Macaroni and Cheese

When I was growing up, macaroni and cheese was not on the menu. But since it is was a favorite in Spade's family, I've made it often for the last three plus decades.








I've used the same recipe, with minor variations, these past many years and never felt a need to venture from it. Then last week I came across a recipe that Angie had copied for me from the New York Times a couple of years ago. It had been sitting in my notebook untried when I came across it and I suddenly felt like doing something new.

Everyone loved the results and later Spade told me that that was just like his mother used to make and he liked it more than my faithful recipe that I've been using for three decades. :)

It's not the creamy dish I usually make, but it's plenty cheesy with a nice crispy cheesy crust on top.

I don't have the link to the original recipe, I'll just copy it for you the way Angie did for me.

Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Yield 8 to 12 servings

3 tablespoons butter
12 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
12 ounces American cheese or cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salt water until just tender, drained and rinsed under cold water
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
salt
2/3 cup whole milk

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use one tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Combine grated cheese and set aside two heaping cups for topping.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne (if using) and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes more until crusty on top and bottom.

The menu we eat is pretty simple and we do it almost the same time after time. We have the macaroni and cheese along with broccoli and canned stewed tomatoes. (or canned diced tomatoes or one of the variations of canned tomatoes). It sounds so boring when I write it out, but it's really a favorite meal and doing it just this way is a familiar ritual we always enjoy.

Except that now I don't have to make the white sauce and melt the cheese! After all these years! I'm loving the change!

Asian Pasta AKA Peanut Butter Spaghetti

You wouldn't expect to discover a great recipe in an orthodontist's office, but that's where I found the recipe that foreshadowed this Asian Pasta. I was browsing through a magazine when a recipe caught my eye and I hurriedly scribbled it into a little notebook I had with me. I tried it out right away and we loved it. I thought my sister-in-law would love it, but I procrastinated sending it to her, and then, before we could even enjoy the recipe a second time, I lost it!

At the next orthodontist appointment I looked for the magazine and it wasn't there. Then I looked for the magazine in the library with no luck. I pined for it and really regretted that I hadn't shared the recipe when I first thought of it. (Always share your recipes, you'll know who to call when you can't find one!) I wished I'd typed it out and added it to my recipe book. And I started a quest to find that recipe somehow.

It was several years later when I discovered a similar recipe in the newspaper and we've been enjoying it ever since. Every time I make it I'm glad I was able to discover it a second time.

Asian Pasta
Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) pkg linguine

1 chicken breast or two thighs, cooked and cubed

1 bunch green onions (about 1/2 C)
about half a pint of grape tomatoes halved or 3 med tomatoes to make about 1 cup diced
2 med ribs celery (about 3/4 C)
1 med cucumber (about 3/4 C)
(or try some other vegetables, like carrots, and/or sweet pepper)

Sauce
1/4 C vegetable oil
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or white vinegar
a half inch piece of ginger, minced and crushed or 1 t ground ginger
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

Garnish
1/4 C unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
Cook Linguine acccording to package directions.

Chop vegetables and place in 3 qt serving bowl along with the chicken.

Mix all sauce ingredients together until smooth. Set aside until pasta is done.

Chop the peanuts and set aside.

When pasta is tender, drain and add to bowl with veggies and chicken. Then pour the sauce over it and stir it all together. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the mixture and serve right away.

This makes a nice meal for four. For our family of six, I always doubled it.

We served this last week when our neighbors came over for dinner, and I left the sugar out of the sauce. It tasted fine. So you can cut the sugar down to nothing if you'd like, without ruining the flavor at all.

Bacon Spaghetti

This is our favorite spaghetti. I got the recipe when we were on a sailing trip in the Virgin Islands about 20 years ago. The sailboat was from Spain, so this might be Spanish style spaghetti.



Here's what you need to make it:
1 lb box of spaghetti
bottle of marinara sauce
pint of whipping cream or half and half
package of bacon
parmesan cheese

Here's how to do it.

Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces, then cook it in a sauce pan to the doneness you like. Drain the grease.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti. If it gets done before the sauce, drain the water and add a little olive oil and keep it covered.

Then add the marinara sauce to the bacon and heat through. Add as much of the whipping cream as you like. I usually use almost the whole pint. (I've also saved calories on this recipe by using turkey bacon and evaporated or skim milk.) Heat but don't boil.

That's it! Pass the Parmesan cheese.