Macaroni and Cheese That Even Paula Deen Would Envy.

Even though I make a mean Macaroni and Cheese, I'm always trying to improve my own dishes. Most of the time it's to impress my husband, Roy, who is a hard working man and a most excellent husband indeed. To surprise him after a long stint at work, I decided to make one of his all time favorites, Beef Brisket, but what side to go with it was the question. Something that would complement the beef, mix well with the spices of the rub and the barbecue sauce I added onto the meat afterwards, something rich and satisfying; nothing else would do, but homemade macaroni and cheese.

Now I named this version of my mac n' cheese "Heart Attack Mac n' Cheese" for a very good reason; anyone who tried it out said, "Eat this mac n' cheese everyday, and you'll end up having a heart attack!"  Oh they loved it for sure, but once they learned what the ingredients were, out came the statement.  I used a friend as a guinea pig, who shared some with her son; she asked if there was anyway she could get more.  I considered that request a great complement in itself, so of course gave her another container full.  The amount you get from the recipe I'm going to post is enough to share with lots of folks.  By the way, I break a rule on making the Roux by not using equal parts fat with flour, but once you taste this, forgiveness is easily given.  One more thing, as I'm making the sauce I'm also cooking up the elbow macaroni; that way it all comes together piping hot and fresh.

Ready for a heart attack?

Heart Attack Mac n' Cheese

 

Ingredients:

16 Tbsp salted butter
1 cup flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
1 tsp paprika
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 cups shredded, extra sharp Cheddar cheese
6 cups cooked large elbow macaroni

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium-high heat (make sure to watch and not let burn or brown); begin whisking in the flour until well incorporated.  Continue whisking for five minutes as the roux begins to turn a golden color.  Add in the black pepper, sea salt, paprika, heavy cream and milk; bring to a boil. 





Immediately add in the Monterey Jack cheese and begin whisking until smooth; add in the goat cheese, whisk until smooth; repeat with the Cheddar cheese, but one cup at a time.

If you took my advice and cooked the macaroni while making the sauce, drain it, but put it back into the pot it was cooked in.  Once you begin adding the cheese sauce, the heat from the pot will keep it from clotting around the drained pasta.

 

 

 

Mix it all together gently; you don't want to smash or break apart the macaroni.  Now serve it up and enjoy; and we found out that even eaten cold, it was delectable!  Servings?  Good question and I'm going to estimate 12 to 16; while I could only eat a half cup before going into "this is so good!!!" shock, Roy was able to eat a whole cup full and still want more.


I made fried chicken a couple of days later, and you guessed it, this was a perfect side dish.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Making a Creamy Soup Creamy Without the Cream.

So I was talking on the phone with my sister/friend from New York, Ellie, when she told me that her daughter (who I consider a niece), Donna, had made Potato Leek Soup; that was funny to me because I'd had a craving for that very soup recently. Donna had decided to go on the Weight Watchers program; to make that soup you did not need the butter or heavy cream. What the heck I thought, might as well try it out and see how good it can be. First I printed out a copy of the Weight Watchers recipe, then I compared it to my Potato Leek Soup recipe; pretty similar in nature.

Anyway, I cooked up a pot of the soup using the Weight Watchers recipe, but added crushed, dried thyme instead of using the chives as they suggested. Wow, I was pretty amazed at how good it came out; not as creamy, but it was still thick and rich tasting; the thyme added a pleasant savory flavor. Serving it to my hubby, he too was amazed at how good this non-dairy version was; he equated the texture to cream of wheat, but still enjoyed it...two bowls worth in one sitting.  Ellie suggested that I mix in a little low fat or fat free sour cream if I missed the dairy; tried it and didn't care for it at all.

So I'm posting the Weight Watchers recipe with a big thumbs up from Roy and myself; two people who thought they couldn't go without their butter and cream in a favorite soup.  Note: I added a couple of preparation steps, such as how to clean and cut up the leeks.

Dairyless Potato Leek Soup

Weight Watchers Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

64 oz canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
8 medium uncooked potatoes, peeled 
3 medium uncooked leeks, cleaned 
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp chives, minced (optional)

Preparation:

To clean the leeks, slice them lengthwise and then cut into one inch pieces. 

Put the pieces into a large colander, rinse with cold water until you can no longer see any dirt; separate the pieces as you rinse them.  Let them stand a few minutes to allow excess water to drain out.

Peel the potatoes and cut them one inch in size; they will cook together more uniformly with the leeks.  Yukon Gold potatoes are yellow in coloring and have a buttery taste; perfect for a soup that usually has butter in it, but is now being cooked without it.

Combine the broth, potatoes, leeks, pepper and herb, if using any, in a large stock pot or Dutch oven; bring to a boil on high heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover and let cool slightly.






Puree at least 2 cups or up to all of the potatoes and leeks (depending on the texture you want), with 1–2 cups of the broth in a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender; pour the mixture back into the remaining soup, stir, and reheat. Serve hot, or cover and refrigerate to serve cold; hot or cold, garnish with the minced chives, if using.

Yields 1 and 1/2 cups per serving.

This soup can be completely or partially pureed and served hot or cold. It can be refrigerated for up to three days, but not frozen.

Try both recipes and see which one you prefer, or perhaps you'll enjoy both.  I find the Weight Watchers recipe more convenient, since heavy cream is not a staple in my home.  Judge for yourself.

Mary Cokenour

No Rehab for Brownie Brittle Addiction.

Sheila G's Brownie Brittle

Website: http://browniebrittle.com/

Hello, my name is Mary and I am addicted to Brownie Brittle.  It all started when I saw an advertisement on Facebook; yes, that evil Facebook drew me to this villainous snack.  I tried finding it at the local City Market locations, even at Walmart, but no luck.  Then I happened to be at Sam's Club in Farmington, New Mexico and there is was in the snack aisle; large bags of Brownie Brittle (Chocolate Chip) and I purchased two.  I am a sad case, as I was going to give the second bag to someone else to try, but I kept it; yes, I kept it and ate it all myself.











Brownie Brittle, how can I describe this delectable snack?  Imagine a rich, deep chocolate brownie, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness.   Then baked to a light, airy crispness that can be enjoyed by crunching onto it, or letting it just melt into chocolaty goodness.  The crispy squares are 4 inch by 4 inch; 6 of them are only 21 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fat.  No, I wouldn't push these as nutritious, but they are so wonderfully good, who cares!  As to the amount to eat, I have to admit, as addicted as I am, that two goes a long way in satisfaction.  Brownie Brittle is very delicate, so can break apart, or crumble easily; makes a great topping for pudding or ice cream.  I don't know who Sheila G. Mains is, but I would hug her till she popped for creating Brownie Brittle.

Just yesterday I stopped at Safeway in Cortez, Colorado and in their baked goods aisle I found....Brownie Brittle!  Smaller sized bags than the ones at Sam's Club, but in different flavors such as Salted Caramel and Toffee Crunch.  I love this addiction!!!

Redemption; I purchased extra to give to that friend.  I may be a Brownie Brittle addict, but I still have a conscience.  Become addicted too, it's so good.

Mary Cokenour

Gotta have Fry Bread at Goulding's.

Goulding’s Stagecoach Dining Room

1000 Main St
Oljato-Monument Valley, UT 84536

(435) 727-3231

Website: http://www.gouldings.com/dining-room/







Recently I was in Monument Valley, on a group tour, and it included Goulding's (dining room, lodge, museum, supermarket, RV park, campgrounds, and much, much more); I'm going to concentrate on the Dining Room.  The guide explained that the building first started out as a movie prop when John Ford began making movies down in Monument Valley.  It then became the mess hall for the movie crews; the cook would prepare the food, ring the bell (still displayed out front) and everyone would come in and eat family style.  When tourists began staying at the Lodge, they would eat there; but the Health Department visited one day and stated it was unsafe.  The Gouldings tore down the old building and rebuilt a more modern structure with windows that look out upon Monument Valley.  Current management of the Dining Room is Scott and Alexa Laws who have years of restaurant experience under their belts; no wonder the place is clean, the servers and greeters polite and knowledgeable, and the food is great.

After being seated at a booth or table, you'll notice that each table includes a beautiful Native American jug for the water.  There are menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner; we were there to enjoy lunch and, most especially, fry bread.  Fry Bread is an unleavened bread that is slightly crispy on the outside and pillow soft on the inside.  Alone, as a side, or with toppings, it is a "cannot miss out on this" item when visiting the Southwest.








My husband had the Patty Melt which he stated was almost...almost, as good as mine.  The marbled bread was toasted nicely, the burger was thick and perfectly cooked, melted cheese and onions.  The only difference is that it had less cheese and onions than I put on, and he could live with that.  The fries were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside with the usual Utah fry sauce served on the side.





Now Goulding's best seller is the Navajo Taco and I could see why from the platters served to other nearby diners. However, when I spied the Rez Bah' on the menu, I knew I had to try it out; it is huge by the way.  A choice of roast beef, ham, grilled chicken breast or 2 hamburger patties on fry bread with roasted green chilies, tomato, lettuce and onion; extra fry sauce for a condiment.  This had to be one of the best sandwiches I've ever experienced; the fry bread was perfect, absolutely perfect (it's still on my mind!).  The heat of the chilies, sweet of the tomato and crunch of the lettuce enhanced the flavor of the chicken.  The fry sauce was unnecessary, and I took out the raw onion as it detracted from the other flavors.  My hubby though enjoyed the onion on it; he ate the other half of it later on and hid the empty box, so I wouldn't know...I knew.



Whether you're staying at the Goulding's Lodge, touring Monument Valley or just passing through; when you're hungry, satisfy that hunger at the Stagecoach Dining Room.

Mary Cokenour

Wrap, Wrap, Wrap; Wrap it up, I'll Take it.

Notice how the fast food giants like Burger King and McDonalds are now offering a variety of wraps. Wraps are basically another form of the sandwich; another form of a convenient, on the go, can be held with one hand, type of meal. They can be made at home, with the exact ingredients you want, and you can have it your way. This is going to be a simple blog post about making chicken wraps, since this is the type of protein mainly pushed by those giants.

The nice thing about wraps is that you can have many textures inside the bread component (usually a tortilla), so your taste buds and hunger are fulfilled.  If you choose grilled chicken, crisp vegetables give you the crunch; but if you choose fried chicken, then softer veggies provide a balance; like I said, have it your way.

When I fry up chicken strips (sliced up boneless, skinless chicken breasts) or chicken tenderloins, the coating I use depends on either what is see in the pantry first (Italian flavored bread crumbs or Panko), or how much crunch I want in the final product. For chicken wraps, it has to be ultra crunchy, so I'm going to be using Panko. (Link to recipe)



I'll be giving you an idea for three wraps: All American, California and Mexican.  All three will have chopped lettuce and diced tomatoes, and that's as basic as I'm getting with those vegetables.  While I'll tell you what I put in these versions of wraps, your version can be what I suggest, or anything your heart desires.  In the photo is a general idea of what goes into making a wrap, besides the proteins and vegetables; some type of shredded or grated cheese, a sauce which offers moisture, flavor and smooth texture, and the wrap.  Although I used a 10 inch flour tortilla for each, a flavored tortilla such as spinach or red bell pepper can work just as well.  For the chicken strips I recommend only two, since the tenderloins or tenderloin sized strips are on the large size.  You're also going to notice that I do not put amounts for most of the ingredients since it all depends on how much the maker of the wrap wants inside.  A lot of decision making pressure, I know, but I'm sure you can handle it.

All American

California

Mexican

All American Chicken Wrap

Ingredients:

chopped lettuce
diced tomatoes
honey mustard dressing/sauce
2 chicken strips
4 slices crisp bacon
cheese

California

Ingredients:

chopped lettuce
diced tomatoes
green goddess dressing (if you can't find this, use cucumber dressing)
2 chicken strips
4 slices avocado

Instead of lettuce and tomatoes, my hubby prefers bean sprouts and peeled, sliced cucumbers.



Mexican

Ingredients:

chopped lettuce
diced tomatoes
spicy ranch dressing
cheese
2 chicken strips
jalapeno slices

Preparation:

Lie the tortilla on a flat surface.  Place a layer of lettuce and diced tomatoes first to create a barrier; the crisp chicken won't poke holes through the tortilla.  When putting down dressings/sauces, use  a bottle with a nozzle to control the flow; in a right to left (or vice versa) motion, draw a line over the lettuce, tomatoes, and onto the exposed tortilla surface also (helps hold the cheese in place).  Put down the chicken strips and whatever other toppings desired.

Fold the bottom end of the tortilla over the fillings, but not so tight against them that the tortilla will begin to break.  Fold over one side, tucking in the corner piece that will be sticking out from the folded bottom.  Now depending on how much you've put in as filling, you can either roll the tortilla to close up the other side; or fold the other side over to finish enclosing the ingredients (tuck in that other bottom corner). 

Now open your mouth wide and enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Interesting Bag of Herbs You Have There.

I admit it, I take pleasure in displaying my plastic bags filled with dried herbs; making sure the label side is out of view. I watch the reaction when folks visit, see the bags on the counter and typically do a double take.   Oh, another good one, is knowing someone is coming over, and an unmarked bag "accidentally" falls out of a cabinet.  You know, you know, what they are thinking; but what makes me laugh the hardest is when I explain they're my dried cooking herbs and I get this question, "Do you bake a lot of brownies?"

Anyway, I've already done a post on drying herbs individually, but this time I'm going to discuss making your own herbal mixture.  I do a lot of Italian based cooking, so an herbal mixture geared towards this genre is no stranger in my kitchen.  Containers of Italian Herbal Mix are available in basically any supermarket; ingredients are basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, dried garlic and dried onion.  In some brands you might also find savory, sage and marjoram.  The questions you should ask are, "When were they dried and packaged?", "How much of each item were dried together?"; and you're not going to get the answers.

Simple solution, make your own; you know exactly what herbs are being used, how much is being dried, when it was made, and that its freshness will last about six months as long as it's kept in a sealed container or bag.  Dried garlic and onion shouldn't even be in an herbal mix and I suspect they're used more as a preservative; they're better fresh anyway.  Of course, you can also dry each herb separately to create whatever mixture you need at the time of cooking; but for me, this is more convenient.

Whenever Bountiful Baskets has their "Italian Pack" offered, I usually jump on that deal because of the large bunches of fresh herbs you receive.   This last offer had rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme and basil; sage, cilantro and Mexican oregano are usually in the "Mexican Pack", so each is dried on its own if I purchase that offer.  If you don't have Bountiful Baskets available in your area, take advantage of farmers' markets and stores that only concentrate on selling fresh produce, fruits and herbs. 


What I did this past time was simply line my large jelly roll pan with paper towels, pull the leaves off all the stems and mix them all up.  Don't worry if any small stems get into the mix; once dried, they'll be easier to spot and pick out.  Here in Utah, with the almost non-existent humidity, it only took five days for the herbs to dry out completely.  If you're unsure, check on them every three days, mix them around a bit; you'll be able to gauge the dryness and estimate how much longer it will take.

Once dried, pick out any stems and store the leaves inside an airtight container, or resealable plastic bag.  My mixture filled up a one gallon bag to a one inch thickness; simply lay the bag flat on a counter or table and carefully begin rolling from the bottom sealed side upwards towards the open end.  If you do this step too fast, the rush of air out of the bag will take dried herbs with it; why lose any of what you so dearly covet?  Seal the bag and slowly unroll; flat and air free just like one of those "space bag" commercials you see for clothing.

I know when this mixture was made, how long it will stay fresh, who made it and where, and exactly what went into the mixture.  Dried herbs concentrate their scent and flavor, so are wonderful for any recipe requiring a long period of cooking time.  They're easy to store and keep on hand for whenever they're needed; no disappointment that the local market doesn't have what you need. 

Mary Cokenour

Good Heavens, but That's Good Gravy.

Gravy making, why does it seem to be so complicated? Growing up, the only gravy I remember having at a meal was at Thanksgiving time; it wasn't homemade, but came out of a can. During my first marriage I would watch my ex-mother-in-law make a slurry of flour, garlic powder and water, pour it into the meat drippings and it would be a lumpy, oily mess. Not very good examples for making my own gravy, and I avoided the issue whenever I could. Thank you, thank you, thank you for whomever invented the crock pot; not just for the easy cooking it afforded the home cook, but for the luscious stock that could be made into a stupendous gravy.

"Impossible!", you say; "Can't make gravy without drippings from roasted meat or poultry!", you say...yep, you can.  First I'll tell you how using the crock pot, and then how from drippings; and without butter, cream or extra flour added.  Now sit back, relax and have a good read...

Scenario: Making pot roast in the a crock pot; put your meat in first, but before you put it in, coat it liberally with flour (this is all you'll need for that gravy later on); put in your veggies, seasonings and then pour two cups of beef stock over it all; cover, set it and forget it till done.  If making chicken, use chicken stock instead, but use the same coating with flour and veggies over the top process.



The meat is done, put it on a platter to rest with 3/4 of the vegetables.  Now looking into the crock pot, you'll see an oily sheen on top; that is the oil that came out of your meat during the cooking process.  Don't worry, we're going to get rid of that easily, but not lose any flavor. 



The liquid inside the pot is also very thin; the flour you coated the meat in wasn't enough to thicken, but just enough to help with the process.  The 1/4 portion of vegetables that you left inside is going to be your true thickener.  What is neat about this is that anyone that refuses to eat their veggies, but loves gravy is going to eat veggies and not even know.  Well they will if you tell them, but we're keeping this a secret, right? Of course, you can leave larger bits of veggies if you like, and no one you're serving to is a problem eater.




Now you all know how I love my immersion blender, but if you still haven't purchased your own (why!!?!!), then a regular blender will do.  Begin pulverizing the vegetables inside the pot, being careful not to raise it too high and splash the liquid around the kitchen.  Not only will the soon to be gravy be thickening up, but you'll see it turn to a rich color; you'll be tempted to serve it as is, but patience grasshopper. 

To get the oil out of your gravy, pour the amount of pureed liquid you need into a plastic container and place into the freezer for one hour.  Take the container out of the freezer and you'll see that the fats have solidified on top; carefully spoon them out and don't forget to scrape it off the sides of the bowl. You will probably have a lot more gravy left over which can be defatted,  frozen and reheated when needed; because you did not use any dairy in its making, the chance of separating is none.  

 

Now just warm up the gravy and serve with your meal; you shouldn't have to add any seasonings, especially salt which would have come from the stock you initially used when cooking your meat.  Now if you really need to have a smooth gravy, go ahead and strain out all the little bits that the blender could not pulverize.  We like it rustic; it proves that it is homemade, not out of some can or jar.

Ok, now for the roasted part of this post; you're going to need a deep roasting pan for this process.  Either use a rack to lay your meat or poultry on, or a very thick layer of cut up vegetables will work too.  In the pan, lay out all your cut up vegetables and sprinkle a little flour over all of them; pour your stock over all; then place the rack with meat, or the meat itself on top and roast until done.  Now just follow the same gravy making process as I explained for the crock pot; you just might want to transfer your liquid and 1/4 portion to a deep bowl first though.  Oh, don't forget to season your meat or poultry; as the fat melts, it'll take some of the seasoning with it and add it to the veggies down below.

How come I didn't use any water in the crock pot or roasting pan?  The vegetables gave me all I needed; during the cooking process, they sweated out their excess moisture, so adding water at the beginning would have thinned out the gravy way too much at the end.

Making gravy is not so hard after all; just remember to not add any seasonings until after the process is done and you've tasted.  You will be very surprised.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour