baked macaroni – not as heavy, but just as cheese-pleasing

orange food almost always does well. mind you, macaroni can be white-ish too and just as tasty, but for now, let’s all envision golden melty macaroni with a gooey-crunchy top and warm soft middle. this recipe stems from one my dad made up; the main difference being I’ve added a few more things to flavour up the pasta and some panko for extra crunch. so, if you please, crank your oven and get yourself hungry!

pulled out of your fridge and cabinets:

half a bag of macaroni, 450g or so
1/2 a small onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
lots of cracked black pepper
3-5 shakes of worcestershire, depending on how bitey you like it
1 big egg or 2 little ones
1/2 C milk
1/2 a medium tub of cottage cheese, 250 ml-ish
1/2 tsp white sugar
3-4 C sharp cheddar grated
1/2 C panko or bread crumbs

. preheat thine oven to 350
. boil the macaroni, but drain it 2 minutes before it’s properly cooked. it will finish tendering-up in the oven
. in a bowl, add the egg, diced onion, pepper, salt, sugar, worcestershire and beat with a fork
. add the cottage cheese and milk and stir
. drain the pasta and pour the milk/cheese mix over the pasta and stir

. dump half the pasta into a nice casserole dish
. sprinkle just less than half of the cheese on the pasta so it’s evenly distributed
. dump on the rest of the pasta, and the rest of the cheese on that
. sprinkle the panko on top and give it a few cracks of pepper

. either put a lid on your dish, or lightly wrap it in tinfoil and bake for half an hour
. remove lid/foil and bake for another half hour or so. you may want to turn on the broiler for the last 2 or 3 minutes if you’re partial to a crispy top

I like this with cheddar, but a cheddar/mozzarella blend is nice, or gruyere and fontina… or maybe add a little blue cheese if you like it zippy. so many cheeses, so many dinners…

 

the ultimatest spaghetti sauce

this is pretty much my mom’s recipe for a red meat sauce. I’ve tweaked it to my tastes, as you should too. I find it’s best on whole wheat pasta, though it’s good on the regular stuff too. Serve it with a nice green salad and garlic bread (see recipe below) and lots of parmesan. It freezes well, so don’t be afraid to make a big batch.

on the ready:
2 tbsp butter
a couple glugs of vegetable oil
1 pack (I guess that’s somewhere near 1-1 1/2 lb.s) ground pork (or beef)
1 medium sized onion, diced fine
2-3 celery stalks, diced fine
6-8 mushrooms, chopped however you like
4 cloves of garlic, minced
cracked black pepper
1 tbsp beef paste (rather than salt)
2 jars of regular ragu
water
2 bay leaves
1 tin tomato paste
1 firm shiny eggplant, cut however you like (don’t omit this, even if you don’t like eggplant, cut it into big chunks so you can pick it out)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp each of italian seasoning, oregano, basil

. pick out your favourite big honkin’ pot and get him hot on low-medium heat. add the oil and butter
. when the butter has melted, add the onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, pepper, and beef paste. get all this soft and glisteny, but don’t let it get brown

. when the veg is soft, add the pork. get it nice and browned off
. dump in the two jars of ragu. rinse them out with water you can then pour into the sauce mix so you don’t lose any flavour along the way. make sure to fill both jars to the top. depending on how thick or thin you like your sauce, you may need to add more water than the two jars full. keep in mind a good deal of water will evaporate through the next two hours of simmering
. add the bay leaves and turn the heat down to low. simmer uncovered for two hours, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 25 minutes or so

. add the tin of tomato paste, eggplant, sugar, and herbs. stir, and allow to simmer for another 40 minutes. you may want to add a bit more water to compensate for the thickening action of the tomato paste… your call, really.

and so, WHAM, best red meat sauce ever! and even better two days later! serve with super awesome garlic bread that’s simple and fast.

garlic bread is soooo tasty and super easy to make. get yourself some

1/3 C butter (don’t you dare use margarine)
small handful of freshly chopped parsley
6 cloves of garlic, minced
big ol’ loaf of french or italian bread

. mix the garlic, butter and parsley together in bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for at least an hour before using
. put a frying pan on almost medium heat and make sure it’s hot enough to instantly evaporate a drop of water
. carve the bread into 2 inch sliced rounds, and then cut those in half so you end up with a bunch of semicircles
. spread on the butter, but don’t go crazy with it because it’ll just melt off if you get it too thick
fry these little wedges of golden happiness in the pan, butter side down for just a couple minutes. until they’re a light golden brown. do take care not to burn them as it can happen easily with garlic

there you are; garlic bread that’s crispy, buttery, dippable, and fast!

12 octoburgers later, it’s a sunny, sunny day

lovely day out there. a good day to make a mess and shave your head. It’s a good idea to wear tight shorts and make some double-strong tea for you and yer lover(s). After the bread gets baked of course. 🙂    what a nice time.