Mac & Cheese "Broccolissimo"!

This recipe comes from "Macaroni & Cheese" by Marlena Spieler. I am fully aware that there's really nothing healthy about this recipe but the addition of glorious green broccoli made me feel slightly better about my indulgence. This was really very good....creamy and cheesy without being overly rich or claggy. A glass of crisp pinot grigio or two and some roast chicken rounded out this meal nicely. You could make this healthier by doubling the quantity of broccoli and cutting back on the pasta, and you could use whole wheat pasta.



















Ingredients:
1-2 heads of broccoli cut into florets and stems into bite-size pieces
8 ounces of small shell pasta
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups hot, but not boiling, low-fat milk
salt to taste
dash of cayenne
grating of fresh nutmeg
8 ounces Appenzeller or similar tasty firm cheese, grated
2 ounces Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, grated

Directions:
Steam broccoli and set aside. Cook pasta in salted water until almost al dente and set aside. (I did both of these things in the afternoon and then popped them in the fridge until I was ready to make dinner)
In a heavy, non-stick saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat, then sprinkle in the flour. Cook for a minute to get rid of the raw flour tatse. Remove from the heat and add the milk all at once. Stir with a spoon or whisk to remove any lumps. Return to medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt, cayenne and nutmeg. (I also added pepper) Set aside a few tablespoons of cheese for the top of the casserole and stir the rest into the sauce until melted.
Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce on the bottom of a large shallow baking dish, then in layers, add the pasta, broccoli, and the remaining sauce. (I added some sauce as I layers the ingredients just to make sure everything got some cheese!) Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
Bake until hot and bubbling, and the cheese has melted and browned in spots, about 20 minutes. (as the recipe didn't specify what oven temperature to use, I did 350 degrees F then under the broiler for a minute or so to brown in more) Serve immediately.

Lesson #3 with Becky

French Bistro Meal
















Cheese Soufflé
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1/2 Tbs. Madeira wine
2 1/2 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. In another saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When foaming, add the flour and whisk until blended. Cook, whisking, for 1 minute; do not allow the mixture to brown. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking, regularly scraping the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, 2 to 3 minutes. Cook for a few seconds more until thickened and smooth, and then remove from the heat. Let cool a little.In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually whisk the hot sauce into the yolks, and then add the cheeses, salt, pepper, a sprinkling of cayenne and the Madeira. Stir to mix well. Set aside.Place the egg whites in a large, clean, dry bowl. Add the cream of tartar and, using a clean whisk or beaters, beat until soft peaks form and hold their shape. Spoon about one-fourth of the egg whites into the cheese sauce and, using a rubber spatula, stir gently to blend. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites into the sauce just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into an ungreased 2 soufflé dish and bake until puffed and lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes.Remove the soufflé from the oven and carry it immediately to the table before it begins to fall. (I made them in 2 ramekins and cooked them
for 25 minutes)














Green Peppercorn Cream Sauce
1 cup beef stock or canned beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

1 tablespoons drained green peppercorns in brine Boil stock in small saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile cook steaks. Transfer steaks oven (do not clean skillet). Add chopped shallots to same skillet and sauté 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add reduced beef stock, 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons Cognac and green peppercorns. Boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Broccolini with sautéed shallots and toasted pine nuts

Blanch one bunch of Broccolini in salted water take out and put in ice water immediately in a large sauté pan sauté shallots in olive oil salt and pepper add the Broccolini and sauté till desired doneness about 6 minutes. Add the juice of half a lemon and the zest of half a lemon and cook for 1 more minute. Toss in Pine nuts that have been toasted before hand till golden brown.













Pate a Choux- Cream puff pastry
2 Large Eggs
1 large egg white
5 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons whole milk
6 tablespoons water
1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sifted unbleached all purpose flour

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray large (12-by 18-inch) baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper; set aside. Beat eggs and egg white in measuring cup or small bowl; you should have 1/2 cup (discard excess). Set aside.
Bring butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt to boil in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring once or twice. When mixture reaches full boil (butter should be fully melted), immediately remove saucepan from heat and stir in flour with heatproof spatula or wooden spoon until combined and mixture clears sides of pan. Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, using smearing motion, for 3 minutes, until mixture is slightly shiny with wet-sand appearance and tiny beads of fat appear on bottom of saucepan (temperature of paste should register 175 to 180 degrees on instant-read thermometer).
Immediately transfer mixture to food processor and process with feed tube open for 10 seconds to cool slightly. With machine running, gradually add eggs in steady stream. When all eggs have been added, scrape down sides of bowl, and then process for 30 seconds until smooth, thick, sticky paste forms. (If not using immediately, transfer paste to medium bowl, cover surface flush with sheet of plastic wrap sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and store at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)
Fold down top 3 or 4 inches of 14- or 16-inch pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip to form a cuff. Hold bag open with one hand in cuff and fill bag with paste. Unfold cuff, lay bag on work surface, and, using hands or bench scraper, push paste into lower portion of pastry bag. Twist top of bag and pipe paste into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch mounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 to 1 1/4 inches apart (you should be able to fit about 24 mounds on baking sheet).
Use back of teaspoon dipped in bowl of cold water to smooth shape and surface of piped mounds. Bake 15 minutes (do not open oven door), then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown and fairly firm (puffs should not be soft and squishy), 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove baking sheet from oven. With paring knife, cut 3/4-inch slit into side of each puff to release steam; return puffs to oven, turn off oven, and prop oven door open with handle of wooden spoon. Dry puffs in turned-off oven until centers are just moist (not wet) and puffs are crisp, about 45 minutes. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool. (Cooled puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen in zipper-lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. Before serving, crisp room temperature puffs in 300-degree oven 5 to 8 minutes, or 8 to 10 minutes for frozen puffs.)

Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

Whisk the sauce gently so as not to create tiny air bubbles that can mar its appearance. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

¾ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into three pieces
table salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

Bring heavy cream, corn syrup, butter, and salt to boil in small nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Off heat, add chocolate while gently swirling saucepan. Cover pan and let stand until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Uncover and whisk gently until combined. (Can be cooled to room temperature, placed in airtight container, and refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. To reheat, transfer sauce to heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Alternatively, microwave at 50 percent power, stirring once or twice, 1 to 3 minutes.)
I added 1/2 tsp instant coffee.

Slightly Less Sinful

Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese
(adaptation from a Cooking Light recipe)

I really enjoyed this recipe as it had a more sophisticated flavor that traditional mac&cheese. I'm not a big fan of reduced-fat cheddar, so instead, I used 4 ounces of a full-fat cheddar, monterey jack, and colby blend and 1 ounce of asiago. I would have liked the cheese flavor to be a bit more pronounced, so next time I will experiment with more pungent cheeses....I'm thinking of even using a bit of blue cheese. I used about 1/2 cup less pasta as I was afraid there wouldn't be enough sauce but I probably would have been fine using all of it. A drizzle of white truffle oil would be fabulous in this...I might omit the worcestershire sauce, however.

Ingredients
4 cups uncooked medium elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Preparation
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
While pasta cooks, place flour, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Drop cream cheese by teaspoonfuls into milk mixture; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes or until thick and cream cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire, and garlic; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Combine pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl; toss well.

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 252(29% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 5.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 14.5g; CHOLESTEROL 27mg; CALCIUM 312mg; SODIUM 536mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.9g

British Comfort Food!

Comfort food for me is really any combination of starch and cheese...depending on the day it could be macaroni and cheese, cheddar cheese and marmite on an english muffin or risotto...obviously not the healthiest food choices around but they really hit the spot when you need it! Another variation on this theme is the classic Welsh Rarebit...basically melted cheese sauce on toast which you put under the broiler until is gets brown. Yum! I have memories from my childhood of eating this dish with my mom. Maybe that's why I like this dish so much :)

Welsh Rarebit

1 tbsp butter

4 oz cheddar cheese, grated

dash of prepared Colman's mustard (or just use dijon)

1 Tbsp guiness or whatever beer you have on hand

Freshly ground pepper

1 egg, separated

2 pieces of hearty toast

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cheese, mustard, beer and pepper. Stir. Take off the heat once the mixture is smooth. Stir in the egg yolk. Stiffly beat the egg white and fold into the cheese mixture with a metal spoon. Pour over the toast and put under the broiler until brown. Serve with a green salad.

Serves 1 hungry person or 2 not so hungry people :)