Macaroni and Cheese Comfort for the Soul

It probably wouldn't be on the menu for your mother-in-law's first dinner visit, and it isn't exactly gourmet fare, but macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular--if not the most popular--American comfort foods (it took second place in my survey). Nearly every soul food cookbook and many Southern cookbooks have recipes for the American favorite, with few differences from one to the next.

Some believe the dish was created by founding father Thomas Jefferson, known for his great interest in food, and in a 1996 "Restaurants & Institutions" article, Barbara Bell Matuszewski wrote that Jefferson served the dish in the White House in 1802. However, noted food historian Karen Hess claims Jefferson did not invent the dish, though he did return from a trip to Paris with a macaroni mold

According to John Mariani, author of "The Dictionary of American Food and Drink," macaroni and cheese was first made in the nineteenth century, but it took on a even greater popularity when Kraft Foods introduced the Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese) in 1937. According to a company spokesperson, Kraft now sells more than one million boxes of the dinners every day! The Kraft dinners are so popular, in fact, that children and some adults have been known to turn up their noses when offered a rich and delicious homemade version.

Homemade macaroni and cheese can be a simple layering of cooked macaroni, shredded (or sliced) cheese and salt and pepper, or it can be made with a white sauce-cheese base, topped with more cheese and buttered crumbs before baking. This ever-so-humble dish is delicious and satisfying as is, but you can jazz it up (homemade or package version) with the addition of chopped vegetables, meat, fish or poultry, or your favorite herbs or spices.

Vermont Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups uncooked ziti or elbow macaroni

1/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup flour

1-3/4 cups milk

10.-oz. block of Sharp Vermont White Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Paprika

Cook ziti or elbow macaroni as directed.


Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Add flour, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove the frying pan from the stove and add milk.

Return the frying pan to the burner and gradually increase heat as you stir constantly. When mixture boils, continue to stir for one minute, then remove from heat. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese.

Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and stir thoroughly. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle top with paprika, then bake for another five minutes.

I love pasta and I really love cheese so this is by far my favorite recipe for Macaroni and cheese!!

Five Cheese Bake Macaroni

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Breadcrumbs for the top (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl, toss together the mozzarella cheese, Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese and extra sharp white cheddar cheese. Remove about 1/2 cup for topping and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, sour cream and heavy cream. Season with parsley, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Pour the ricotta cheese mixture and drained macaroni into the bowl with the cheeses and toss lightly. Do not mix too thoroughly, it's better left messy. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top along with the breadcrumbs (if you desire).

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes, then turn the oven to broil. Broil for about 5 minutes to brown the top.

Playing With Mashed Potatoes

There has been quite a lot written on the best way to make the perfect mashed potatoes - how long you cook them, with peel or without, reserving some of the cooking liquid, etc.  This is what I have discovered that the real trick to creamy, buttery, heavenly potatoes is to use Yukon Gold potatoes instead of Russets. That's really all there is to it (along with butter, cream, salt and pepper). Just start with the type of potato that tastes better and mashes up better. According to the Food Network,


Starchy potatoes, like russets, have high starch and low water. Starchy potatoes are great for baking and French fries, and good as mashed potatoes. When cooked in water, they disintegrate; when cooked by dry heat, they become crumbly and fluffy.


All-purpose, or chef's potatoes, like Yukon Golds, have medium starch and medium water. All-purpose potatoes are great in stews, soups, mashed potatoes, or for roasting. When cooked, they are at once moist and fluffy: they keep most of their shape in soups and don't dry out when baked.

These are some of my favorite mashed potato recipes I hope you like them.  Tell some of the different ways that you like to make your mashed potatoes.

1 5-lb. bag Yukon Gold potatoes

1 Tbsp. salt

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 to 3/4 cup milk



Directions:
In a 6-quart Dutch oven cook potatoes, covered, in enough boiling water to cover and the 1 tablespoon salt for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain. Mash with potato masher or beat with an electric mixer on low speed. Add butter, the 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Gradually beat in enough milk to make mixture light and fluffy. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Add 10 peeled garlic cloves to water while cooking potatoes, and substitute 5 tablespoons olive oil for the butter.

Pesto Mashed Potatoes: Add 1/3 cup purchased pesto along with the butter.

Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes: Add one 8-ounce carton dairy sour cream with the butter. Stir 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives into potatoes just before serving. Sprinkle with additional snipped fresh chives.

Cheesy Chipotle Potatoes: Stir 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces) and 2 tablespoons finely chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce into potatoes just before serving.

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Comfort Food

Happy New Year to everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have posted a new blog, thank you for hanging in there.  I have been under the weather for some time now suffering with Fibromyalgia, not my idea of a fun time.  When I am feeling better and having a good day I am working very hard to get my new cookbook completed and to the publisher before the end of February.  My resolution though is to try and get at least one blog a week, if not more, out to my followers.

Having said all of that I want to talk about comfort foods; what they are, what they mean to us, and share some of your comfort foods that you told me about.  First Wikipedia tells us that the definition of comfort foods is this:
  The term "comfort food" (first used, according to Webster's Dictionary, in 1977) refers to foods consumed to achieve some level of improved emotional status, whether to relieve negative psychological affect or to increase positive.[1] More generally, comfort food can be defined as food that brings some form or measure of comfort, sense of well-being, or easy satisfaction. Such food choices may consist of the simple and familiar. Dishes may be warm and filling such as a dish made with a staple food, or basically pleasing such as sweets or desserts. Some definitions suggest that home-prepared dishes are most typical,[2] or consumed in informal restaurants, but according to Wansink and Sangerman, Americans tend to select prepared foods and fast food for comfort uses, with ice cream, potato chips and chocolate ranking near the top. However, the term is meaningful not as a list of particular items, which will vary considerably from individual to individual, as well as culturally and by situation and emotional trigger, but as a psychological category of behavior.

In asking my friends and family what their comfort food is I was a little surprised that the big winner was vegetables.  We all seemed to want something in the vegetable category such as fresh vegetables picked right from our very own garden, vegetable and chicken soup or my personal favorite, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. 

If you were to ask my children they would all tell you the same thing, macaroni and cheese, more specifically they would have this meal that they would tell you about that they all call, "The Yellow Meal".  When they were younger I would make this dinner which consisted of Pork Chops coated with Shake N Bake, macaroni and cheese, cream style corn and corn bread.  Why it may not have been the healthiest of meals, it has remained a meal of comfort for my children.  In fact they told me that when they make this meal for their family they think of me.  Since we live thousands of miles apart it makes them feel closer to me, I guess, and that makes me feel warm and comforted to know.

Since some of you told me that chocolate is a follow-up comfort for you I thought we would begin with dessert and a recipe for a decedent chocolate cake.  I found this recipe from Tyler Florence and thought I would share it with you.  It is very very good.  Now that is what I call comfort!!


Enjoy and may God bless you all.

A Gooey, Decadent Chocolate Cake 

2 1/2 cups cake flour


1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups cold water

Chambourd raspberry liqueur, for drizzling

Chocolate Chip Butter Cream, recipe follows

Dark chocolate shavings, for decoration

Directions:

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes to incorporate. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 3 minutes. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the cold water. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cut 2 circles of parchment paper to fit the pan bottoms and place them inside the pans; then spray the paper for added non-stick insurance. Pour batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula; the pans should be 2/3 full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, see Cook's note*.

Leave to cool for 40 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the paper. Drizzle them with a few tablespoons of Chambourd. With a metal spatula, spread 1/2 cup butter cream on top 1 of the layers. Start in the center and work your way out. Carefully place the second layer on top. Smooth the sides with butter cream, then spread the rest over the top so that the cake is completely covered. Refrigerate for 5 minutes before decorating or cutting.

With a large knife scrape some shavings from a block of dark chocolate. Scatter shavings over cake.

*Cook's note. The cake is cooked when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched



Chocolate Chip Butter Cream:

3 cups powdered sugar

7 tablespoons hot water

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup semisweet dark chocolate, finely chopped

In the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve the sugar and water at low speed. Beat in the dark chocolate and vanilla. Add butter gradually in small bits. Mix until everything is completely incorporated. Using a spatula, fold in the chopped chocolate and give a final quick spin.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings