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RECIPE ROUNDUP
All Grown Up
By Shannon Oelrich
In her seminal cookbook, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1918), Fannie Farmer proclaimed, “Macaroni is valuable food, as it is very cheap and nutritious; but being deficient in fat, it should be combined with cream, butter, or cheese, to make a perfect food.” Thus proclaimed, macaroni mixed with cheese and cream became a staple on American family tables.
These days, macaroni and cheese is seen mostly as a dish for the elementary school crowd, but some cooks have started reclaiming this standard of comfort food by going well beyond the familiar blue box. It’s seen on menus at gourmet restaurants with chunks of lobster, finished with a drizzle of truffle oil. That’s going a little beyond the pale for us home cooks, but we can dress up the old favorite without too much fuss.
Here is a sophisticated version from Linda Sanderson Moore, who gave us all those great blue-ribbon tips back in the August issue. She says, “My family loves this recipe because it tastes like fondue. The sauce is creamy and flavorful, and the dressing mixture on the top makes it a little crunchy.” She and her family are members of South Plains Electric Cooperative.
“MOORE” MAC ’N’ CHEESE
8 ounces macaroni
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (divided), plus more for cooking pasta
3 1/2 tablespoons butter (divided)
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
7 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
3 ounces aged Gouda cheese, grated
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon each cayenne and nutmeg
1/2 cup packaged dry herbed dressing
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions in well-salted water until tender to the bite. Drain, but do not rinse.
In large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add shallots and cook until light golden, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle shallot-butter mixture with flour; cook, stirring often, 1 minute. Add wine and stir, picking up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add cream and stir well.
Sprinkle in cheeses, one large handful at a time, stirring until each handful is mostly melted before adding the next. Stir in 2 tablespoons chives, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Stir cooked pasta into cheese mixture and pour all into a 2-quart greased baking dish.
Combine dry dressing with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon chives and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Sprinkle mixture over top of casserole and bake until top is browned and cheese is bubbling, about 15–20 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
Serving size: 1 large serving spoonful. Per serving: 454 calories, 16 g protein, 24 g fat, 36 g carbohydrates, 601 mg sodium, 80 mg cholesterol
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HOME COOKING
Recipe Contest Winner: Linda Kinard, Navasota Valley Electric Cooperative
Prize-Winning Recipe: MacQuiche
This no-crust quiche is an imaginative dish of things you wouldn’t necessarily combine, but all the flavors work well together. There’s enough cheese and macaroni to please the little ones, while adults will savor the flavors of smoked ham and Parmesan, plus everyone gets some veggies.
MACQUICHE
4 cups whole-wheat macaroni
3 tablespoons butter (divided)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 cup diced smoked ham
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 cup 2-percent milk
2 cups half-and-half
3 large eggs
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni in unsalted water to al dente (slightly firm). Drain and allow to cool to room temperature. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and sauté for 1 minute. Melt remaining butter in same skillet with carrots; add zucchini and sauté for another minute. Add green onions and garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. (Veggies will be crisp-tender.) Stir in ham, Parmesan and seasoned salt. In large bowl, combine veggie/ham mix with macaroni and 3 cups of Cheddar and Mexican cheeses (mixed together), reserving the other cup for topping.
Spoon macaroni mixture into buttered 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Beat eggs and combine with milk and half-and-half. Pour over macaroni mix. Bake 30 minutes and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over top of casserole. Bake until knife blade inserted in center shows only a little thickened custard (about 10 more minutes or so). Serves 6–8.
Serving size: 1 large serving spoonful. Per serving: 508 calories, 26 g protein, 30 g fat, 38 g carbohydrates, 756 mg sodium, 139 mg cholesterol
Cook’s Tip: Wash and chop veggies and ham a day or two before dish is cooked. You can also put the whole casserole together and store in refrigerator the night before baking.
CHEESY MACARONI AND CHEESE
3 slices white bread
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
9 ounces grated sharp Cheddar cheese (divided)
4 ounces grated Romano or Gruyère cheese (divided)
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside. Remove crusts from bread and tear into quarters. Place bread in medium bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Pour butter over bread and toss lightly; set aside.
Warm milk in saucepan over medium heat. Melt remaining butter in high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Whisk the warmed milk a little at a time into flour mixture until smooth. Whisking constantly, continue cooking for about 8–12 minutes, until mixture bubbles and thickens.
Remove pan from heat and stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne, 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese and 3/4 cup Romano or Gruyère, then set aside.
Boil macaroni until it begins to soften, approximately 2–3 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse in cold water. Drain well, then stir into the cheese sauce. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serves 6.
Serving size: 1 large serving spoonful. Per serving: 430 calories, 20 g protein, 24 g fat, 34 g carbohydrates, 729 mg sodium, 75 mg cholesterol
Kathleen Gordon, United Cooperative Services
CHICKEN CHEESE MELT-A-WAY
1 1/2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 quarts chicken broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
4 slices American cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you prepared the chicken yourself, reserve the broth and cook the macaroni in it. If not, use 2 quarts of canned chicken broth to cook the macaroni. Drain and set aside.
In saucepan, sauté onion in butter 3–5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper and flour. Gradually add milk and cook until sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Mix cubed chicken and macaroni in a 2-quart casserole dish. Arrange cheese slices on the top. Pour sauce over mixture. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Serves 4–6.
Serving size: 1 large serving spoonful. Per serving: 518 calories, 32 g protein, 36 g fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 1,578 mg sodium, 133 mg cholesterol
Patsy Cox, Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative
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