cheese

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

~ Lynn ~ 21 Comments

Have you ever heard those stories about people who win the lottery multiple times, yet still end up broke? Those stories fascinate me. I like to think if I ever won big I would use the money wisely, but it’s entirely possible I’d spend it all on shoes. At work we play the lottery whenever the jackpot is big. Even though we all know we’re probably just throwing away our money, no one in the department wants to risk being the only one who has to show up at work on Monday morning.

That’s not to say I’ve never won anything. Last Friday I found a penny, picked it up, then won a free coffee from Tim Horton’s Roll up the Rim. Free coffee makes me ridiculously happy. And in December I entered the Holiday Recipe Exchange from Good Life Eats and My Baking Addiction with my Maple Butterscotch Pudding. Thanks to your kind votes I won a gift package from Kerrygold. The package had TONS of cheese and a selection of butter. Looking at all the cheese I received I knew I had to make something with it. The first thing that came to mind was Macaroni and Cheese.

I’m not going to say this is the best recipe ever, because I’m sure there are many of you out there who make a mean mac and cheese, but it was definitely the best I’ve ever made. I used Kerrygolds Garlic and Herb Butter to make the roux, and their Red Leicester cheese in the sauce. It’s a mild, cheddar like cheese with a nice tang to it. The sauce was pure cheesy goodness. I can’t wait for my next Kerrygold experiment!

Stove Top Mac & Cheese

  • 1 pound macaroni
  • 2 tbsp Garlic and Herb Butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups milk (warm)
  • 7 oz Red Leicester Cheese (or sharp cheddar)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Cook the macaroni as per package instructions until al dente.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a large sauce pan on medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir until it starts to bubble slightly. Add the warm milk. Lower the heat to medium and stir constantly until the sauce begins to thicken (about 5 minutes).
  3. Once thickened, add the cheese and stir until completely melted. Taste the sauce, add salt and pepper if necessary.
  4. Drain the pasta and toss into the sauce.
  5. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

A Messy Potato Gratin & A Blog Award!

~ Lynn ~ 18 Comments

My first thought when I pulled this dish out of the oven was that there is no way I can post it. It looks burnt, and it’s a huge mess. But then I tasted it, and it was delicious. The deliciousness pushed me to post it. I figured I could share my mistakes with world so that they are not repeated.

I was inspired by all the bloggers who made potato gratin for French Fridays With Dorie to make one myself. I don’t have the book (yet) so instead I used a recipe I already had. Potato gratin is very easy in theory. Slice potatoes, pour cream over them, top with cheese, bake. But there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Milk and cream bubble when heated, so don’t fill the baking dish up to the top (unless you like scrubbing burnt cream out of your oven). Another option is to place a baking sheet that won’t warp under the baking dish to catch any overflow. Slice the potatoes as thinly as possible so that they cook evenly, no one likes a raw potato. Also, the cheese can be put on the gratin midway through the baking so that you don’t end up with a burnt looking gratin like mine.

Next up, an award!

When I started this blog I had no expectation that anyone would read it. It was something I decided to do for myself. Through it I have discovered some wonderful blogs and people and I happy (and shocked) to say that one of those people has been kind enough to give me a blog award. Patty of Patty’s Food has passed on the One Lovely Blog Award to me, and I am very honoured.

There are a few bloggers out there whose posts just make me happy when I read them. They are funny and kind and amazing cooks. I hope you take some time to check them out if you don’t already know them.

Janice of Kitchen Heals Soul

Roxan of Kitchen Meditation

Heather of Pretty Peas

Azmina of Lawyer Love Lunch

Sarah of Baking Serendipity

 

Potato Gratin

  • 2 lbs potatoes, sliced thinly
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • one pinch dried rosemary
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • cheese, grated to cover
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. In a large saucepan, cook potato slices, cream, milk, garlic and seasonings until the milk starts to boil. Stir very gently so that the potato slices don’t break.
  3. Discard the garlic cloves and pour potato and cream mixture into a baking dish.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover with cheese and bake for 20 more minutes.
  5. Let cool (the gratin will still look liquidy when first pulled out of the oven, but will set as it cools.

Enjoy!

I’ll Have What She’s Having

~ Lynn ~ 2 Comments

Sally Albright: But I’d like the pie heated and I don’t want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it, if not then no ice cream just whipped cream but only if it’s real; if it’s out of the can then nothing.

Waitress: Not even the pie?

Sally Albright: No, I want the pie, but then not heated.

My favourite movie ever: When Harry Met Sally. I laugh and cry every time I watch it (which is surprisingly often). I was very sad to discover the domain “whatsheshaving” is already taken. You better have a good blog, whoever you are! Thankfully, this is a movie that has many food moments to choose from, including the ordering of pie.

In an ideal world, I would have a pie to show. But I don’t. Instead I have an amaretto cheese tart for you. This is one of my favourite recipes, and it’s incredibly easy to make.

This time I made it for Nelson’s birthday plus 37 days. I’m a little late, but I think he’ll forgive me. Now all I have to do is figure out how I’m going to get it to the office…

Amaretto Cheese Tart

Crust

3 cups Amaretti cookie, crumbled (easiest if done in a food processor)

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup butter

Filling

250 g cream cheese, softened

250 g mascarpone, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup Amaretto

Preheat oven to 350. Combine amaretti crumbs with sugar and butter. Press into a 9 inch tart pan, making sure to push the crumbs up the side of the pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. (Update, some people had issues with butter dripping out of the tart pan, so it may be best to use a pie pan)

While the crust is baking, beat the cheeses and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each is added. Add the amaretto.

Fill the tart shell with the filling and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!