Recipe: Husband Mac & Cheese

Do you know who was not only a legendary singer and dresser, but also, apparently, an outrageously good cook?  Liberace.

The other day, husband and I both had a yen for mac & cheese.  Best mac & cheese recipe?  The mac & cheese recipe from the Joy of Liberace.  No joke.

I wanted to make the recipe a little special for husband, so I the used the Joy of Liberace as a jumping off point.

Here is the result, Husband Mac & Cheese:

1 lb gluten-free macaroni

4 cups milk

3 ½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Easiest way to shred your Costco block of cheese? Try your food processor. It should come with a handy attachment. I use it for parm too, just use your knife to cut it into manageable pieces.

½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1 Tbsp butter or olive oil

6 rashers of bacon

4 Tbsp of the reserved fat from the bacon

½ onion

one broccoli stalk chopped

¼ cup

paprika

potato chips

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350º F / 180ºC.

2. Cook the macaroni according to the package instructions.  Drain into a colander and let stand.  Set the big pot to the side, you may want to use it later.

3. Melt a tablespoon butter and/or olive oil (enough to barely coat the bottom of the pan) in a large skillet, over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp.  Put the cooked rashers on paper towel to drain off excess grease.  Cut into small pieces. Set the rendered bacon fat aside.

If you want the bacon really crispy, use a cast iron skillet.

4.  If your skillet isn’t large enough to hold the sauce, transfer about 4 Tbsp of the rendered bacon fat to the pasta pot.  Set the pan over medium-low heat.

Making the roux into sauce!

5. Add the cornstarch.  Whisk until well combined.  Add the milk, about 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking constantly.  The roux will thin out.  A word to the wise from ruining many white sauces, just take your time.  If you add the milk too quickly, the sauce won’t set up properly and remain really thin.

6. Add the onion and broccoli.  Continue to cook until the mixture is thick and bubbly.  If the milk starts to bubble, but does not thicken, then add another tablespoon of cornstarch.

7. Add the cheeses.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper.  Add the macaroni and bacon.  Stir.

8. Butter a large pan.  Pour in the macaroni and cheese. 

9. Crush the potato chips.  Sprinkle over the macaroni and cheese.  Dust with paprika.

10. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Tasted as good as it looks.

Receipe: A Vegan & Gluten-Free Apple Tart That Does Not Taste Like Cardboard

My office team had an afternoon potluck for our holiday party. Hey, I work for a non-profit.  No fancy dinners or alcohol for us.  Whah whah.   There is another gluten-free person and a vegan on the team, so I opted to make something that would be both vegan and gluten-free.

This tart is so good you will not realize that it is both gluten-free and vegan.  My husband tried some of the excess crust that I baked off to check that the crust did not take like cat food.  He liked it. Husband doesn’t mind the gluten-free business so much: he likes seeing me not looking like a pallid zombie, but losing diary too?  He was just a little unsure that a tasty dessert can be made sans gluten and animal products. But this crust worked out just fine; he didn’t even realize it was vegan.  It tastes like a sugar cookie.

If you are just learning to bake gluten-free,  tart crust is an easy thing to start with because the dough does not have to rise.  It is expected to be a little dense and flaky, which makes it easier to get the correct texture sans gluten and dairy.

Equipment:

11” Tart pan

Large baking sheet, preferably rimmed

Food processor

Crust:

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup rice flour – either white or brown

1/4 cup sorghum flour or coconut flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour / starch (they are the same thing), cornstarch could also be used

8 Tbsp cold, vegan butter cut into large pieces*

1 tsp xanthan gum

* I use Nature’s Promise and just measure it out of the tub with a tablespoon.  There are a lot of vegan butter products available, including Crisco, but beware of ingredients like “natural flavoring” or “hydrogenated oil”, which may contain gluten, Crisco certifies that if their products are both gluten-free and casein-free.  Check Only Sometimes Clever’s blog post about Crisco.

Tart filling:

About 6 large apples peeled and thinly sliced, I used pink ladies and macintosh

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp melted vegan butter or canola oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp clove

2 Tbsp cornstarch

Glaze:

Trader Joe’s Cranberry Apple Butter, about 1/3 – 1/2 a jar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 °F / 180 °C.  Make sure a rack is on the bottom 1/3 of the oven.

2. Grease and flour the tart pan.  I use a pastry brush to spread out a little canola oil and then dust with rice flour.

Left: prepping the pan Middle: the texture of the flour mixture Right: flour mix pressed into the pan

3 In the food processor, combine the sugar, starch, flour and xanthan gum.  Pulse.

4. One tablespoon at a time, drop in the vegan butter.  Pulse briefly between each addition.  The mixture will start to come together and resemble coarse cornmeal.

5. Put the flour mixture into the tart pan.  Using the bottom of a glass as a tool, press the flour mixture into the bottom of the pan.  The glass will help you to get a smoother bottom for your tart and press the flour in more firmly.

6. Blind bake the crust for 10 -15 minutes in the oven, just long enough for it to start to brown.  Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.  I usually put the pan on a larger rimmed baking sheet, just in case any juices leak through and creating a smoky, gooey mess on the bottom of the oven.

7. Peel and thinly slice the apples.

8. In a large bowl, combine the spices, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and butter.  Add the apples and toss to coat.

Left: coating the apple slices Right: the tart in the oven, I forgot to glaze at first, so I took a picture and then immediately removed from the oven to correct myself

9. Getting as fancy-pants or plain as you like, arrange the apple slices in the tart pan.  I try to arrange the first layer around the outer edge, then stick the broken up pieces of apple in the center of the pan.  I then do a circle of apples on top, just to make it look pretty.

10. Using a pastry brush, gently daub the Trader Joe’s Cranberry-Apple Butter on the top of the fruit.  This is my quick and easy replacement gelée, that jelly like stuff you normally see on top of tarts, which keeps the fruit in place and adds sheen / prevents discoloration.  The cranberry apple butter won’t keep the apples in place, but it will help to keep them from becoming shriveled during baking or discoloring afterwards.

11. Bake for 60 minutes.

Mmmm. Tasty.

This is best when stored in the fridge.  It should last up to a week.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Polenta with Andouille Sausage, Caramelized Onions and Arugula Salad

This dish may seem a little involved at first, but it’s really simple and comes together in about 30 minutes.  Husband likes warm and meaty dishes on cold nights.  The arugula lightens the dish and adds a lot of flavor.

Polenta

4 cups water or veggie / chicken broth

Olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of a pan

2 Tbsp butter

Handful of chopped pancetta

Handful of goat cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Caramelized Onions and Andouille Sausage

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp butter

Olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of a pan

½ tsp smoked paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Packet of Andouille sausage, 4 – 5 sausages

Arugula Salad

1 large handful of arugula per person

Mustard, just a few drops

Red wine vinegar, about 1 Tbsp per person

Olive oil, to taste, I like a 1 to 1 ratio with the vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, melt a little butter and olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan) over medium-low heat.  Slice the onions and add to the pan.  Sauté 3 minutes or so: until the onions are softened.

Left: Step 1 Right: Step 4

2. While the onions are softening, coat the bottom of a large saucepan in olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the pancetta and garlic.  Cook until the pancetta is browned at the edges.  Add three cups of the water or broth to the pan: turn heat to high.  Let the liquid come to a boil.

Left: Step 2 Right: Step 3

3. In a small bowl, combine the remaining cup water and the cup of polenta.  Whisk together.

4. Go back to the onions, add the brown sugar and the smoked paprika.  Lower the heat slightly.  You want the onions to cook slowly, without burning off the liquid.  Season the onions with salt and pepper, to taste.

5. When the water / broth starts to boil, add the polenta slowly, whisking all the while.  Turn the heat back to low.  Stir the polenta frequently.  It will thicken.

6. Add the Andouille sausage to the pan with the onions.  Adding the sausage now will help to flavor the onions.

Step 7, making the dressing

7. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and some mustard. Whisk together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the olive oil, whisking all the while, to create a nice thick dressing.  Drizzle over arugula.  Toss.

8. Add goat cheese to polenta. Season with salt and pepper. Stir.

9. In a serving dish, I like bowls, layer the meal as follows: polenta, onions and a sausage, top with the arugula.

Left: adding the goat cheese to the polenta. Middle: the finished onions and sausage. Right: the finished meal

Recipe: Leftover Turkey Soup

Thanksgiving turkey is great, but there is only so much you can with it.  I find turkey dries out really quickly, so I like to make soup with my leftover turkey: it’s light and keeps the turkey moist.

I generally use whatever is on hand, there are no rules for this soup.  As a general guide, I start with four cups of water for each pound of turkey and add plenty of vegetables.

This is what I used this year…

Left over turkey, about 1 lb., cut into small pieces

4 cups chicken or veggie stock (if you are using bouillon cubes instead of canned broth, 4 bouillon cubes and 4 cups water)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Any leftover veggies you may have around the house, I used:

White cabbage, thinly sliced, about 2 cups

Yellow squash, large chunks (if you don’t have squash or zucchini, try a few potatoes)

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

½ yellow pepper, diced

2-3 large tomatoes, diced

Spices:

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp coriander

½ tsp celery salt

1 tsp paprika

dash each: cayenne pepper and crushed red peppers

Optional: sriracha hot sauce or tobasco sauce

1. Heat the oil in the pan, over medium high heat.  Sauté the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes: until soft and translucent.

2. Add the cabbage, peppers and squash.

3. If you are using bouillon, break up the cubes and add to the pan.   If you are using canned broth, skip this step.

4. Add the tomatoes and the spices (and hot sauce, if you want spicy soup).  Sauté about 5 minutes: until soft.

5. Incorporate the turkey.  Then add the water (or broth).

6. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

7. Adjust seasoning, if needed.

This freezes really well.

Recipe: Butternut Squash with Brown Sugar and Nut Topping

I always look forward to that time of year when butternut squash comes into season.  It’s a malleable and flavorful vegetable.  It has a nice carrot-y sweet flavor and goes well with sweet, savory and spicy flavors.

This recipe is a really nice, easy puree.  It’s really easy to make this vegan.  It’s also easy to make this spicier by adding some garam masala (try about 1 tsp total, I put most in the topping and just a little in the puree).

Equipment:

Rimmed jelly-roll pan, lined with foil

Food processor

Large baking dish

Ingredients:

2 medium butternut squashes

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup or less, chicken stock (if you are looking to make this vegan, orange juice is a great replacement)

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

3 Tbsp butter

½ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup pecans or almonds, roughly chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

dash each of: ginger, cloves, white pepper, nutmeg

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F / 180˚C.  Pierce the squashes a few times with a knife.  Place on the foil lined pan and roast in the oven 1 – 1 ½ hours, until the knife is inserted and comes out easily.

2. Let the squashes cool, about an hour.

Breaking down the squash for the puree

3. Trim off the ends and cut in half.  Scoop out the seeds (you can save these and roast them later, they are like little pumpkin seeds, tasty).  Scoop the flesh into the food processor.

Making the puree, the liquid helps to make it smooth and blend more easily

4. Add 2 Tbsp of the chicken stock and pulse.  The chicken stock will help to smooth the puree and make it easier for the food processor to move the squash around.  Add the butter, cinnamon and maple syrup.  If needed, add a little more chicken stock.  The mixture should be smooth and creamy.

5. Place in the baking dish, season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.  Mix together with your fingers or a small spoon until small crumbs form and the brown sugar is moist.

Making the topping

7. Sprinkle the topping over the squash and bake at 350˚F / 180˚C for 30 – 40 minutes.

This dish is really easy to do a day ahead of a party, just warm it up (step 7) when you are ready to eat!

Recipe: Spicy Tomato Sauce

Recently, I purchased too many beefsteak tomatoes and ended up wondering how to use them before they rotted.  I hate wasting food, to the point that I save my parmesan cheese rinds to add flavor to soups and sauces.  I just put the rinds in a freezer bag or container and freeze them until needed

For the sauce you will need:

2 cloves garlic

2 pounds beefsteak or other large tomato

Parmesan cheese rind (no need to defrost, it can go straight from the freezer to the pot)

Pinch of dried red chili flakes (¼ to ½ tsp)

2 tsps salt

Handful (10-12 big leaves) of basil, torn or roughly chopped by hand

Steps 1 and 2

1. Finely chop the garlic.  I actually use a microplane.  I saw it on Rachel Ray.  She may be annoying, but she does have really good advice…

2. Quarter the tomatoes and remove the columella. (the brown circle in the top of the tomato)  I had to look that up, I wasn’t sure what to call that brown area and then I saw the real name and realized, I need pictures.

3. Lightly coat the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil.  Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute, or until fragrant.

4. Add the tomatoes by tearing them into smallish pieces.  I don’t chop them; I break them apart with my hands.

5. Allow the tomatoes to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes over a medium high heat to evaporate some of the liquid.  This creates a thicker, richer tasting sauce.  Reduce heat to medium low and add the salt, red chili flakes and the Parmesan cheese rind.

6. Allow to simmer for twenty minutes, uncovered, on medium low heat.  Remove the rind.  If you have fresh basil, tear some pieces up and add them to the sauce at the last minute.

Goes great with pasta, gnocchi or over polenta.

Recipe: Fish, Chips and Peas

corn claw

Ahh fish and chips.  Messy, but worth it (see exhibit A, right).

Sometimes, when I try to make something gluten-free, I just end up thinking about the ways in which the flavor differs from what I remember, so I like to work around gluten-replication whenever possible.  So, while I love the light crispy batter the Brits use, but that is hard to attain without gluten-y wheat flour and beer.  Instead, I opted for a super-crunchy cornmeal batter, popular in some New England seafood shacks (think Woodman’s).

You will need the following for the Fish:

1 ¼ lb cod fillet

Flour Dredging (orange bowl):

1/3 cup breading flour*

1 ½ t salt

1 t pepper

Egg Dredging (red bowl):

1 extra large egg, beaten

2 Tbsp milk

dash of rooster sauce (sriracha)

Cornmeal Dredging (yellow bowl):

1/3 cup rice breadcrumbs

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal (finely ground)

1 tsp each: paprika, onion powder, cumin and coriander

½ tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you a spicy kick to your cod)

2 tsp salt

* I always end up with a few tablespoons in the bottom of those gluten free flour mixes, so I put the remains in Tupperware for just this use.  You may use any flour, but stick with something finely ground.

Steps 1 and 2

Steps:

1. Cut the fish into1/2 inch slabs (see middle and right, above).  Pat the fish with paper towel so it is really dry.  This keeps the first dusting from getting goopy and thick.
2. Make the three dredges, each in a separate bowl (see left, above).  Thoroughly whisk each
   

   Step 3

   dredge.

3. Dredge the fish first in the flour, then the egg and finally the cornmeal mix (see right).
4. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with canola or another type of vegetable oil. A pan fry works just fine.  I would not go crazy and deep-fry these in a vat of oil.  With a light coating of the pan, you get a nice crust on the outside while keeping the fish moist.
5. Cook for 3 minutes on each side.
   

   Steps 4, 5, 6

6. remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Peas and onions:

½ lb frozen sweet peas

¼ lb frozen pearl onions

1 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Bring two cups water to the boil on stovetop.  Once the water comes to a boil, season with salt.
2. Add the pearl onions.  Allow to cook 1 minute.   Add the peas.  Boil for another 2 minutes, uncovered.
3. Drain and return to pan over low heat.  Add butter, salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.

Chips:

From the freezer aisle, prepare according to directions.  Lazy, but tasty.

Finished product:

mmm, dinner fantastica.

Just so you know, the stuff in the plastic Red Sox baseball cap bowl is sriracha ketchup.  I just add some sriracha sauce to ketchup for a spicy alternative to the standard ketchup.  It didn’t come out that well in the picture.  I need to work on my hand model skills.