Grownup Mac and Cheese

I'll be one of the first to admit that sometimes everyone just needs some Mac and Cheese.  Face it, whether that goopy stuff that they served in school, Velveeta shells, lobster mac from that trendy place down the road or Kraft EasyMac ... Mac and Cheese is always good!

For my Mac and Cheese I go a little overboard with the cheeses, feel free to choose to do so or not.  For this dinner I didn't have a lot on hand so it was a mix of cheddar, mozzarella and gouda .. typically I love mixing it up with a blue or a brie.  Also, this recipe is surprisingly easy.

Grownup Mac and Cheese

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup assorted melting cheeses (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Brie, Blue, Gouda, etc.)

4 cups cooked orecchiette

Frank's Redhot (or a similar hot sauce), optional

Start off by melting the butter into a sauce pot and then whisk in the flour to build your roux.  Once the flour and butter are well combined, slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture has thickened into a sauce.  Next add the cheese and continue to whisk until well melted and mixed.

Finally, add the orecchiette and stir well.  Yep, that simple.  You'll have to play with the mixture of cheeses a little bit as some will add more oil or water to the mixture and can throw it off.  If that happens you'll have to make a bit more of the roux and milk mixture in another pot and slowly add until the consistency is correct.  Try it and enjoy!

Various summer pastas

Summer time for me means fresh veggies, sitting at the pool and eating outside.  Luckily the three go together, as I'll highlight below, in making for dinners that don't make you feel ashamed to doff your shirt.

We take advantage of the farmer's market to get all sorts of fresh veggies, and then I add some fish and pasta to make a simple and not too filling dinner.

For this first pasta I did a very basic mix of sautéed shrimp and scallops over bucatini.  I cooked a bunch of baby squash (green and yellow) along with asparagus to make the veggie mix, and then hit it with a little white wine at the last minute to make a "sauce."  I then topped it all off with basil and shaved parmesan cheese.

For this second pasta I went a little heavier, but still summertime light.  I sautéed onion, shiitake mushrooms and fresh hot and mild peppers.  I once again used bucatini as the base, but this time I topped it with a piece of broiled grouper and some sautéed king crab.

No matter what you put on top, keep it light and you can't go wrong ... enjoy!

Surprisingly light: fish and pasta for summer

Once summer time rolls around I like to do a lot of grilled or broiled fish, but I don't always want a heavy bean or potato starch to go with it.  Typically I'll use pasta instead, with a nice light sauce that I make up depending what's handy and fresh.  I did a couple of dinners the last two weeks that were a great example of this.

For this first dinner, I started with a small can of tomato sauce and some garlic.  I mashed some fresh garlic and then put that and the sauce into a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.  After about 5 minutes I added a tablespoon of water, about 1 tablespoon of diced fresh basil, and a pinch each of dried oregano, salt and pepper.  I plated the pasta, fish & veg and then topped everything off with the sauce before adding a dollop of ricotta to the pasta.

For this second dish I wanted to make use of some shrimp I had in the fridge so I roughly chopped them and then tossed them into a hot pan with some sliced garlic and butter.  I cooked the shrimp and garlic this way for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking.  I turned the heat down to low and added a half cup of white wine.  I allowed the wine to cook down a bit while I was cooking the rest of the meal and then I plated everything but the sauce.  Once I was ready I removed from heat and stirred in a tbsp of ricotta cheese until just melted and then I spooned the sauce over the dish and was ready to enjoy!

There's a reason that everyone prefers to eat at an Italian Grandmother's house!

There's just something about Italian food that makes you feel all warm and happy inside.  Movies will tell you that for Italian chef's "food is love" or that you should "never trust a skinny Italian chef" ... I don't know about all of that, but I do know that when it was cold outside the other day I knew that only a nice filled pasta dish would do.

I thought about stuffing the pasta with the scallops I served for this meal, as well as the other fillings, but figured that might be over-kill for the simple, and classic, taste that I was going for.  The scallops therefore were relegated to the side!

For the filling I started with the traditional cheese base, ricotta, and then decided to add a non-traditional kale to the garlic and peppers.

Kale & Pepper Stuffed Manicotti
6 pieces dried manicotti pasta (cook in salted, boiling water, for 7 minutes then cool on a rack before stuffing)
2 bunches kale
1 large yellow bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic (feel free to add as much more as you'd like)
2 cups ricotta cheese
2-3 cups of pasta sauce (red sauce or vodka sauce; may not use it all)

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cook your kale however you prefer, I sauteed/steamed in a large saute pan to allow it to cook down (steamed) then ultimately removed most of the liquid via sauteing.  I diced it and then transferred to a large bowl to cool.  I then diced the pepper and the garlic and sauteed them until the pepper was just soft and then added to the kale.

Once the veggies had cooled to room temperature I added the ricotta and stirred until it was well mixed.  I then stuffed the manicotti with the mixture (don't worry if you have a little filling left over, it will be great in an omlette the next morning) and put them in a single layer in a baking dish.  I covered the manicotti with the sauce (I used vodka sauce for this dish), topped with a little shredded parmesan cheese and then popped it into the oven for about 25 minutes.  Once cooked remove and serve with a spatula, enjoy!