Super Rich Mac and Cheese

Let me tell you a story. A few weeks ago, my friend Lara and I set out to cook something simple and delicious. Immediately mac and cheese came to mind. Of course--mac and cheese, comforting and easy. Except only the EZ is easy. We were deceived. Mac and cheese, unlike the Annie's packaged version that so many college students (including myself) depend on for their survival during desperate times, is not simple at all. No, it is actually kind of...complicated?

Shoddy attempt at breadcrumbs, but everything else looks yum.

Ok the whole thing isn't complicated. Lara might say the cheese grating part is since she spent the better part of 30 minutes grating two blocks of Cheddar and Pecorino Romano into shreds. But we mainly ran into trouble when, after heating butter with flour, we added the heated milk and it congealed into a hot brown mess. I thought we had failed, but ALAS! that was just a natural step on the way to cream-land. The moral is, don't despair. Cream sauce is made out of unhealthy amounts of unhealthy things and for a moment there, it might also look unhealthy. But keep stirring, and it will be delicious in the end. And unhealthy.

Everything is better with bacon.

In the end, it turned out pretty well. The combination of cheese was very good--definitely rich but in exactly the way we wanted it to be. And of course we added bacon just because. We thought we would never be able to finish the whole thing, but with the trusty aid of my roommate and another friend we finished a whole casserole dish of very rich mac and cheese. We must have done something right...

We adapted a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, who in turn adapted it from Martha Stewart. We used Pecorino Romano instead of Gruyere because it was cheaper, and shell pasta because we couldn't find elbow macaroni. We also added bacon. We didn't exactly follow procedure with the breadcrumbs so that may be why it looks weird. Here is the original recipe:

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
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
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 (though we needed a bit more time to get it brown, but your oven may vary). Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

Enjoy!
Nosher

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breast

I am still learning how to grocery shop. Shopping for one is the hardest thing ever; something I was planning on cooking tomorrow always goes bad yesterday. Most of the time when I look into the depths of my fridge to find a magical combination of ingredients that will allow me to make something edible other than packaged risotto (they do have good ones, by the way...I've just eaten way to much of it), I cave and end up not cooking at all.


But sometimes, the food gods look down upon you and you just happen to have all the ingredients just staring at you in the face, shouting "combine me into something delicious, please!!" Well, I just happened to have a chicken breast, some pesto, and some prosciutto lying around.

This recipe is so easy. There are only three ingredients involved, assuming you don't make your own pesto (I'm asking for a food processor for Christmas). And I swear it tasted better than it looks in this photograph...I have yet to master food photography..

That's the breast cut in half--you want the prosciutto to be slightly crispy on the outside, the chicken to be moist, and the pesto to ooze out of the center.

Take your boneless skinless chicken breast, and slice it sideways through the center, but not all the way through, so it's like an open book. Spoon some pesto into the crevice, a good amount but not too much that it all squeezes out when you close the chicken. Season the breast with salt and pepper and whatever other fresh herbs you like. Lay several pieces of prosciutto down vertically next to one another, so their sides are slightly overlapping. Lay the breast down on top of the prosciutto and wrap the prosciutto around the breast. The ends of the prosciutto should meet and seal around the chicken.

Heat some oil in a pan over medium head and place the breast in the pan, browning on each side, 3-4 min. Make sure to place the side with the prosciutto ends down first, so that it seals quickly. Ideally use a pan that is safe in the oven also--I dont have this so I just transferred the chicken to a baking pan lined with aluminum foil, making sure to keep some oil on the breast. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 15-20 min or until chicken is cooked through. If you do have a temperature thermometer, the chicken should be 160 deg F in the middle.

Let set for a minute or two before cutting so the juices don't run out. This can be prepared many different ways, I just made it this way because it's what I had handy. A good alternative would be a Florentine version with a spinach and ricotta stuffing. Or you don't have to stuff the chicken at all. If I did it over again, I would either use less prosciutto or have it sliced thinner. For some reason the guy at the grocery store had no idea what I meant when I asked for prosciutto and then proceeded to slice it pretty thick. Several very thin slices will cook nicer than a few thicker ones.

I have a lot of posts to catch up on, including Billy's bakery in Chelsea and some yummy ramen in the Lower East Side. Soon!

Nosher

Cooking Class in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The cooking class that Josie and I took in Chiang Mai was one of the highlights of our trip. It was really well organized and informational; before we started cooking we went to the market and shopped for our ingredients, learning all about traditional Thai spices and products. This is me shopping at the market:
In the beginning of the class they served us a tasting of tropical fruits: Rambutan, Dragon Fruit, Lychee, Mangosteen, Sugar Cane, and some other random things; mangosteens (the ones in the middle) are my favorite; the corn jelly not so much...

And then we got cookin'. Most of the dishes we made were remarkably easy--mainly based around the concept of throwing ingredients in the wok/pot/pan at different intervals and creating a balance of flavors based on your personal preference. This one was probably the easiest, and most closely resembled a stir-fry I would do with random stuff I have in the fridge at home. The only thing that makes this different is the Thai ingredients. Luckily, in Los Angeles or New York it's really easy to find curry powder/chili paste/fish sauce or other things of the like. The fish sauce is key; almost every dish in Asia incorporates fish sauce in some way, and it really becomes the essence of Oriental food--if you use, like I've done many times, soy sauce in your stir fry and wonder what's missing, it's most likely the fish sauce. (though if you must, soy is a good vegetarian alternative to fish sauce)

These are the dishes I made:

Stir Fried Prawn with Curry Powder100 g prawn
1 tbsp spring onion
1 tbsp Chinese celery
2 tbsp onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp soy oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp roasted chili paste

Put the oil in the wok; when the oil is hot, add the garlic and pepper and stir until fragrant
Add prawns, curry powder and chili paste and stir
Add fish sauce and sugar
Add spring onion and chinese celery
Cook to taste, alter with more of certain ingredients if you desire--too fishy, add more sugar or vice versa

Chicken in Coconut Milk 75 g chicken
30 g straw or oyster mushroom
2 cups coconut milk
3 fresh chillies
1/2 onion, quartered
1 tomato, quartered
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 lemongrass, sliced diagonally
2 slices galangal (ginger)
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 finely sliced coriander (or cilantro, to taste)
1 finely sliced spring onion

Heat the coconut milk in a pot over a low flame
Put the lemongrass, Siamese ginger (galangal) and kaffir lime leave in the pot (in Thailand, this combination is what's called a "soup packet" and they sell it in bunches together at the market for this purpose)
Add the chicken and wait until it is cooked (which happens pretty fast)
Add the onion, tomato, and mushroom
Add fish sauce, sugar and lime juice according to taste
Serve in a bowl and top with chopped coriander/cilantro, spring onion and chillies (open up the chillies if you like it really spicy)

Our teacher told us to add however many chillies we wanted depending on our spice tolerance; with the smallest, hottest chillies some people could only take 1 or two. I put in three. She told us when she cooks at home, she adds fifteen (15!!)

This was my favorite dish; I plan to cook it all winter long when I seem to routinely enter my soup phase. The flavors of the spices are really bold but not overbearing, and the coconut milk absorbs them really well.

Panaeng Curry with Pork75 g pork, cut 1/2 cm thick
1 tbsp red curry paste (I have a recipe for this paste, ask me if you want it)
1 cup coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves, stem torn off
1 tbsp ground roasted peanut
25 g pea eggplant
1 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp mixed spices powder (Pha-Naeng Powder; see below)
2 sliced red chilli
2 tbsp oil

spice powder:
1/6 tsp cumin
1/6 tsp cardamon
1/6 tsp coriander seed
1/6 tsp clove
1/6 tsp nutmeg
1/6 tsp black pepper
mix together

Heat the wok and pour pour oil into the wok over low heat
Put in the red curry paste and Pha-Naeng powder and stir continuously until fragrant and oil surfaces
Add pork, 1/4 cup of coconut milk and stir until cooked
Add the remaining coconut milk and pea eggplant
Add fish sauce, palm sugar and ground roasted peanut, stir continuously until coconut milk becomes thick and the pork is tender
Pour into the dish, topping with kaffir lime leaves, red chilli and serve with rice

Spring Roll
Filling:100 g glass noodle
100 g bean sprout
50 g minced pork
4 Chinese chives
1 tbsp garlic
4 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1.2 cup water

Put the oil in the wok, fry garlic until golden and pungent
Add minced pork, fry until pork is almost cooked
Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar
Add glass noodles, bean sprout and spring onion
Stir until the fresh vegetables are cooked, set aside to cool

Prep:
10 spring roll wrappers
1 beaten egg

Place a tablespoonful of filling on a spring roll wrapper
Fold sheet over filling, away from you, until rounded tip is at the middle; fold in the sides and continue rolling away, sealing the sheet closed with the egge
Deep fry in plenty of oil until golden
Serve with a sweet chilli sauce (store bought or ask me for a recipe)

These were really easy and you can make any variation on the filling that you want--veggie only or a different meat etc. Although it's a little bit of work if you're only cooking for yourself; save this one for a bigger group and you can probably make a lot cheaply and everyone will be pretty impressed that you rolled them yourself.

All in all this was really fun and informative. I wish cooking classes were as cheap as they were in Thailand in NYC. For now I will just have to practice in my tiny dorm kitchen...

Tilapia Tacos

I have to admit, I am not really a cooked fish person. Raw fish is one of my favorite foods...I could eat sushi all day every day...but for some reason, I am very picky about the cooked version. I will eat certain kinds of mild white fish if it is put in front of me, but it is never something I will actively choose off of a menu. In an effort to be more health-conscious and also expand my palette, I am trying to experiment with fish.

At the moment, that means that the fish I do eat is most likely covered with sauce. But it's a start, right? And the perfect recipe that combines very mild white fish + flavorful sauce = tacos! My one great memory with fish is of fish tacos. I was on the big island of Hawaii with my family a few years back and we heard about this taco truck that parks on this one secluded road. If I remember the name I will post it...anyways it was amaaazing. They used mahi mahi and it was perfect.

Here is my attempt at fish tacos. The market didn't have mahi mahi so I bought tilapia instead. First I made the salsa with tomatoes, white onion, lots of cilantro, a jalepeno, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper:Then I made the "pink sauce," more specifically in this case a chipotle crema. I bought a cup-sized container of creme fraiche (sour cream also works) and mixed in two tablespoons of pureed chipotle pepper in adobe paste. It tasted a little too smokey so I added some lime juice and mayonnaise to dilute it and then thicken it back up with a different taste.

As an alternative to breading and frying the fish, I coated the filets in a flour mixture. This way the fish doesn't fall apart as easily and has a somewhat crispy outer crust. Mix flour with lots of salt and pepper and whichever other spices go with the meal--we added some lemon pepper a touch of chipotle pepper powder.Let the fish sit for a few minutes so that the flour can soak in. Over medium heat, melt enough butter to coat the pan and pour olive oil on top of that. Before the oil and butter get too hot and start browning, put the fish in. Cook through until brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes each. They should look like this:Almost done...serve with sliced cabbage dressed in lime juice (for the crunch factor), lime wedges, heated corn tortillas, and avocados if you're like me and obsessed with avocados.

The final product: A perfectly assembled taco! (use two tortillas to avoid total mayhem)

Stay tuned for more taco tales from the self-proclaimed taco afficionado of so-cal...

Nosher

Edible Flowers

A few weeks ago my boyfriend Ryan and I were at a farmer's market when I saw these beautiful zucchini blossoms.
I knew immediately that I had to do something with them, because they are one of my favorite foods and not always in season. Zucchini blossoms are best known stuffed with some kind of soft cheese, most commonly ricotta for its mild but creamy flavor, and then fried in tempura batter. I actually love the blossoms without the ricotta also, because the flower itself has this indescribably amazing and fresh taste. You can fry the blossoms without the baby zucchini attached, but why do that when you can kill two birds with one stone. Tempura-ed zucchini is delicious too.

The tempura batter is so easy to make:
Mix equal parts beer and flour, and then add a generous pinch of salt. The batter should be the consistency of crepe batter, which is slightly thinner than pancake batter. (Use light beer; if you don't have that seltzer water like Perrier also works perfectly). About one cup of beer/flour each is a good amount for at least ten blossoms.

Pour 1 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot. We couldn't find one so we used a wok and it worked fine. Heat up the oil to about 375 degrees. One by one, dip the blossoms in the batter and then drop into the pot. Fry them until they look golden brown. Depending on how hot your oil is, it could take less than a minute or two whole minutes--just guestimate. Scoop out the fried blossom with a perforated spoon or with tongs and place them on a paper towel to drain.

They should come out like this:
They are best while still hot and crispy! Sprinkle some sea salt on top and they're ready to go. My mouth is watering just typing this--when you bite into the blossom you will get all the juices from inside; mixed with the crispy tempura and the salt it is so good.

This recipe is so easy--it basically consists of three ingredients, two of which (vegetable oil and flour) you should already have in your pantry. Just go out and buy fresh vegetables or shrimp and you can tempura just about anything (and everyone knows that everything is better fried). But tempura is also a lighter batter than what you would normally associate with deep-frying, so it doesn't overwhelm the produce.

Yum!