now on. … I’m watching you… uh huh.
Amanda busts into a poor rendition of “Private Eyes” from the eighties.
T: cease!!! No more Private Eyes are watching me! No!
A: okay, okay, i give up my singing career to rate this meal! I give this meal a 4.69/5. It was a sexy plate of yummy goodness.
T: It was definately the sexiest macaroni and cheese I’ve had. I give it a 4.7/5. Actually, it probably needs a higher score, but I already wrote that one down. It was nearly the pinacle of mac and cheese. That shit was hot.
A: it was. it’s a shame it’s not winter. This was totally not a summer meal, but i had to use the leftovers somehow. Even thought it’s been abnormally hot here, this still worked for me tonight!
T: We don’t have seasons here. We can have winter meals and summer meals year round. It makes no difference. It’s always 67 degrees outside.
A: not today man! we rose above 80 degrees today.
T: Even right on the coast?
A: right on the coast is the only place it stayed in the 80s today. The rest of San Diego county was like…in the hundreds today man!
T: wow. that’s toasty.
A: cheese toasty?

Kwaherini mabibi na mabwana!

Recipes in this post:

Chicken and Veggie Mac and Cheese