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aka cracked out macaroni and cheese (in a good way)
if you were able to read this month's issue of bon appetit without running into the kitchen to make mac and cheese, then you're a stronger person than me.
the only catch was that i just wanted to do it my way. and i wanted it to be a meal i could eat without feeling completely guilty about consuming a bowl of pasta and fat. yes, it's harsh i know but really, with what resulted there's no deprivation involved, i promise. the big deal here is substituting nonfat yogurt for any milk, cream, and/or butter i would have otherwise used. and i guess you could go with low fat cheese however, i went with the "high-quality will go further" idea. since the cheese has a lot of flavor, you can use less of it and still be just as satisfied. the cheese and yogurt melt together to form the perfect cheesy sauce, no roux, eggs, cream or butter required.
cracked out, i mean lightened up mac and cheese - 8 oz pasta elbows (i used brown rice ones)
- 2 links spicy chicken sausage, casing removed
- 1/2 large bunch of broccoli rabe, sliced into 1-inch sections
- olive oil
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce
- salt & pepper
- 1 6 oz plain nonfat yogurt
- 1/4 cup gruyere, grated
- 1/4 cup sharp white cheddar, grated
- 1-2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
- preheat oven to 375.
- cook the pasta until just undercooked.
- while pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan.c ook sausage over medium-low heat, breaking up the pieces as it cooks.
- when the sausage is cooked, set aside in a casserole dish.
- add remaining olive oil to same pan. add shallots, garlic and broccoli rabe and cook over medium heat until the broccoli rabe is wilted. add to casserole dish.
- mix cooked pasta, sausage, broccoli rabe, mustard, chili sauce, salt, pepper, gruyere, cheddar, and yogurt together in dish. top with Parmesan cheese.
- bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
when is grilled cheese okay for breakfast? when it has an egg on it! (or all the time). in any case, a wonderfully crusty spelt loaf and aged cheddar were beckoning and i couldn't wait until lunch.
i topped my sandwich (instead of stuffing it) with an egg, heirloom tomato slice and a ginormous basil leaf, because i was really looking for a grilled cheese vehicle and wanted to keep my cheesy goodness purely intact as possible.
if you're gonna go this route (extra toppings or not), there are very few ingredients involved so quality is crucial. i mean it! do no skimp. save your wonder bread and american cheese for something else. and as we transition to the fall season, read up on your heirlooms, if you haven't already. i must say, they were absolutely out of control at the santa monica farmers market a couple of weekends ago.
glorified grilled cheese - cheese: a nice aged cheddar made me happy
- bread: crusty, please!
- nice thick slice of tomato
- a couple of basil leaves
- fried egg: over easy, lots of yolk, please
- combine as desired. in my case, this involved buttering two slices of bread, frying them butter side down with cheese on top, cooking until the cheese melted , sticking them together and topping them with the rest of the ingredients.
i think i can safely say this is not something my parents ever would have made for me. but it wasn't my parents who made it. it was my mom's friend who would come and hang out/babysit/cook for my brother and i occasionally if my mom was at work/somewhere else. of course, the neon orange substance known as velveeta was not something that was ever in my house, so when she introduced it to us, i must have been hesitant at first. until i tasted the mac and cheese. i dream of that mac and cheese and usually convince myself that during the rare times i cook mac and cheese it should be more official (read: real cheese). i don't know what i was thinking. and although the ooey gooey goodness emanates when it's hot, there's also something great about the cold leftovers. i can remember coming home from school and waiting to devour the leftovers of this cheesy mess.
velveeta macaroni and cheese
- 1 2 lb brick of velveeta "cheese"
- 1 bag/box shell pasta (larger is better)
- small-medium onion
- 1/4 cups milk
- salt and pepper
- breadcrumbs
- Preheat oven to 350.
- boil water and cook shells as directed
- while shells are cooking, cut up about 3/4 of the velveeta brick, chop up onion.
- grease large oven proof bowl
- pour cooked pasta in bowl, pour in chopped up cheese and onions. pour about 1/4c+ milk in. grind salt and pepper over top. mix thoroughly. cover top with bread crumbs.
- bake until cheese is melted, browned on top and very bubbly. About 45 mins - one hour
to set the record straight, i don't eat red meat. i have not consumed red meat for many years now and never feel the desire to indulge. that being said, you may wonder how i can enjoy an occasional visit to in-and-out burger. now, if you're really on your in-and-out stuff, your first reaction might be, "ooh, ooh! i know, i know! you eat the grilled cheese from the secret menu!" and i would gasp "what about THE WHEAT?!" and you would say (as people often do), "right. sorry. forgot about that." confused yet? enter ANIMAL STYLE PROTEIN STYLE GRILLED CHEESE. any in-and-out aficionados out there that can help me with the order of that? the rest of you are probably wondering what exactly this is. it is a grilled cheese (with all the fixings) wrapped in lettuce. no meat! no wheat! it may sound a little weak but the "animal style" gives it some extra stuff. pickles, grilled onions, pickles and extra everything, to be exact. this crazy concoction is everything awesome about burgers MINUS THE BURGER! and for me, that's exciting. extra point for oh-so-good american cheese. how is american cheese so yummy sometimes?!
you're going to have to squint for this one:
lettuce, american cheese, grilled onions, tomatoes, pickles, and special sauce.
home recipe idea: - take a giant non stick skillet.
- pour grated cheese in a burger-like shape. let cook.
- scrape off cheese.
- eat plain or serve with fixings.
but really, in-and-out's doesn't taste like that's how they make them. it must be magic. and some power from the bible references on the packaging.
i was eager to fall into the eating trends of switzerland but alas, as one who does not eat red meat, wheat and limits their dairy intake, this was rather difficult. it wasn't until my last day in geneva that i experienced a true swiss meal that i could eat and enjoy (with the aid of lactaid, of course)! where did this magic happen, you ask? at the restaurant les armures, at les armures hotel in old town. it's the oldest restaurant and hotel in geneva and is the perfect place to go for swiss specialties.
we ate a deliciously fresh green salad and small portions of raclette. raclette is a white cow's milk cheese that is melted and served with small potatoes. it's portioned in small amounts so that you can get just a taste of it or eat a large amount, for those more dairy inclined. the cheese is melted so that there's almost a thin crust formed and tastes delicious with a good amount of fresh ground pepper. raclette is eaten with white wine--no water because it can form cheese balls in your tummy! there's some information about making raclette at home here. if you're looking to go out and try this dish in new york, the best option (based on internet research alone) seems to be swizz, where you can choose to order an appetizer or full size portion. according to their online menu, you can also get raclette at the bourgeois pig, which is a small fun restaurant to go to with two downtown locations. 
to finish off the meal, i had pear sorbet with williamine, a pear liqueur. the sorbet was quite fresh and had chunks of pear. as i am somewhat of a lightweight, it tasted best when it was all mashed together. i picked up a bottle of williamine to bring back home. i plan to either drink it neat, serve it over sorbet or try it on top of vanilla ice cream.
and a closing note about chocolate: because what would switzerland be without it? besides gorgeous...although most supermarket brands are supposed to be good (coop and migros) you can also find more gourmet brands in all of the train stations. the best kind i found was laderach, which can be purchased by weight from giant sheets of all different kinds of chocolate. according to their website, laderach chocolate can be found at the trump palace food emporium at 3rd and 68th street but this is yet to be confirmed. the other brand of chocolate that was recommended to me is villars. it comes in many different flavors and fillings, including liquors of the area: kirsch and williamine.
if you were able to read this month's issue of bon appetit without running into the kitchen to make mac and cheese, then you're a stronger person than me.
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