Throwing Food

The combination of this weekend's temperature drop and the start of the football season means that if fall's not here yet, it will be soon. Around our kitchen, fall means the reappearance of dishes like stews and casseroles. One of our favorite quick casserole-like dishes is baked macaroni and cheese. We made that today, based on the recipe we found years ago on the back of a box of Mueller's elbow macaroni. We've tried a number of other recipes, but we always come back to this one.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese (with Broccoli)

Ingredients

• 2 cups of uncooked macaroni
• 2 tablespoons of corn starch
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 cup of broccoli, cut into small pieces (optional)

Cook the macaroni for 7 minutes and drain.

While the macaroni is cooking, combine the corn starch, salt, mustard, and pepper in a small saucepan. Stir in the milk and add the butter. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Stir in all but a big handful of the cheese and the broccoli. Stir in the macaroni. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and pour the macaroni and cheese into the dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and top with the bread crumbs.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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Posted by Mike at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Capellini with Tomato and Basil

Ingredients

• Capellini (angel hair) pasta for two
• 1 medium tomato cut into bite-sized pieces
• Small handful of fresh basil, cut into chiffonade
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Grated parmagiano-reggiano cheese
• 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil

Cook the pasta according to directions and drain. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Crush the garlic clove with the side of a knife, remove the peel, and place in the heating olive oil. This will infuse the oil with garlicky goodness, but be sure to turn the garlic before it gets too dark. Remove the garlic when it is browned on all sides.

Add the red pepper flakes to the olive oil and a short time later add the tomato. Allow the tomato to cook for a minute or two and then add the basil. Stir to heat up the basil, then add the cooked pasta. Allow to cook for another minute or two and then remove from the heat and plate it up. Sprinkle a good amount of grated parmagiano-reggiano cheese over the top. Serve and enjoy!

Posted by Mike at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's something about a nice picture of food that's really pleasing to my eye. I'm not sure how, but every once in a while I've been able to take a nice one food photo myself. The photo here is of a simple salad, one made with precut bagged lettuce, sliced up cucumber and roma tomato, almond slivers, and some store-bought pesto italian dressing. The white salad bowl adds a bit of simple style to the dish. It was taken with a Sony DSC-F717 digital camera.

Technorati tags: food photos

Posted by Mike at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On the weekends, when we don't get our standard muffin-and-coffee breakfast at the local coffee shop, I sometimes make hard-boiled eggs. Only, I don't boil them. I'm not sure where I saw it (Good Eats, perhaps), but a TV-chef recommended steaming the eggs rather than boiling. That method has worked great for us, so here's how I do it.

Hard-steamed eggs

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Salt and pepper

Add about an inch of water to your steamer pot. We use a 12-inch diameter pot and a serendipitously sized colander that fits nicely in the top, leaving about 3 inches for water below the basket. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat a bit to keep it a gentle boil. Put all of your eggs in one basket. (Rather, gently place your eggs in the steamer basket). Put the basket in the pot and cover, allowing the eggs to steam for 12 minutes.

Remove the eggs once they're done cooking and place in a bowl of ice-water to cool them down for safer handling. Tap the eggs repeated on the counter to crack the shells and peel. Cut them up with a fork, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Posted by Mike at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)