Macaroni and Cheese

I decided to go with macaroni and cheese for our 4th of July cookout.  I was going to make macaroni salad but frankly, I don't like cold macaroni salad.  Call me unsouthern, I don't care.

This is my first time making this version of macaroni and cheese.  I keep hearing from people that it's the best version that they have ever had.  I figured that if that many people say it's good that it must be worth a shot, so I made a test batch for my mom, aunt, grandma, and sister.

Macaroni and Cheese:
(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

4 cups of elbow macaroni
½ stick of regular, salted butter
4 tbls all-purpose flour

2 ½ cups whole milk

2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 egg

1 pound of cheese: This time I used White Cheddar and Swiss.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta but be sure to leave it a bit undercooked since it'll be going in the oven.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Set aside. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt 1/2 stick of butter.  Sprinkle in 4 tablespoons flour.

Whisk the mixture together over medium-low heat until totally combined, make sure it doesn't burn.  Then continue cooking for around 5 minutes, whisking constantly.  Pour in 2 1/2 cups whole milk.  Immediately dump in 2 heaping teaspoons of dry mustard.

Now, whisk the mixture together and cook for about 5 minutes. It will get extremely thick, almost like a cream gravy.

At that point, reduce the heat to low. Use a 1/4 cup measure to retrieve a small amount of the sauce.

Pour the small amount of sauce into the beaten egg slowly.  Begin whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk until cooled.  Then dump the tempered egg into the pan. Whisk together until combined.

Now dump in all but about 1/2 cup of the grated cheese.  Stir together until it’s all melted and turn off the heat.

Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Add plenty of pepper.  Now just dump in the drained, not-fully-cooked macaroni. 

Pour into a baking dish, add more cheese on top, bake for 20-25 minutes.

I can't wait until I get to make this again.  Everyone at my house loved it. 

Here's my confession.  I used more than 1 pound of cheese.  I probably used a pound and a half.  I'm a little obsessed with cheese though.

Coconut Cupcakes

Easter was this past weekend.  My family doesn't usually throw a big Easter dinner.  We're more of the Thanksgiving/Christmas people.  Anyways... my aunt e-mailed me to see if I would be willing to bring desserts for the dinner.  Since I love desserts and I love making them I said sure!

I got the idea for the Coconut-Key Lime cupcakes from nestie Marafaye.

Coconut Cupcakes

by Ina Garten; The Barefoot Contessa
Makes 18-20 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Key Lime Buttercream Frosting:(Southern Living)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons of Key Lime zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoon milk

Directions:

In a large bowl (or in a mixer), combine butter, vanilla, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add powdered sugar alternately with Key lime juice, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and 1 Tbsp. milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Beat in up to 1 Tbsp. additional milk for desired consistency.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

I saw this meal on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  It looked amazing and next time I go to NOLA i'm going to find whatever restaurant had this on the menu.

I'm posting this as my own little shout out to the Gulf Coast.  As someone who enjoys eating shrimp and swimming in the gulf I feel like I can at least share some good food.  Anyway, enough of that.

NOLA BBQ Shrimp:
Ingredients:

3 pounds unpeeled Shrimp (21-26 Count Or Larger)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
¼ - ½ cup of Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco sauce
6 ounces of beer (not cheap Natty Light)
4 sticks butter (yes, 4 sticks)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 medium onion, very finely minced
3 - 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons Old Bay

Directions:

Rinse the shrimp to get any grit off. Be sure to leave the shell on. 21-26 count are easy to peel, so I wouldn’t go any smaller than that.

Melt a stick of the butter in a skillet. Sauté the garlic, onions, parsley, and seasoning blend for about 2 - 3 minutes.

Melt the rest of the butter. Add the beer, Worcestershire and lemon juice. Combine with the other butter mixture.

Place the shrimp on a large baking pan in a single layer and the butter. Generously sprinkle salt and black pepper over top of the shrimp. Don’t be afraid to use a decent amount. I also think it’s important to use a coarse grind on the pepper.

Drizzle the Tabasco sauce over the top of the shrimp. If you like spicy food add more hot sauce, whatever. :)

Make sure that the shrimp are pretty much covered by the butter sauce. If it’s not, add more butter. Bake at 350* for 10-20 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through but not overdone.

** I’ve seen people add rosemary, liquid smoke, paprika, and sliced lemons to the dish. It’s a good excuse to try new things. **

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
** Photo from Southern Living Online.  Link includes their version of the recipe**

Chocomize- Make your own chocolate!

I found a new cool food site.  Chocomize is a web page that allows you to customize your own chocolate bar. 

The first step is to choose your chocolate.  You have a choice from dark, milk, or white chocolate.

Next you pick your toppings.  They have six different categories and you can choose up to five ingredients.  Some of my favorites were almonds, honey roasted soy beans, candied ginger, oreos, caramel pieces, junior mints, coffee, and pop rocks.  Mr. T was a fan of the chili powder and mini chipotle peppers.

I think the price is pretty good.  I've seen chili pepper chocolate bars in speciality food stores in town for $10-$11, which I think is a lot (but I'm kind of cheap).  The same bar is half the price here.

I'm thinking that there might be stocking suffers in my family's future.  I can't wait to place my order.

Ok People...

I know that there are people who are reading this blog everyday but I don't have any followers!  What's the deal guys?!  I would love to hear your thoughts and be able to follow your blogs.

Seafood Sauce

I got this one from my mom.  It's simple and amazingly good.  It's great on shrimp, chicken, and fish but also really good on steamed broccoli, greens, lima beans, and anything else you could think of.

Seafood Basting Sauce:
(Mom)

1-2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 stick real Butter
1 finely diced small onion
2 finely diced garlic cloves
juice of one lemon.
Saute onion and garlic in butter . Add Old Bay and lemon and stir until incorporated.

Use as a glaze on grilled, baked or broiled fish, shrimp, crab, or scallops. If you like mild flavor, cut back on the Old Bay.

A sneak peek...

Here's a preview of what's to come for the 4th.  This was a trial run.  One of my co-workers has a birthday coming up so we're celebrating it at work tomorrow.

They didn't really turn out layered like I was going for, but I think they look cute.

My icing was also a little too soft when I started piping. 

I hope that my next run will be a little better.  I guess taste is the most important part anyways.