Breaking my rule about Mac 'n Cheese

Allow me to apologize.....to myself. I've broken a rule in posting this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese because I'm a total purist and don't usually like 'stuff' in my mac 'n cheese that's not pasta and cheese and milk and ...you know. Anyway, I found this recipe and it sounds so good I had to post it regardless of the fact it's not REAL "Mac 'n Cheese" :-)

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

• 2 shallots chopped
• salt
• black pepper freshly ground
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 c whole milk
• 1 1/2 c heavy cream
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese grated (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)
• 6 ounces Vermont white cheddar cheese grated (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)
• 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 2 ounces)
• 1 pound penne pasta or gemelli pasta
• 1 c shelled fresh English peas (from about 1 pound unshelled English pea pods)
• 2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 c panko breadcrumbs
• 2 T unsalted butter melted

Directions

Cook the bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.

Add the shallots to the bacon drippings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until translucent about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute stirring constantly.

Gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the cheese stirring to blend.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water for 8 minutes stirring often to prevent it from sticking. Add the peas and continue boiling until the pasta is tender but still very firm to the bite and the peas are bright green and crisp-tender about 1 minute. Drain the pasta and peas.

Stir the bacon into the cheese sauce.

Stir the pasta and peas into the cheese sauce. The sauce will look loose but will continue to thicken once the pasta is added. If the sauce begins to thicken too much add more milk or cream to thin it to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Butter 8 individual 6-inch-diameter casserole dishes or one 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Transfer the pasta to the buttered casserole dishes.

Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta mixture then stir some of it into the pasta mixture.

Preheat the broiler. In a small mixing bowl toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter to coat well. Season with salt and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta.

Broil until the topping is golden brown watching closely about 2 minutes.

Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Visit http://curtisstone.com

I don't know who Curtis Stone is, but I like to credit the people I find good stuff from!
I hope one of you makes this....maybe I will soon.

As some of you know from my politics blog, I did mention that I made Alton Brown's macaroni and cheese last week for six girlfriends.......they LOVED it. Well, I'll be blogging that recipe soon (made it again for an event tomorrow, as a matter of fact) but wanted to post this as a 'teaser'!!
ENJOY!

Z

What food do you LOVE to HATE?

THIS is interesting!! The 10 foods people love to hate!

liver, okra, sardines, eggplant, hard boiled eggs, beets, brussel sprouts, blue cheese, lima beans and grits.

Okay...I have to admit, I do NOT like liver...but the rest? Heck yes! (except I could never really 'love' lima beans and only recently could stand eating them in mixed vegetable combinations)...

How's about YOU? Do you hate any of the above? Do you hate any other food intensely that you care to mention? Join in!!

Couldn't resist this....bird dinner!

Well, my original post said this was taken at Mr. Z's favorite fish restaurant, Brophy Brothers, in Santa Barbara, a place where we had such good times ...but I took a better look and realized I myself was 'out for lunch' and mistook the venue..it's actually GLADSTONE'S in Santa Monica on the beach.........This shot is taken by Ms Z, Mr. Z's daughter... She takes GREAT pictures and I loved this one and had to put it on my food blog! But, it is NOT Brophy Brothers. I should post a shot of that place because he loved it so, but there's always one of US in those shots and you know me and ANONYMITY! Anyway, I loved the picture and wanted to share it..

z

Easter Sunday was wonderful...sorry this is so late!

I hope all your Easters were as nice as mine......If you didn't see the PRELUDE to my Aunt and Uncle's yearly Easter festivities at their home, please scroll down. And, the post just below this one shows the gorgeous floral arrangements on the outside tables and the dining room centerpiece where the buffet was set out........

My aunt and I laughed at the fact that I nearly got the menu correct in my 'prelude'! She joked that she's predictable but the truth is that she's just a wonderful cook and so I put my wish list there in the original post full of things I've loved at her house. This year was only slightly different, though I got the main course wrong I got the side dishes and hors d'oeuvres pretty close....but the things I didn't guess were just delicious and I particularly wanted you to have the main course recipe which I have also made myself...it's deeeelicious and perfect for this coming summer.

Let me tell you the full actual menu first.....we started with my mother's stuffed grape leaves extraordinaire, that wonderful salami I'd hoped for, served with brined black olives, a delicious goat cheese and pita bread, a fifteen year old Cheddar from Wisconsin that was FABULOUSLY full of those little salt crystals you get when you're eating a terrifically aged cheese....stuffed eggs and I think I'm forgetting something but you get the delicious picture...all with red or white wine, of course!

My aunt emailed me the italicized list of the dinner menu when I sent her the link to the piece about her which she really enjoyed!

Or am I that predictable? You're right on ... mostly:

Grilled Skirt Steaks

Potato Salad

Ambrosia (so glad you like it ... I always wondered if anyone did)

Heirloom tomatoes with basil and mozzarella
Sweet corn off the cob in butter

Fresh peas and carrots with butter, parsley and orange zest

Artichokes with Remoulade sauce

Cookies

Ice Cream bars

Date Bars (wait till you try these ... you'll be addicted)

See how close I was!? It was FABULOUS! And, oh, was she right about the date bars...they're like date cookie-bars and I will see if I can get that recipe for you, too.(Z: update: that recipe will be here soon!)

Here's the SOUTHWESTERN FLANK STEAK WITH FRESH SALSA from "GourmetLA" (where ELSE? :-)

1 1/2 lbs flank steak (or skirt steak)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 T chili sauce
2 T chili powder
2 T soy sauce
2 T oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium orange, thinly sliced
Cilantro sprigs to garnish

Place steak in a shallow baking dish. Combine OJ, chili sauce and powder, soy sauce, oil, honey, orange and lemon peels, garlic, salt and cayenne. Pour over meat....place orange slices over meat. Marinate in refrigerator overnight. Preheat Grill.

Bring meat to room tep. Remove steak from marinade and discard marinade. Grill steak for 4-6 minutes per side or to desired doneness. Slice diagonally especially if you're using flank steak. Place on a platter and surround with Fresh Fruit Salsa, orange wedges and cilantro sprigs.

Fresh Fruit Salsa:
1 cup diced pineapple, 1 sliced kiwi, 1 cup chopped papaya, 1/2 tsp crushed hot red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper, 1 1/2 T's white wine vinegar, 1 1/2 Ts minced cilantro, 4 tsps sugar

Combine ingredients in a bowl, mix well and chill overnight...serve at room temperature.

Serves 4 (just multiply if you're having more, we had about 25 that day, but do not multiply the hot stuff if you don't like things really hot...) Great with grilled fish, too. AND, if you'd like to share some of the delicious things you had, fire away in 'comments' Thanks.
Enjoy...From Z and Z's Aunt and Z's Uncle, who barbecued the meat JUST RIGHT!
xxx

Here are some pictures from my Easter.....had to let you see the flowers!! Will do a little piece INCLUDING some incredible recipes...very soon. xxx Z

Easter Sunday Meal...what's yours?

Our family gathers at my aunt and uncle's for Easter Sunday Dinner.......we get there around 4:00 and have cocktails and marvelous hors'deouvres like terrific cheeses and thinly sliced Soprassata salami served with lavash bread, herbed olives, a red caviar/lemon dip you spread on little strips of pita bread, grape leaves stuffed with rice and onions (sometimes, Mom brings her fantastic grape leaves), an Armenian thinly sliced garlic beef and string cheese, etc.etc....we never know what my aunt might prepare, but we always know they'll be wonderful things that all of us enjoy with our glass of red or white wine. We love gathering at the beautiful home nestled in the hills of Bel Air, on the patio or in the den, some people chatting one on one in the living room, the older kids playing pool in the upstairs den, etc., my aunt checking on the dinner and some of us hanging out with her there to talk.........it's a great time for us all to be together and that 'together' is usually about 25 relatives and, sometimes, friends of my aunt and uncle's, or one of our friends who's got nowhere to go and is graciously welcomed there.

My aunt has a lovely home and makes the absolute most of it with incredible holiday decorations. She's got hutches in the kitchen and shelves and ledges throughout the house laden decoratively with rabbits and baskets and flowers...all shades of yellows, oranges, pinks, blues, white ..... The dining room table will be set with hollow painted eggs on tiny stands, some of which my mother painted for her years ago...some with family names on them, etc. Sometimes, she sets a buffet in there and we eat on the outside tables under an overhang overlooking the pool, other times, she has twelve of the adults around that big dining table which is set with lovely linens and glistening silver, the less older adults around the large wooden kitchen table, and the kids somewhere else..... Tulips, hydrangeas and roses and gerbera daisies will be everywhere...Easter at their home is a treat for the eyes and the mouth!

I'm not sure what my aunt will make this year for dinner but I always try to bring something to help out. This year, I'm bringing Easter cookies I ordered...they're shaped like eggs and iced with gorgeous pastel colors, I hope they all like them!
This year, my aunt might be cooking ham or my uncle might barbecue lamb chops...I don't know what she's serving this Sunday, but it'll be very good (and I'll report!). She makes a delicious ambrosia and always makes a corn dish for my uncle....there might be tomatoes with mozzarella and basil, or a special recipe for green beans or maybe she'll roast spring vegetables or have cold asparagus...maybe a potato gratin or a rice dish...or all of the above! Always delicious, always something to look forward to.

An old Armenian custom some of you might do, too, is the BREAKING OF THE EGGS! My aunt will have boiled tons of eggs and colored them (they'll be used as decoration before dinner, too...in gorgeous big baskets tied with satin ribbons), some will have our names on them and we'll all take ours....and, then the fun begins. WHO HAS THE HARDEST SHELLED EGG? We go up to others and take that hard boiled egg in our fist and the opponent does the same and we tap the end of our egg on theirs...whichever doesn't crack goes on to the next opponent. It's kind of fun. One year, one wasn't boiled, boy was that a mess, but adds to family memories!

But, more important and definitely felt, on top of the chocolate Easter eggs and rabbits, and tulips and hydrangeas and baskets and ribbons and bows, will be the meaning of Easter....as my uncle prays before dinner, all of us standing together holding hands....

This is a home that loves food and family but loves the Lord more than all of that. And we feel it. And so, whether it's ham or lamb or potatoes or rice, Easter cookies or lemon tarts for dessert......we all know that's not the important thing. It's not about the food (did I say THAT? :-), it's about the resurrection of Christ and His gift of salvation.

Easter Sunday at my aunt and uncle's is like a piece of candy, come to think of it....food and family are the the chocolate layer wrapped around a rich, delicious center of God's provenance and love. I'm a lucky niece. I wish the same to you all.

And I know my whole family would wish you a very HAPPY EASTER! Do you have a special Easter menu or family tradition? Please share it with us...
xxx Z

Want some warm bread and that smell in your house? mmmm

My friend Julia says this bread is DEEEELICIOUS...give it a try and let me know what you think!

No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.