Three Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

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threecheesemacaroniandcheese

Is there anything more comforting than a tray of homemade macaroni & cheese? I can’t believe that up to a few years ago, I was still cracking open one of those blue boxes for my mac & cheese fix. But once I learned how easy it was to make at home, I haven’t looked back.

A quick sauce is made up of butter, flour, and milk. Then once it’s thickened, I’ll add close to a metric ton of shredded cheese. I like to shred my own – the stuff that’s pre-shredded from the store has anti-clumping agents, which doesn’t lead to the same melty, gooey consistency that the blocked cheese will give you.

I used yellow sharp cheddar (for a nice bite), Gruyere (for a mellow sweetness), and Parmesan (for a salty kick). They all blend together so beautifully in the sauce to create a symphony of cheesiness. But, feel free to experiment with whatever you like! This sauce is just a blank canvas for whatever cheesy goodness you can dream up. Enjoy!

Three Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

2 cups short tubular pasta (elbow macaroni, gemelli, penne)
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp kosher salt
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
6 oz Gruyere (or Swiss) cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 7 minutes. Drain, place back in pot, and set aside.

Place shredded cheeses in a small bowl, tossing to combine well. Remove 1 cup of the cheese mixture and set aside for topping the casserole before baking.

In a medium size saucepan, melt 4 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk to make a roux, cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, continually whisking until thickened. Once thickened add the salt and mustard powder, as well as the cheeses. Stir to combine until cheese is melted.

Pour into a 13×9, or another baking dish that’s around 2 quarts. Sprinkle with reserved shredded cheese.

Cover dish with foil and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese on top is melted and starting to brown.

Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Wild Rice Pilaf

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Wild Rice Pilaf

We love rice as a side dish. Whether it be Spanish rice or cilantro-lime rice with our Mexican dishes, or plain white or brown rice with our Chinese dishes and stir-fries, it’s always been a favorite around here. I’d picked up a few bags of wild rice the last time I was at Trader Joe’s a few months ago. I use it all the time in soups, but wanted to try my hand at a homemade wild rice pilaf. For too long I’ve relied on old Uncle Ben when I wanted that as a side dish, and it was high time we remedied that situation.

So, I took the recipe for Garlic Rice Pilaf that we’ve loved so long in our kitchen and modified it a bit. A quick saute of a bit of garlic, onions, carrots, and celery – then the rice is added for a quick toasting before adding chicken stock. Then it’s all poured into a baking dish to finish cooking in the oven. A quick fluffing with fork when it comes out of the oven, and you have a great side dish that goes with just about anything.

On a side note, we’ve pretty much completed the move. We weren’t even without internet for a whole day! I’ve just been lazy about posting. It was Pony Penning, and a bunch of family and old friends were in town – so we’ve just been having fun with them and adjusting to being back on the island. I really love the new house, and had an easier time than I thought I would leaving the old one. Now just to get it on the market and sold! Going to get Andrew registered for 1st grade this week, the excitement just never ends around here. Where is this summer running off to, guys?

Wild Rice Pilaf

3 Tbsp. butter
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 cup wild rice
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery and onion and saute until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and rice to the pan and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-4 more minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into a 2 qt casserole dish, cover, and bake for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, remove from the oven and stir in the remaining broth. Re-cover and bake for another 45 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

Tri-Color Coleslaw

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Tri-Color ColeslawColeslaw is one of those things that is a “must-have” for a summer cookout buffet. Not only is it a great light and refreshing side dish, but it’s also a great addition to things – like barbecue sandwiches, burgers, or even tacos.

This recipe couldn’t be any more simple. I toss shredded red and green cabbage and carrots with a tangy dressing that comes together as quickly as it takes to combine everything. Let it sit for an hour to let the flavors mingle and you’ve got yourself a great slaw worthy of any summertime soiree.

It’s also a great base to add different flavor profiles. Sometimes I like to add a little chopped cilantro and chipotle, or sesame oil, peanuts, chopped cilantro and a bit of fish sauce for a Thai twist. The possibilities are endless, but this easy recipe is definitely the place to start!

Tri-Color Coleslaw

2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
1 cup thinly shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, greek yogurt, vinegar, honey, and celery seed. Add in shredded cabbage, carrots, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Cover and refrigerate for and hour to let flavors meld before serving.

The recipe can easily be doubled.

Hush Puppies

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Hush Puppies

Now that summer is here seafood season is in full swing here on the Eastern Shore. We had our first taste of crabs Memorial Day weekend. People have been catching black drum, rockfish, and flounder right and left. And, thanks to new breeding practices our salty Chincoteague oysters are available all year round now.

Naturally, there’s nothing that we love more than a good old-fashioned seafood boil or fish fry. And, no seafood feast is complete without a good hush puppies. The little seafood spot (Ray’s Shanty if you’re curious – great food too!) where I go to buy my seafood makes the best in the world. They have a ton of flavor with the addition of onion, yet are dense and light at the same time. I always end up eating too many of those, and then never any room for my meal…

This was my first attempt at making them at home, and they turned out great. I used a recipe from Saveur that looked promising. They were super easy to make, and quickly fried up to perfection once the “rise” was complete. It’s almost a proofing process – you mix up the batter, then let it sit for an hour to leaven. This made a light and airy hush puppies that had a wonderful texture on the inside, and a perfectly golden crunchy exterior.

It makes a lot of hush puppies though – like around thirty. I think next time I’ll probably cut the recipe in half for our family.

Hush Puppies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking soda
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1 large yellow onion, grated
Canola oil, for frying
Tartar sauce, for serving

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cayenne in a large bowl. Stir together buttermilk, eggs, and grated onion with their juice in a medium bowl. Pour over dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Set aside to rest for 1 hour.

Pour oil to a depth of 2″ in a 6-qt. Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Using a tablespoon, drop small rounds of batter into the oil, making sure to not crowd the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally and flipping halfway through, until golden on the outside and crisp, about 3–4 minutes.

Remove hush puppies from the oil and drain on paper towels. Serve with tartar sauce on the side for dipping.

Source: Saveur