Crack and Cheese

Thanks to a fellow blogger I decided to make a different sort of mac and cheese dish.  Yesterday I sent J out to the market for white cheddar, extra sharp mind you and some Gruyere cheese.

I'm going to attempt to make Crack and Cheese.  Here is the recipe from:
Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac-and-Cheese
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics
Serves 12
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to l/2-inch pieces ( I'm going to use sourdough)
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese  I'm using Cracker Barrel extra sharp white.
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyère or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère (or 1 cup Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.
5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

I'm no novice at making mac and cheese nor a white sauce this doesn't appear to be overly daunting to me but I'm sure to some out there it could be.  J was just amazed that I wanted to make so much of it.  Hun, it does freeze well.

I actually had J buy both the Gruyere and the Romano cheeses for me since I'd like to try it in a week with the Romano cheese to compare.  I do love to cook.

If anyone decides to try out the recipe let me know how it came out for you.

Its A Beautiful Morning

This morning dawned with fog covered trees and ground.  Oh no I thought, we are going to get a rainy day.  Suddenly the fog lifted and across the street the beauty was revealed.  Overnight the oak tree changed colors.  Its not as beautiful as the trees back home in the Adirondack Mountains but still its a sight to behold.  Well okay except for the trash can my lazy neighbors have left out since last week Thursday.

Since its such a nice day, albeit a bit cold for my taste, yes I've become a wimp living in such a mild climate and it being only 30 degrees Fahrenheit outside, I would get outside and do some morning photography.

I've always enjoyed getting up early in the morning except when I have to get an injection in my arse, when someone calls me in the morning asking a question that they should know the answer to or like when I was a kid having to get up to catch the bus to school.  Now I look forward to someday walking my own kid to school in the fall of the year.

This Year J is doing the decorating outside for Halloween.  I had only one gravestone and he liked the idea of putting it in the flower bed.  Yes I still have flowers and other plants growing.  Just yesterday J picked the last of the red ripe strawberries off of the plants from this particular flower bed.  Ah I so miss Summer.

 This is also the work of my husband.  I'll not tell you what is behind the black curtain as its a surprise.  After watching Martha Stewart's Haunted House on television last night J wants to stop by a hardware store this weekend to spruce up his scary look.  I don't mind one bit the things that he has planned as long as he knows what he wants to do with it all after the the 10th of November when the decorations have to be down.

The Daily Giveaway

For those of you that like to enter contests, and I know I'm one of them, I have a website for you.  Every day they giveaway merchandise.  There is no catch.  You don't have to sign up for the subscription.  You don't have to get spammed if you chose not to.

To enter the Giveaway click here: https://martha.zt01.net/MSL/1/Giveaway/landing_cal/calender.php  Oh, yes this is a Martha Stewart website.  Every month she has a different place giving away great merchandise.  This month www.organize.com is the one sponsoring the giveaway.  Last month it was Chefs and the month before a bath and body shop of sort, the month before that was was Kitchen Aide.

Honestly I didn't mean to keep this website to myself, I just didn't think it would last past the month of December.  I love knowing that I'm wrong.

Today's giveaway is a black brocade office collection valued at $72.00 USD.  Take a chance and enter the giveaway.

The official rules can be viewed here: https://martha.zt01.net/MSL/1/Giveaway/landing_cal/rules.htm

Good luck to all my readers.

I'm A Food Addict

from the http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_gallery_view/showstopping_entrees/

I love food.  Not just any food, but good food.  I'm not the fast food type of eater.  I like to eat food that takes time to prepare, that has flavor and is something that I could create at home for my own family.  I'm what some folks would refer to as a foodie.  So be it.

I have a lot of recipes passed down from the family.  I have plenty of resources on the web in which to turn to when I can't think of what I want to make for dinner on any given night.  I try to keep a well stocked freezer and pantry so that I don't have to run out for say; onions, milk, or garlic.  I have an herb garden and I love cutting my own fresh herbs when I have need of them.  Tonight I'm going to cut some fresh rosemary for a particular dish I saw on television this past Friday.

I love to cook and since I have a problem with digesting tomatoes and tomato products I'm always looking for new recipes in which there is a good substitute.  With that said here is the link to the recipe I'm going to try out for the first time tonight, Cauliflower Sauce with Whole Wheat Penne Pasta.

I love to watch Paula Deen, Martha Stewart, and Rachael Ray do there thing on television.  I don't often get the chance to watch those television programs as I'm not that into television but I can see what they've got cooking on the internet as well as the television.

Cooking at home is not only satisfying but it saves money and ensures that your family is eating healthier foods.  Have you ever noticed that fast food french fries don't biodegrade even days after some kid has dropped them to the floor in your friend's car?  I hate to think of just how hard that is on my stomach.

Being an Army Wife there are times when I just have no choice but to eat food on the run.  We do have the tendency to move every three years so that means traveling and eating out on a very tight budget.  I think, can't remember for sure, that they give the soldier about ten dollars a day for per diem food while traveling.  I want to see someone eat three healthy meals a day, while traveling, for only ten dollars!  Its not going to happen.  Next time we travel I think we are going to fill up a cooler with bread, condiments, cheeses and cold cuts to supplement the eating out.  Maybe even a few hard boiled eggs in the cooler wouldn't be such a bad idea.  I get so sick of fast food when we move, and I mean it makes me ill. 

When we travel we try to stop at places like Subway because we know we can get fresh low fat food choices.  I love deli food lunch when traveling.  My favorite sandwich is the fresh and fit turkey. 

For those of you that travel often what do you end up eating for the majority of your meals?  Is is healthy choices or fast food?