Creamy Macaroni with Spicy Sausage

As I previously mentioned, this is the other recipe I have made from my new cookbook, homemade by Clodagh McKenna - Mac and Cheese with Spicy Sausage.

Now the original recipe is called Creamy Macaroni with Smoked Bacon but as I was reading the notes with the recipe, Clodagh suggests using spicy sausage in place of the smoked bacon. So I did because it seemed more heartier than just bacon for a main course dinner. I just used spicy Italian sausage.

Here is the recipe with my moderations:

1 box (15 or 18 oz) macaroni
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced smoked thick-cut bacon OR a pound of spicy sausage cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or you can grate a few pieces of stale white bread)
1/3 stick butter

Cheese sauce:
2/3 stick butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 3/4 cups milk
1 3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes until it resembles a small piece of dough. Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring all the time. Stir in the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. Season with salt and pepper, add the Dijon mustard, and stir.

Turn down the heat and cook until the sauce starts to thicken (it should coat the back of a wooden spoon). The cheese sauce should be creamy in texture; if it becomes too thick, add more milk.

While the cheese sauce is simmering, add the pasta to a large saucepan of salted boiling water and stir for about 30 seconds so the pasta doesn't stick together. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain.

Place another skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook until done.

Pour the pasta into a 10 inch baking dish, followed by the cooked sausage, followed by the cheese sauce, making sure the sausage and the cheese sauce is evenly distributed over the pasta.

Place the sausage skillet back over medium-high heat. Add the butter and once melted, stir in the bread crumbs and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the cheesy macaroni and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the top is golden.

French Breakfast Puffs by The Pioneer Woman

Doing more cooking from The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. Love the book! Thanks again Bec!

I made muffins - or French Breakfast Puffs - last Saturday morning. These were so good and hard to stop at 1. Or 2.

For Muffins:

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon gound nutmeg

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

2 whole eggs

1 cup milk

For topping (this is less than the PW calls for because I had a lot left over):

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Then add eggs and mix again.

Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Once out of the oven move muffins to a cooling rack.

In a bowl, melt the butter. In a seperate bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon.

Dip baked muffin tops (PW says to dip entire muffin but I find if you do the tops, it's enough) in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

These are a great treat! I had enough batter to make about 14 muffins but because I didn't have any other muffin tins or small baking cups, I just made a few huge muffins and it turned out fine.

I used to make a recipe very similar to this from Martha Stewart only I used a mini muffin tin. You could do that here and reduce baking time.

Here's a muffin I coated all over. It was just too sugary for my taste.

Madeleines

After we ate our Special Chicken, Adam asked what the funny red silicone pan sitting on the counter was for. I told him it's my madeleine pan and that I want to make some in the near future. Well since he put the idea in my head which caused and instant sweet tooth, I found a recipe and got to it right then.

I know I say a lot of the recipes I try are easy but this one is truly so easy! I guess the most difficult part to overcome is having a madeleine pan. I was out shopping one day and saw the silicone one I have on big-time sale and just bought it on a whim. I'm very happy I did! I need another one now...

While studying in Paris, I remember buying these little cake-cookies in large packages in the grocery store and by the piece at corner bakeries.

There are several madeleine recipes out there. The basic recipe I use is from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri.

2 large eggs
pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
finely grated zest of a medium orange
1 cup flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick butter), melted
confectioners sugar for finishing
two madeleine pans, buttered and floured

Set rack in the middle level of the oven and reheat to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, by hand, whisk together the eggs and salt until frothy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the sugar in a stream, then the orange zest. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour, then the melted butter. Use a large soup spoon to fill the cavities in the molds about 2/3 full.

Bake the madelines for about 20 minutes, until they are well risen, firm and a golden color.

Remove the pans from the oven and unmold the madeleines immediately onto racks to cool. If you reuse the pan like I did, wash it and butter and flour it again.

Dust the madeleines with powdered sugar before serving.


Next time I want to make chocolate madeleines: Substitute 2/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted after measuring, for the flour. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Pepper Poppers

For my birthday, my best friend pre-ordered me a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks for my birthday because the book wasn't published until after my birthday. I just got the book on Friday night so throughout Saturday I looked at the books, reading the Pioneer Woman's life stories and delicious recipes, enjoying her vivid and lively photographs. I really wanted to make something from the book and the bacon wrapped jalapenos caught Adam's eye. However, we couldn't find jalapenos so it was Adam's idea to use red and green bell peppers instead. They turned out to be quite tasty!

BBQ Jalapeno Poppers from the Pioneer Woman

18 fresh jalapenos, sliced lenghwise, cleaned of membranes and seeds - OR, bell peppers work too!
1 8oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 grated (I used shredded) cheddar cheese
1 (I used 2) green onion, sliced
18 slices thin bacon
Favorite BBQ sauce
toothpicks

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, cheddar cheese and onions until well incorporated. Fill each pepper half with the cheese mixture and place on baking sheet. Cut bacon to fit around each pepper half. Wrap each pepper with a piece of bacon - but not too tight because bacon shrinks as it cooks - and secure with a tooth pick. Brush the bacon wrapped peppers with BBQ sauce. Bake for one hour until bacon is cooked.

The baked peppers. Anything with cheese and bacon turns out good!

Chef Staib Dinner at Harvest

A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying an evening at Harvest, a new restaurant on the grounds of the Hotel Hershey. The Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau sponsored my experience at Harvest because the hotel was hosting a very special guest chef - Walter Staib, Proprietor of The City Tavern in Philadelphia. I was very excited to hear that Chef Staib was going to be at Harvest for many reasons. First, my good friend Tim is a chef at Harvest and this was the first time I had the opportunity to eat at the restaurant. Second, I have eaten at the City Tavern in Philadelphia two times and had wonderful experiences there. And third, I had sampled one of Chef Staib's appetizer creations at a food event in Philly just a few months ago.

The cozy dining atmosphere at Harvest

To start the evening, I attended a reception where I had a nice conversation with Chef Staib. He told me about his upcoming series on PBS, a series of his cooking experiences at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. A Taste of History will begin airing this fall. I was also able to try one of the Ales of Revolution - the beers served at the City Tavern. The Poor Richards Tavern Spruce Ale is based on Ben Franklin's original recipe containing hints of spruce and molasses.


On to dinner! The dishes we had to choose from are all found in Chef Staib's cookbooks. For the amuse, we had the smoked pheasant en croute. Next on to the Appetizer - I chose the corn and crab chowder and it was amazing! The rich and creamy base was very flavorful and the combo of corn and crab is a wonderful comfort soup for the fall. For my entree, I couldn't pass up the pan seared beef medallions with mashed potatoes and the General Washington Tavern Porter Sauce. Delicately tender beef and a sturdy sauce to go with it. For dessert, Martha Washington's Chocolate Mousse cake with vanilla sauce was a rich and chocolately way to end the meal.


Simulanteously, my dining partner, Jamie, enjoyed the salad of Romaine lettuce with cumbled Maytag blue cheese and a burgundy Dijion vinaigrette for her appetizer. For her main course, she selected the turkey pot pie with fall vegetables topped with puff pastry. And for her dessert, warm bread pudding served with rum flavored creme anglaise.

The kitchen team at Harvest did a phenomenal job of perfectly pulling together a night of Chef Staib's creations!


At Harvest, 80% of the ingredients used in the kitchen are gathered/raised within 100 miles from the restaurant. For example, on that evening's menu, there was a sauteed brook trout that was raised in Lancaster County. Almost all of the vegetables used at the restaurant are local, including the gatherings from a small herb garden on the grounds of the Hotel. The service, ambiance and meal was outstanding and I look forward to another visit to Harvest very soon!

The amuse - pheasant en croute

Turkey Potpie

Beef Medallions

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Bread Pudding

I would like to thank Chef Staib for the newest edition of his Tavern Cookbook. I am excited to try some dishes from your collection. A thank you to Jamie for being my dinner date and for your great photography skills. And most importantly, a thank you to the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau for sponsoring my evening.

Settings: A Cookbook

I have had this book in my hot little hands for quite sometime now. I made the buttery mushrooms in wine broth two times. Sooo flavorful - I've never had mushrooms this good before and I even made them! Wow!

I wrote a post for the Savvy Grouse about the book. Check it out here.

I made the mushrooms for our Labor Day party but it was the only thing we didn't get a picture of! Oh well.
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A new cookbook

After a few days of anticipation, last Friday I received a new cookbook I ordered online - John Ash: Cooking One on One. A friend of mine, Tim, who is a chef, let me borrow his copy and I liked it so much, I wanted a copy of my own. I know of a certain book store website that I have been dying to use: http://www.betterworldbooks.com/. Better World Books uses their proceeds to fund literacy programs throughout the world. They sell new and used books, and the shipping is free. I found John Ash's book used for about $7 and besides missing the dust jack and a few dings on the hardcover, the interrior of the book is perfect!

For students: the site was originally created for buying and selling textbooks, which they still do today.

Not only can you find great books for great prices at this site, the sales fund a good cause!

Back to the cookbook... There are tons of great, versatile recipes for marinades, sauces, vinaigrettes and salsas. As the name implies, there are detailed tips to explain how the recipes work. There is a wine pairing section, cooking time charts, a detailed glossary in the back, and descriptive introductions to each of the chapters.

Some dishes I am looking forward to:

Soba and Chicken in Green Tea Broth

Grilled Tequila-Lime Marinated Salmon

Vanilla Baked Peaches and Blueberries

Oven-Dried Mediterranean Salad

Basic Red Wine Pan Sauce for Hamburgers or Steaks

Yogurt & Mint Marinade

Pineapple Melon Salsa

Wow... those are just a few... I have a lot of work ahead of me!