For Whom the Cheese Melts 2

The episode for this week is For Whom the Cheese Melts 2. I was looking for a good macaroni and cheese recipe and saw that the one from this set received high reviews. I apologize to all you out there who are having a proper summer and are turned off by the thought of using heat for your food prep, but we are cold and dreary out here by the beach. I needed some comfort food.

I'm a complete sucker for baked mac & cheese with a nice, crunchy topping. This one called for Panko bread crumbs and butter, which I really liked. I'd purchased a bag of the stuff from Costco a few months back and so I'm always looking for ways to use it.


I followed the recipe exactly, except that I decreased the salt (just trying to cut back, in general). I would not recommend doing that. Although it was flavorful with the onion and mustard, it was definitely more bland that I was expecting.

I'm glad I used this recipe, though, because I learned a new cooking skill: how to temper an egg. The excerpt from the episode gives a good explanation of how to do it. I'd never seen the show before, so it was kind of fun to see Alton Brown in action. The video showed him and a kid (his nephew?) concocting this dish together, so I decided to let my son help me out, too. Always a plus when he's happily occupied during dinner-making.

I did like the contrasting creamy and crunchy consistencies and taste overall but it was missing something. Not the amazing mac & cheese experience I was hoping for. It was easy and fast, aside from the baking time, so I will probably try it again but maybe tweak a few ingredients here and there.

Now I need to check out the other mac & cheese recipe to compare...

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

source*

I am in love with roasted cauliflower. It's ridiculously flavorful and hearty while still being super good for you. For those of you who may believe that it's a bland vegetable, I urge you to reconsider. You could actually skip all the other stuff in this recipe and just roast it in some olive oil and call it good. But the other ingredients are tasty, too, so go ahead and give it a try.

I've made it several times with some modifications that I think make it easier to prepare. Serve it up with some basmati rice and some warm naan and you've got yourself a well-rounded meal.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
Gourmet | February 2004
Posted on Epicurious.com

Ingredients:
1 (1 3/4-lb) head cauliflower, cut into 3/4-inch-wide florets
1 1/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño, including seeds
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Put oven rack in upper third of oven and place a shallow baking pan on rack. Preheat oven to 475°F.
2. Toss cauliflower and potatoes together in a bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, cumin seeds, and1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread in hot baking pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and browned in spots and potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While vegetables are roasting, cook onion, garlic, jalapeño, and ginger in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until very soft and beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in water, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then stir in roasted vegetables. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

yield: Makes 4 side-dish servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 30 minutes

266 calories per serving

Total cost = approximately $1.50 a serving (unless you don't have the spices on hand)

Cook's Notes:

• This is not that spicy. I would just say it's more flavorful. My kiddos don't mind spicy foods but I usually leave out the jalapeño seeds just to be sure.
• I don't think it's necessary to do Step 3. Why waste an extra pan? I just toss all of the ingredients (minus the water) into a bowl to mix and then dump it all onto a baking sheet to roast in the oven together.
• I've never used cumin seeds and it's still turned out great.
• If you don't have all of the dry spices and don't want to go out and get them, you could probably get by with just some yellow curry powder.

*I forgot to take a picture so I've borrowed from Epicurious. Hopefully, I'll remember to add my own soon.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

Normally, when I think of quesadillas I think of an easy, no-brainer meal option. Something quick to put on the table that everyone will enjoy. But I came across this recipe and loved the idea of goat cheese and a little more substance (and vegetables) to enhance this main dish.

At first glance, these seem like more work than what you'd expect in a quesadilla, but I think it's worth the effort. We've made them 3 times now and they've always been well-received.

Potato, Greens, and Goat Cheese Quesadillas
From Bon Appétit | March 2008
Posted on Epicurious.com

yield: Makes 4

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (5 to 6 ounces)
1 1/3 cups jarred salsa verde (tomatillo salsa)
4 2/3 cups coarsely chopped stemmed mustard greens (from 1 bunch), divided
4 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
3 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Place baking sheet in oven and preheat to 275°F. Steam potatoes until tender, about 8 minutes. Place in large bowl; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Toss to coat. Cool potatoes 15 minutes. Mix in Jack cheese*. Meanwhile, blend salsa and 2/3 cup (packed) greens in mini processor until greens are finely chopped.

Arrange tortillas on work surface. Divide remaining greens between bottom half of each. Top greens with potato mixture, then goat cheese and 2 tablespoons salsa mixture for each. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling, pressing to compact. Brush with oil.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas, oiled side down, in skillet. Brush tops with oil. Cook until quesadillas are brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 quesadillas.

Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 wedges. Serve with remaining salsa.

Cook's Notes:

• I've never used Yukon Gold potatoes-- just russets-- and they've tasted great
• We've tried it first with mustard greens and then with spinach leaves the next time and have liked them with spinach better
• I've always made them flat using 2 tortillas per quesadilla instead of folding one, as the recipe says
• *I didn't think of this before, but they would stay together better after cooking if you spread the pepperjack cheese out over the bottom tortilla, put the greens, potatoes (minus the pepperjack), goat cheese, and sauce on, and then sprinkled the remainder of the pepperjack on top before you put on the second tortilla*

Do you have any pet peeves?
Sadly, too many to name. But the worst is when people smoke outside our window. Then the smoke seeps into our apartment and stinks up the whole place. Yuck!

Any other hobbies besides being an amazing cook?
Is eating a hobby? I do love to eat, more than I like to cook, actually. But I also enjoy reading, singing, acting, going for walks on the beach, swimming, photography...

What is your favorite summer activity?
Swimming. Or anything to do with the water.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I would so love to be a morning person because they seem to be much more organized, but I am definitely a night person.

Are you a go-go-go sight-seeing kind of vacationer or lie-on-the-beach-all-day kind of vacationer?
I think that I like a little bit of both. If I'm going to a foreign country, I love to see as much as possible but also spend some time on the beach, by the pool, etc. if possible.

What is your favorite store?
Cost Plus World Market. Or maybe Target. It's a toss-up.

What is your favorite beverage?
Water. But I also love Vanilla Coke every once in awhile.

If you had to go back to school, what would your major be?
Not for any sort of practical reasons, but I would love to study theater and acting (I almost minored in them!).

Jeannie's Turkey Burgers

Very tasty! I've decided that the garlic makes the burger. These were flavorful and filling. We topped with cheddar cheese, tomato, and avocado.

Seems that ground turkey is kinda pricey ($6 a pound, normally, but was on sale for $4 today. Is that normal??) so we may not have these as often as I'd like. But I'll definitely make it again!

Jeannie's Sloppy Joes

We enjoyed these very much. I didn't read the recipe carefully enough when planning so I didn't realize you were supposed to use the crock pot. Didn't matter! I made them (like Melanie: 1 lb. ground beef, halved other ingredients) in a regular pot and let the sauce simmer down for about 10 minutes. Took about 30 minutes from start to finish, so a pretty easy and tasty dinner.

This Week's Recipe: Easy Split Pea Soup

I used to hate split pea soup. Literally, my mom had to coax me into eating it every time she served it. I'd pinch my nose and swallow hoping that my two bites would be enough to make it go away.

Somewhere along the line my tastes changed.

It could possibly be from this recipe alone. Really, it's quite tasty! I've made this soup countless times and it's never failed me. My family loves it on a chilly day. Serve it up with a crusty bread (I often cheat and buy the 2-loaf pack of whole wheat baguettes from Costco) and some slices of cheddar cheese. I know it's springtime now, but try it out before it starts defrosting too much.

Easy Split Pea Soup
Bon Appétit | May 1996
by Patricia Murray: County Kerry, Ireland

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1 1/2 pounds smoked pork hocks
2 teaspoons dried leaf marjoram
1 bay leaf*
1 1/2 cups green split peas
8 cups water
1 potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes*
1/2 cup of cooked, cubed ham chunks*

Instructions:
Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork and marjoram; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Transfer hocks to bowl. Puree 5 cups soup in batches in blender. Return to pot. Cut pork off bones. Dice pork; return pork to soup. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover. Rewarm before serving.)

Cook's Notes:
~I added the asterisked ingredients (I like potato and extra ham-- just add after pureeing)
~Needs longer than 1 hour 10 minutes-- probably about 2 hours
~Can be made in a crock pot (just add the potatoes and extra ham the last hour of cooking, after the soup has been pureed)
~I like to add more peas to make it a thicker consistency
~If you have an immersion hand blender, I highly recommend using it! A regular blender works alright, but the hand kind is MUCH easier.

---
Cami's questions:

Q: When did you start baking / cooking?
A: I can remember helping my mom in the kitchen from the time I was about 8. I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving that year and have been making it for my family every year since. My mom also let me help her make tortillas. I loved eating the dough!

Q: What is your favorite kitchen tool?
A: Heat-resistant spatulas

Q: Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
A: Garlic and maybe black pepper, too

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: A tough one! I love so many. Maybe "The Hiding Place," or "A Prayer for Owen Meany," or "Harry Potter" ...

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: The Greek Islands

Q: If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
A: I've always thought the name Ophelia was cool...

Q: Where do you currently live?
A: Goleta (Santa Barbara), CA

Q: Where are you from?
A: Van Nuys (The San Fernando Valley), CA

Q: If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Strawberries