As good as this is, I have yet to master the issue of it putting off too much liquid. But it's fair to say, I've never tried, I just accept it--zucchini has water in it. BIGDAMNDEAL. It doesn't affect the taste, merely the presentation. Some cooks say to bake it for 10 minutes first.
No.
Others say to salt it and then pat it dry.
Nuh-uh.
My favorite is when some jackwaggon on a low-carb recipe site offers the brilliant solution of putting rice in the bottom of it to absorb the water...really, asshat? Yeah, and a snickers bar really helps to cut sugar cravings if you're diabetic. Crikey! Moving on...
If you're lucky, someone you know has an abundance of zucchini and yellow squash and they keep bringing it to you at work! As a 20-something-year-old, the only thing I knew to do with my summer harvest given to me by my clients at the beauty shop was make zucchini bread or fry it--what a shame--it's so much more versatile than that! In my mid-thirties, I would get super creative and sauté it with onions and tomatoes, garlic, and Italian/Mediterranean-ish seasonings only to discover I was making ratatouille! Zut, je suis bon!
This particular endeavor was as follows:
Yellow squash--peeled, halved, thinly sliced
Meat sauce--ground, browned turkey w/
Diced white onion--half saved for a layer
Splash of red wine
Prepared pasta sauce
S&P
Cottage cheese--topped with
Moz--with a mix of
Finely Shredded Italian Cheese Blend--finished off with
Fresh Basil
I would love to have had a layer of sautéed mushrooms, but somebody's kind of a crybaby when it comes to fungi. Someday this will call for it to be disguised in the meat!
Showing posts with label comfort food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comfort food. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Mac & Cheese
Today, my brother turns another year older and if I were in Kansas, I would make him some mac & cheese! It's not something that gets made very often, so when it does, it's kind of a big deal. If you've eaten it at my table, it means you have my love and loyalty bestowed upon you, as there are very few people important enough to deserve this honor, but still have not had the opportunity to do so--I'll get to you, I swear. Request it next time we are near a kitchen in case I forget. Let's hope you're truly one of the ones mentioned above, otherwise, it would be so awkward...you finding out, by a mac & cheese refusal that, well...I'm just not that into you. HAHAHA! I'm kidding. Sort of.
I'm not great at recipes, not sure why...it inhibits my creativity, or I don't respect authority, or I dunno, I'm not good at organizing paper-ish things. Here's how I do it:
2 cups elbows
1/2 c. diced onion...honestly, I don't measure either of those, eyeball it!
2 T. butter...margarine is a waste of time, don't even!
2 T. AP flour
lotsa pepper
2 to 2.5 c. milk
usually, the easiest way to remember this, and you can do this with all sorts of sauces...
1 T fat--(butter, pan drippings)
1 T flour
1 cuppa liquid--(broth, milk, or a mix of both)
finally...
4 c. of shredded American cheese (if you can't find it, use 16 oz. of sliced)
Sauté your onion in your butter, add a little salt to speed the cooking process, cook til clear, do not brown. If you do, don't panic, just get it off the heat & cool slightly before proceeding. Add flour, pepper, & once smooth, dump in all the milk at once. Cook til thick and bubbly, add cheese. Add cooked elbows to cheese sauce, DONE! Unless you want to show off and love to do dishes, then transfer to baking dish and heat at 350 for 20, or until bubbly. I don't do this. I also don't put a topping like crumbs or bacon, or sliced tomatoes, but do what you want.
I haven't quite figured it out, but my grandma Myrna, who's not really my grandma at all, used to make it with a little vinegar(I think?)--some barbeque joints do this, but I haven't quite gotten it the way I remember it. I suppose the acidity cuts the richness a little, or maybe helps stretch the cheese, hell...I dunno. She is long gone, and the last time I ate it was probably 37 years ago, but I can still smell it cooking in her kitchen!
I like to make more cheese sauce than it calls for & freeze it in several smaller containers, it's good with broccoli, cauliflower, whatever...but the key to it's yumminess is the onion. If you don't want to go to all this trouble, sauté the onions and toss it in a melted cheese & milk mixture, it'll give you a quick fix, ya junkie!
It's nothing short of legendary, and since going the route of the low-carb lifestyle, it's a rare delicacy too! Enjoy! Happy Birthday Little Brother :)
I'm not great at recipes, not sure why...it inhibits my creativity, or I don't respect authority, or I dunno, I'm not good at organizing paper-ish things. Here's how I do it:
2 cups elbows
1/2 c. diced onion...honestly, I don't measure either of those, eyeball it!
2 T. butter...margarine is a waste of time, don't even!
2 T. AP flour
lotsa pepper
2 to 2.5 c. milk
usually, the easiest way to remember this, and you can do this with all sorts of sauces...
1 T fat--(butter, pan drippings)
1 T flour
1 cuppa liquid--(broth, milk, or a mix of both)
finally...
4 c. of shredded American cheese (if you can't find it, use 16 oz. of sliced)
Sauté your onion in your butter, add a little salt to speed the cooking process, cook til clear, do not brown. If you do, don't panic, just get it off the heat & cool slightly before proceeding. Add flour, pepper, & once smooth, dump in all the milk at once. Cook til thick and bubbly, add cheese. Add cooked elbows to cheese sauce, DONE! Unless you want to show off and love to do dishes, then transfer to baking dish and heat at 350 for 20, or until bubbly. I don't do this. I also don't put a topping like crumbs or bacon, or sliced tomatoes, but do what you want.
I haven't quite figured it out, but my grandma Myrna, who's not really my grandma at all, used to make it with a little vinegar(I think?)--some barbeque joints do this, but I haven't quite gotten it the way I remember it. I suppose the acidity cuts the richness a little, or maybe helps stretch the cheese, hell...I dunno. She is long gone, and the last time I ate it was probably 37 years ago, but I can still smell it cooking in her kitchen!
I like to make more cheese sauce than it calls for & freeze it in several smaller containers, it's good with broccoli, cauliflower, whatever...but the key to it's yumminess is the onion. If you don't want to go to all this trouble, sauté the onions and toss it in a melted cheese & milk mixture, it'll give you a quick fix, ya junkie!
It's nothing short of legendary, and since going the route of the low-carb lifestyle, it's a rare delicacy too! Enjoy! Happy Birthday Little Brother :)
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