Tag-Archive for ◊ Thanksgiving ◊

29 Nov 2020 Polly’s Mac n’ Cheese
Author:  |  Category: Pasta, Side Dishes  | Tags: , , , , , , , ,  | One Comment
Thanksgiving Dinner with Mac n’ Cheese
Christmas Party buffet with Mac n’ Cheese

Polly’s Mac n’ Cheese (YEP, I’m claiming it)

I’ve been promising to post this recipe forever, but I have held off because it’s impossible (for me anyway) to get a good picture of Mac n’ Cheese. The issue is partly Mac n’ Cheese’s fault, right? It’s just not photogenic; it’s flat, it’s monotone (just white noodles and melted cheese), and it has NO pops of color anywhere! Garnish Mac n’ Cheese? That would just look silly. So here it is, my recipe for Mac n’ Cheese, without a good picture 🙂

It’s taken a long time to perfect this recipe and there is nothing crazy about it. It’s a traditional macaroni and cheese; no fancy cheeses. No veggies, no lobster, no bacon, no truffle oil, no breadcrumbs and definitely no Flamin’ Hot Cheetos! Just elbow noodles, cheddar cheese, and a roux.

That being said, I do have ONE secret ingredient, I use some chicken broth in the sauce to add more umami, if you will, to the dish.  I use homemade chicken broth/stock/bone broth, not the processed, canned or boxed stuff. 

If you must use a commercial broth, deepen the flavor first.  Pour the broth into a pan, add some bone-in chicken (anything: a thigh, a drumstick or two, leftover carcass of a rotisserie chicken…). Then toss in a bay leaf or two, some chopped onion (with the skin), and perhaps some chopped carrot or celery (whatever you have languishing in the veggie drawer). Let the to-be-enhanced broth simmer while prepping the rest of the ingredients. Drain solids from broth and discard. Use broth as directed below.

One other tip, I wouldn’t use that pre-shredded cheese. I haven’t tasted any pre-shredded cheese that has the required sharpness, and I don’t know how all those additives used to prevent the cheese from clumping will affect the final dish.

Just for the record, Mac n’ Cheese is a side dish, never a main.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2-3 cups homemade or enriched Chicken broth, heated
  • 2-3 cups whole milk, heated
  • NOTE: you need 5 cups total of liquid–use 50/50 chicken broth/milk or 60/40 or 25/75, whatever suits you or whatever fits what you have on hand.
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • ¼-½ teaspoon powdered mustard (not so much for taste, but to help with emulsion)
  • 1 lb sharp cheddar cheese grated, approx. 4 cups (Ok to sub a bit of mozzarella, up to 1 cup, for some of the sharp cheddar. Also, if you have odd bits and pieces of various cheeses leftover, use them but remember that the flavor of the dish will change–and kids will object)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste (chicken broth varies in saltiness, so taste the cheese sauce and add salt and pepper as needed.)
  • 1 lb elbow macaroni (cooked in generously salted water, for the shortest time mentioned on the package, rinse with cold water, and drain.)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine milk and chicken broth in a large container and microwave until hot.
  3. In a large skillet, melt butter and stir in the flour.
  4. Stirring constantly, cook the flour-butter mixture over medium heat for 3 minutes, taking care not to brown the roux.
  5. Turn off the heat under the roux.
  6. Slowly add about 1 cup of the chicken broth-milk mixture into the roux. Whisk and stir constantly until all liquid is absorbed and mixture looks homogenous and there are no lumps in the sacue. Repeat until all milk-broth mixture has been incorporated into the butter-flour mixture.
  7. Return mixture to heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  8. Taste.  Add salt, pepper  to taste along with a small quantity of powdered mustard.
  9. Gradually add cheese a handful at a time. Stir until completely melted, then add another handful and repeat process until all cheese has been incorporated.
  10. Stir cooked elbow macaroni into cheese sauce.
  11. Pour into greased 9×13 casserole dish.
  12.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes. Do not overbake or cheese sauce will begin to separate.
  13.  Cool for 10 minutes or so before serving.

NOTES from experience: To make ahead, make cheese sauce and boil noodles, but store separately. Bring to room temperature. Combine. Bake as above.

I have made premade cheese sauce and frozen it , then defrosted it overnight in the refrigerator.  I do reheat the cheese sauce and whip with immersion blender before combining with boiled noodles.

OK to sprinkle extra cheese on top if you like that look.

Enjoy!

20 Nov 2019 Homemade Eggnog for Eggnog Lattes
Author:  |  Category: Drinks, Eggs, Holidays & Events, Seasonal, Sweets  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment
Cooking up cream, milk, sugar, egg yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla into delicious homemade eggnog. Store eggnog in the refrigerator, and add a splash to your lattes and coffees for mugs of holiday pleasure.

Years ago I had my first Eggnog Latte at Starbucks. I fell in love and Eggnog Lattes quickly became my favorite seasonal treat. They are rich, creamy, slightly spiced, and slightly sweet, (and caffeinated!), a warm sip of heaven in a cup.

Having a home espresso machine, I tried to recreate Eggnog Lattes at home. In that quest, I went through many, many varieties of commercial eggnogs.  I found that every carton of eggnog is different, some more intense than others, some sweeter than others, some spicier than others,  some too weak, most were too strong, and some, no most, truly horrible and artificial tasting.

Then, in 2016 this homemade eggnog entered my world and the angels sang…

Eggnog for Lattes

  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 egg yolks
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1/3 cup rum or bourbon, optional (I never add)
  1. Place milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Heat just until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Do not bring milk to a full boil.
  2. While milk and spices are heating, beat 6 egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat until mixture is pale and creamy.
  3. Remove hot milk from the stove. With beaters on low (to avoid splashback) slowly pour the hot milk into the egg and sugar mixture.
  4. After all the milk mixture has been incorporated, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to stove.
  5. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 160 degrees.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in cream and optional rum or bourbon.
  7. Refrigerate until chilled.

To make an Eggnog Latte: I use half this eggnog mixture and half milk in my lattes. For company, I might top with a bit of whipped cream and a light dusting of nutmeg.

To make an Eggnog Coffee: stir this eggnog mixture, as is, into a cup of strong, hot black coffee.

Eggnog for my Dad: a small glass of chilled eggnog, straight up, with an extra shot of bourbon. Repeat.

Added bonuses: No added preservatives or chemicals, no wasteful packaging!

02 Oct 2019 Fresh Corn Soup
Author:  |  Category: Seasonal, Side Dishes, Soups, Veggies  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment
Fresh Corn Soup with Roasted Poblano Chilies, Queso Fresco, and fried corn tortilla strips.

This is such a plain and simple recipe, it’s hard to believe such a good tasting soup comes out of it!

The ingredient list for this soup is so ordinary that it’s hard to imagine how exceptional the soup tastes.  Been there, thought that. I was wrong. This soup is beyond the sum of its parts. Fresh Corn Soup is divine, and creamy and rich, but it’s not a hearty soup so it needs something else to go with it to make a full meal. Soup-and-sandwich anyone or, even better, a soup-and-enchilada combo?

I like to have this Fresh Corn Soup when the seasons are just beginning to change , just when cooler temperatures heighten the desire for soup and when the end-of-the-season corn-on-the-cob is still available. The original recipe said this soup can be made with frozen corn, so score one for simplicity! I always make things hard on myself though. I strip the corn kernels off six ears of fresh corn and then proceed with the recipe.

The toppings make this soup exceptional. Top each bowl of Fresh Corn Soup with a few corn tortillas cut into strips and fried in a little oil until crisp, a few crumbles of Queso Fresco, and a tablespoon or so of charred, peeled and diced poblano chilis.

This soup can be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth, or by not using broth at all and using milk as the liquid ingredient.

Fresh Corn Soup

4 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 6 ears of corn) or 4 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted.

1 cup water

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or milk

2 cups of milk

½ teaspoon table salt or 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

  1. Mix corn with water and place in blender, process until the water and corn combine into a smooth paste.
  2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add corn puree and sauté for 5 minutes.
  3. Pour chicken broth (or veggie broth) plus milk into pan with corn mixture and bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat to medium and gently simmer soup for 15 minutes.
  5. Turn off heat and cool slightly.
  6. Don’t skip this step! I did once and it was not nice. Pour the soup into a fine mesh strainer. Retain the liquid and discard the solids.
  7. When ready to serve, gently reheat and serve with all three of the toppings below.

Makes about 6 cups of soup. Leftover soup freezes well.

Garnishes

2 Poblano Chilies

3 corn tortillas

Queso Fresco

  1. Char the poblano chilies over an open burner. When completely charred and black, place in a brown paper bag to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub the burned skin off with a paper towel, cut away the stem, seeds and membrane and then finely chop the remaining flesh.
  2. Cut the three corn tortillas into thin strips. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a small fraying pan. When hot add some of the strips and fry until light brown. Repeat with remaining tortilla strip.
  3. Open the package of Queso Fresco and crumble the cheese.
  4. Add ½-1 tablespoon of diced chilies into bottom of the bowl along with approx. 1 tablespoon crumbled Queso Fresco.
  5. Ladle hot soup over the chilies and cheese.
  6. Top with crispy fried corn tortillas
Fresh Corn Soup made with white corn, topped with fancy corn tortilla shapes and Queso Fresco. Made and photographed by my daughter, Abby.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.

26 Jan 2018 Potatoes Baked in Cream (Potato Gratin)
Author:  |  Category: Breakfast & Brunch, Holidays & Events, Main Dish, Meatless, Rice and Potatoes, Side Dishes  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 2 Comments
potatoes-baked-in-cream-with-abby

Did the name of the recipe entice you click on this?! Well then, that makes us friends forever!

When my friends from Southern France were staying with us, they offered to make a side dish for dinner.  They didn’t use a recipe. They sliced up a few potatoes, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, poured a carton of cream over the top, and put the whole thing in the oven. Sixty minutes later my family’s love affair with Potatoes Baked in Cream began.

Last year I found an actual written down recipe, one that I can pass on, one with precise quantities and directions.  The recipe is from David Tanis’ cookbook, “Market Cooking”. I made one change to Chef Tanis’ recipe, I cut out an additional four tablespoons of butter! Chef Tanis calls his recipe “Classic Potato Gratin”, but to me and my family it will always be “Potatoes Baked in Cream”.

I think you will be surprised at how delicious this very simple dish is. I certainly was. Sublime. After you taste Potatoes Bake in Cream, that will be your word of the day. Sublime.

An important note:  Leftovers don’t reheat well, so make sure you eat all of the potatoes in one sitting (invite friends over, take the dish to a potluck, serve these potatoes for a holiday meal…). I haven’t tried reheating leftovers in the oven, so that might work (see David Tanis’ *note below). I have tried reheating leftovers in the microwave.  Don’t do it on 100% power!  I had so-so results reheating on 50% power. I wouldn’t serve them to anyone else, but I was able to eat them!  I have also had so-so results from throwing a handful of diced ham into a hot frying pan, dicing up a serving of leftover casserole, and reheating over medium heat. It made for a good breakfast, but nothing-nothing-like the original casserole served hot from the oven.

Another important note: The potatoes need to be sliced thinly and evenly. 1/8th inch or 3/16ths an inch is about right. You can do this with a very sharp knife and by working slowly and carefully, like my French friends did. I use a mandolin to slice the potatoes. If you don’t have one, I’d suggest getting one.  I bought mine on Amazon after looking at all the reviews and selecting the highest rated one. Later I started seeing mandolins at Savers/Goodwill for about $6.  I bought used mandolins for my daughters. Go to Savers.

Potatoes Baked in Cream (Potato Gratin)

  • 3 pounds russet potatoes
  • butter to coat the baking dish (Chef Tanis uses 4 more tablespoons butter to dot top of casserole, I don’t)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2½ cups heavy whipping cream (don’t even think about substituting anything for the cream, such as half and half or whole milk, it just won’t work!)
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Peel the potatoes and put them in cold water (to prevent them from turning brown while you finish the prep work. Slice only one layer of potatoes as a time. Keep the other potatoes in the cold water. The browning happens fast when the potatoes are so thinly cut).
  2. Smear a baking dish thickly with butter. (I use a 9×13 dish but I am looking for a dish that’s the same size and a bit shallower since the quantity of potatoes only come half way up the sides of the 9×13 pan. The waste of space bothers me a bit as I’d like to have a dedicated Potatoes Baked in Cream pan because, after all, this is a dish I will be making over and over! That being said, I’ve been using the same 9×13 pan for a few years now, so it’s really not a problem.)
  3. Drain and dry one peeled potato at a time. Using a mandolin or a very sharp knife, slice one potatoes at a time as thinly as possible. Quickly lay the potato slices in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping them just slightly to make a “roof tile” style pattern. Sprinkle each layer of potatoes lightly with salt and pepper. Slice more potatoes and make another layer. Continue in this fashion, seasoning each layer, until all the potatoes are used. You should have at least 3, but no more than 4 layers.
  4. Pour the cream over the potatoes and tilt the pan to distribute well. With your hands, push down on the top layer to even out the pile (I don’t do this, but Chef Tanis says to). The cream should just barely cover the potatoes; add a little more if necessary.
  5. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 375°.
  6. After 30 minutes remove the foil from the casserole, and return to the oven for another 30-35 minutes to finish cooking the potatoes and turn the top of the gratin to a crispy, deep golden brown.
  7. Let the gratin rest for 10 minutes before serving.

*Note from David Tanis: The gratin can also be cooled and left at room temperature for several hours, then reheated in a moderate oven. (I haven’t tested this)

Thank you for stopping by my kitchen today, what is cooking for tomorrow, hmmmm…. Pork and Tomatillo Stew?

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